Death in the Vinesby M.L. Longworth
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780143122449
Series: Verlaque and Bonnet Provencal Mystery #3
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
Pages: 304
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Penguin Crime
Better than the last book; the multiple POVs here work better and Death in the Vines didn’t feel as slow to start as book 2.
Three brutal murders just 1 week apart, all women. Two of them identical attacks of young women, but the third is an old woman showing signs of dementia. Proximity and timing make all three related but no one can find the connection. This series is, at its heart, a police procedural so the story moves along in stops and starts as new evidence is collected and more information is run-down. The unmasking was a little bit abrupt, but perhaps that’s how some cases end up, who knows?
In the midst of this we have little vignettes of the supporting characters that are mostly charming; an odd twist with Marine Bonnet didn’t quite work for me, but I suppose it worked to move their relationship a bit. But the biggest non-plot news is Verleque’s mysterious secret in his past is revealed – and it’s a doozy; in a completely unexpected way. Very interesting ground the author is treading here; the big reveal doesn’t really happen until almost the end, and it’s not followed up on, so I don’t know where she’s going to go from here, if anywhere.
But I have book 4 ready to go, so I won’t have to wait long to find out.