Stonekiller

Pluses outweigh negatives in this unusual, sometimes confusing but highly original mystery set in occupied France in 1942. Life goes on in the Dordogne, and so does crime, and someone must deal with it. The task of investigating a brutal homicide falls to an odd couple: Jean-Louis St-Cyr of the Surete Nationale and Hermann Kohler of the Gestapo, who last appeared in 1992's Mirage. When they attempt to solve the vicious murder of Ernestine Fillioux, whose body is found close by a cave filled with primitive art rivaling that of Lascaux, they encounter resistance at every turn. Madame Fillioux and her husband, Henri-Georges, long missing and presumed dead, had discovered the cave. Now the Nazi propaganda machine is ready to film a documentary linking the Third Reich to prehistory by means of the swastikas discovered in the cave artifacts. A bizarre cast of filmmakers headed by director Baron Von Strade have descended on the site. Excursions into pre-history and a grim look at living conditions in occupied France provide an intriguing backdrop as the two detectives strive toward the truth. Janes packs his somber mystery with forensic evidence and some rich descriptions of landscape. If the climax is too facile, Janes has nonetheless created a detective team as credible as it is unusual. (May)