MurderByDeath
I read the first two novels in this series: Murder on the Riviera and A Christmas Mystery in Provence years ago when they were first published and in spite of the uber-posh narrative style that often disregards personal pronouns, I found myself really enjoying them. A couple of years later I read that the author had self-published a third book, Death of a Harlequin so I hunted down a used copy and have finally gotten around to reading it.
Not as good as the first two, but not a bad read either. It bogged down about half-way through, and there were some obvious time-line issues and plot holes. I also disliked grand mere's condescending attitude towards Chrissy, although she often deserved it for acting like an airhead.
The mystery, though, was excellently plotted and the tension built up until I found myself nervous as things built to a crescendo at the end. In spite of the breezy setting, these mysteries are more traditional than cozy, as the endings are not guaranteed happy for everyone involved.
The completist in me will hang on to this one, because I still re-read the first two on occasion, but I'm quite content that the series has not continued.