A review by nonna7
Murder on the Île Sordou by M.L. Longworth

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/