{{Infobox book , , name = Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand , title_orig = Sous les vents de Neptune , translator = Sian Reynolds , image = Washthisbloodcleanfrommyhand.jpg , caption = First edition (French) , author =

Fred Vargas Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (born 7 June 1957), a French historian, archaeologist and novelist. As a historian and archeologist, she is known for her work on the Black Death. Her crime fiction ''policiers'' ( ...

, cover_artist = , country =

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, language =

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, series = Commissaire Adamsberg , genre =

Crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, publisher = Viviane Hamy (French)

The Harvill Press Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

(English) , release_date = 2004 , english_pub_date = January 2007 , media_type = Print (

Paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

) , pages = 441 pp (French)
388 pp (English) , isbn = 2-87858-190-3 , isbn_note= (French)
{{ISBN, 1-84343-273-0 (English) , congress= PQ2682.A725 S68 2004 , oclc= 54929205 , preceded_by =

Have Mercy on Us All ''Have Mercy on Us All'' (french: Pars vite et reviens tard, lit. "Leave quickly and come back late") is a 2001 novel by French author Fred Vargas. The novel was her first to be translated into English in 2003 by David Bellos. It was made into ...

, followed_by =

This Night's Foul Work ''This Night's Foul Work'' is a crime-novel by French author Fred Vargas Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (born 7 June 1957), a French historian, archaeologist and novelist. As a historian and archeologist, she i ...

''Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand'' (french: Sous les vents de Neptune, lit. "Under Neptune's Winds") is a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by French author

, originally published in France in 2004. The novel is part of her Commissaire Adamsberg series. As with many of Vargas' novels in English translation, the English title is not a literal translation. It adroitly chooses a quote from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's tragedy ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''(Act II, Scene ii, 57-8): "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?". In 2007 the book won the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

Duncan Lawrie International Dagger The CWA International Dagger (formerly known as the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger) is an award given by the Crime Writers' Association for best translated crime novel of the year. The winning author and translator receives an ornamental Dagger ...

, the second year in a row Vargas won the award ('' The Three Evangelists '' having won the previous year). This was the first time an author has been shortlisted for a main

CWA CWA or Cwa may refer to: Organisations * CWA Constructions, a Swiss manufacturer of gondolas and people mover cabins, a division of Doppelmayr Garaventa Group * Catch Wrestling Association, a former German professional wrestling promotion * Contin ...

Award for three successive novels. Vargas also won the International Dagger award in 2008, the first time an author won the CWA award for three successive novels.

Plot

''Commissaire'' Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is a police officer in Paris. His nonchalant behaviour upsets many of his subordinates and chiefs as much as it pleases the others. He often finds key clues in his dreams; yet this will be his undoing soon. Since before entering the police force, Adamsberg has been looking for a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. That killer's

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

involves having a bystander being wrongly accused, which happened to Adamsberg's own brother, and some weapon with three blades, some sort of a

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

, hence the

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

reference. When the story begins, Adamsberg has found yet another murder he thinks is linked to the "Trident". Nobody believes him because the killer's crime spree is supposed to have lasted more than fifty years, culprits were always found, and Adamsberg's key suspect was buried ten years ago. Adamsberg's dreamlike reasoning sounds unlikely to most. Adamsberg has no choice but to attend a

forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

seminar in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, thus abandoning the case. While in Canada, he bonds with a French girl, who ultimately claims to be pregnant with his child. He then also learns that his previous love has a young child. Both blows lead him to get drunk for the first time in years. When he wakes up, he is covered in blood and his Canadian colleagues accuse him of murdering the girl with a three-bladed weapon. Female officer Retancourt, the most capable of his subordinates, understands he has been set up, and manages to sneak him back to France. There, as he is hiding in an old lady's house, a senior

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

helps him to track the Trident's various hiding places, thus proving that the suspect cannot be dead. Adamsberg finally manages to uncover the man's history, secret motives, and current location. But the Trident, who is a formidable man, threatens Adamsberg with commanding the death of his child and the latter's mother, if he does not confess to the Canadian murder and commit suicide. Adamsberg is about to comply when his subordinates intervene. 2004 French novels Novels by Fred Vargas French mystery novels