Murder on the Ile Sordouby M.L. Longworth
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780143125549
Series: Verlaque and Bonnet Provencal Mystery #4
Publication Date: September 30, 2014
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Penguin Crime
I hovered over the 4.5 star mark for a second or two before settling on the 4 star. This is a really good entry in the Verlaque and Bonnet Provencal series.
On holiday in a new resort 15 miles off the coast of Marseille, Verlaque and Bonnet are trying to keep a low profile, but the resort only has guests in 7 rooms and they all become friendly, until one morning after a storm, one of them is found dead on the shore.
Verlaque is definitely the main focus of this book; Marine Bonnet is there every step of the way but there’s very little told from her POV. Verlaque has come a long way from the overly aloof, even arrogant, judge he was at the start and even he worries he is becoming too soft. This is a relief, given that the reader spends most of the time with him.
In spite of the murder, Longworth made me wish I could be there with them; dead body aside it sounded divine: great food, gorgeous setting, wonderful staff and friendly guests. And the way she wraps up the mystery (which was heartbreaking), I wouldn’t have even minded sharing my week with the killer.
(This would qualify for a locked room type mystery, and at a stretch, a ‘country house’ mystery; only the guest and staff, and the old lighthouse keeper are on the island, with no access on or off, and no cell phone reception. This would also work just fine as a stand-alone.)