The Back of the North Wind — Nicolas Freeling

Murder, cannibalism, political skulduggery -- it's all in a week's work for Inspector Henri Castang.

Henri Castang, a thirty-year veteran of the French National Police, returns from vacation to find some dirty and dangerous business awaiting him. In short order he must deal with the gruesome murder of a young woman; the seemingly linked killings of two ordinary citizens; a very pretty, very young, and very hostile prostitute; and the decidedly nasty undercurrent of intrigue within his own department.

Nicolas Freeling has created in Henri Castang a thinking man's cop. He has, moreover, provided Castang with a wry, intelligent, and feisty wife. The result is a rare crime novel, a compelling view of human nature at its very worst - and its very best.