The Back of the North Wind

From an Edgar award–winner, a shrewd French detective investigates murder in “a meditative, dark, ironic installment in the unconventional Castang series” (Kirkus Reviews).

Two violent murders one after another in a provincial district in France is more than enough to agitate the astute mind of Inspector Henri Castang. Especially since the first was so gruesome—he suspects the corpse has been cannibalized. The second killing leads him to a teenage prostitute whose youth and beauty can hardly mask the evil within. Soon enough Castang is questioning human nature itself, even as his investigation opens into political intrigue—and corruption that strikes a little too close to home.

Praise for Nicolas Freeling:

“In depth of characterization, command of language and breadth of thought, Mr. Freeling has few peers when it comes to the international policier.” —The New York Times

“Nicolas Freeling . . . liberated the detective story from page-turning puzzler into a critique of society and an investigation of character.” —The Daily Telegraph

“Freeling rewards with his oblique, subtly comic style.” —Publishers Weekly

“Freeling writes like no one. . . . He is one of the most literate and idiosyncratic of crime writers.” —Los Angeles Times