One of my favourite books so far this year has been Manda Scott’s A Treachery of Spies, set principally in modern day Orleans but also flitting back to the Second world War and following the exploits of members of the French Resistance and some of the British comrades who helped to train them. When I read that book, I hadn’t appreciated that it was the second in a series featuring Capitaine Inès Picaut.

Into the Fire is the first book in that series, and while entertaining, I found it less readily engaging. I suspect that if I had read this book first, I might not have made much effort to discover the second, and would, as a consequence, have missed out on a gem. That is not to say that Into the Fire is a bad book – there is considerable scope for being less good than A Treachery of Spies but remaining a diverting read.

Here the principal action driving the story is a series of arson attacks across contemporary Orleans. Responsibility for the fires has been claimed by a hitherto unknown radical Islamist group. A corpse is found in the aftermath of the fourth fire, subsequently identified as a Scottish doctor. The death puts additional pressure on Picaut’s police squad which is investigating the fire. Additional media attention arises because Picaut’s estranged husband is currently campaigning to be mayor in an imminent local election.

Interspersed with events in modern days Orleans are chapters recounting the gradual rise to prominence of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War. These sections focus on the exploits of Tod (or Tomas) Rustbeard, and Englishman who has gone under cover in the French forces with a view to learning more about the mysterious Joan.

I think that this novel was probably rather longer, and far more complicated, than it needed to be. The seemingly endless series of twists, particularly in the historical back plot, seemed contrived, and I wondered whether they were there simply to demonstrate the writer’s dexterity.

I am glad I read this book, but my primary response is to consider how much better its successor was. ( )

A big disappointment after reading the author's Roman novels. Simply a pedestrian thriller and police procedural involving investigating arson, a dead body, and, switching back and forth in time, was Joan of Arc who she purported to be? ( )

1429 and the Siege of Orleans is lifted, the French defeat the English and they herald the presence of The Maid as being the key. Who is the Maid, a visionary sent from God or someone more prosaic? Double agent Tomas is charged with defeating her but falls under her spell. 2014 and the election for the mayoralty of Orleans is closely fought between the ultra Right-wing Front National and Luc, scion of the Bressard family. The Bressard family are powerful and not above using the law to their advantage. Across Orleans a series of fires have been set and Ines Picaut is charged with solving the crimes, but when a member of an Algerian crime gang is murdered Orleans is set to explode.

Given that my two favourite genres are medieval history/historical fiction and crime novels this book seemed a good match and I can't fault it. Both parts of the story are absorbing and the links are cleverly made. The idea that Joan of Arc was not who she seems is one which has not been explored quite as fully as it could and the historical end of this novel is well-researched and quite credible. The police procedural is also alive to politics and equally gripping. Put together, two good stories become one outstanding book. ( )

This is a taut, exciting thriller. Set in the French city of Orleans in the run-up to a mayoral election, police captain Ines Picaut is trying to solve a string of arson attacks apparently instigated by a radical Islamic terrorist group. In parallel with this police procedural narrative, we also see the story of Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, and especially the efforts made to defeat and ultimately destroy her. How these separate stories connect drives the novel to an exciting conclusion.

The writing is crisp, the characters all believable, the action well managed and the Frenchness of it all very garlicky. ( )