romonko's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is the fourth book in the Verlaque and Bonnet series. I love this series set in France so much! As usual, the food and wine are exquisite and the location can't be beat (an isolated island off the Coast of Marseilles). Friends of Marine's have opened up a boutique hotel on the island, and Antoine and Marine have been invited to the inaugural grand opening of this hotel. Things are going well, and then the body of one of the guests is found on the beach and the man had been shot through the head. There is no question it is murder. Who on this island had a reason to see the man dead? As Verlaque investigates, he uncovers 50 year old secrets among the guests, and it looks like more than one person had a good reason to kill. I found the pace terribly slow in this one. It had an unusually long start and the murder doesn't occur until almost halfway through the book. That is why I gave the book 3 stars, but I still really enjoyed Verlaque and Bonnet, and the mystery, when it finally occurred, was a tricky one. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I did listen to this one on audiobook.
lazygal's review
2.0
Maybe the blurb needs to be rewritten: this isn't a true locked room (or, more accurately, isolated island) mystery. Yes, there's a storm, but it doesn't keep people from the island for terribly long. And the whodunnit part could have been bumped up while the other stuff, like the number of times we're told that Verlaque has money - a lot, tons, a veritable fortune - could have been lessened. It's also obvious that the author is trying too hard to infuse the series with French flavor; by explaining or translating everything, it just highlights the cultural issues rather than gently inserts them.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
jannie_mtl's review
3.0
Quite an enjoyable, cosy mystery, set on a fictional island off the coast of Marseille. Would read more in the series.
nonna7's review
4.0
I can't believe I've missed this author. This is the fourth in the series, so I do have some catching up to do. Judge Antoine Verlaque and his girlfriend, Maxine Bonnet, a law professor, are off for a holiday week at a luxury hotel on one of the many islands near Marseille. They are in a small party that includes two Americans, a retired teacher and poet, a washed up actor who does dog food commercials plus his wife and stepson who hates him, Martine's best friend, Sylvie, and a banker (who is an old school mate of Antoine's) and his wife who are going through a bad period in their marriage. They are also investors in the hotel. The hotel had been a playground for famous French stars in the 50's and 60's, but had fallen into disrepair. The owners have put a lot of effort and money into the hotel. It's been a huge undertaking. Not all of the rooms are full, but they are hopeful. They have small but enthusiastic staff including a young chef who prides himself on using locally sourced foods. When the actor is found dead, the suspect pool is narrow. Someone at the hotel did it. Antoine doesn't want any of them to be the murderer, something I found rather endearing. I loved this for a lot of reasons. It's not a long book, yet it packs all of the salient facts. There's also more than a little humor. The only negative (!) I could find was the description of the cook's meals. This is NOT a book to read when you're hungry! Now I'm going to have to backtrack and read the ones I missed, PLUS look out for Ms. Longworth's next book. In the meantime, I'll be checking out her blog that includes some lovely pictures of Southern France as well as an article about a town that makes aioli for the entire town once a year.
http://mllongworth.com/blog/
http://mllongworth.com/blog/
bucherca49's review
4.0
I enjoyed spending a few days with Verlaque and Bonnet on an island off the southern coast of France. It turns into a busman's honeymoon for Verlaque, who has to investigate a murder on this small, isolated island.
gillbillian's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I love this series. It has made me mis the south of France and I wish I could visit now. This was really slow though. While I loved a lot of the characters, I missed the people we are used to seeing and I found this one really sad this time.
abbyprolman's review
3.0
An enjoyable book I like the change of setting thought that was fun but you don't get into the murder until later in the book and I just didn't enjoy that as much as the previous.
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