Murder Visits a French Village (A Château in Burgundy mystery)

by Susan C. Shea

"Not since my first visit to Louise Penny's Three Pines, have I encountered a more beguiling fictional world than Susan C. Shea's Reigny-Sur-Cannes" Catriona McPherson, award-winning author on Dressed for Death in Burgundy

Ariel Shepherd is devastated by the sudden loss of her husband, but nothing could have prepared her for inheriting the rundown French château they'd visited on their honeymoon four years ago. With finances tight she has no choice but to swap her Manhattan apartment and city lifestyle for a renovation project in a peaceful French village.

When Ariel hires an expert to help her uncover the legacy of her beautiful ruin, life only becomes more complicated. Christiane, the historian, is found dead in the moat, and although the local police aren't suspicious, Ariel is. She joins two other ex-pats, Pippa and Katherine, to investigate, but with plenty of workmen - and errant tools - around the château, many people had the means, but who had the motive? Why would anyone want to kill a historian?

Ariel begins to suspect that her French village life will be anything but peaceful! Can she solve the suspicious murder and make her château in Burgundy the perfect new home?

• ISBN10: 1448310180
• ISBN13: 9781448310180
• Publish Date: 7 March 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Imprint: Severn House
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Murder Visits a French Village is the first book in a new cozy series by Susan C. Shea. Released 7th March 2023 by Dundurn Press, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Paperback due out 4th quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well written and engaging cozy, set in Burgundy. The protagonist is cut adrift and grieving, having just tragically lost her husband very suddenly. Straitened finances mean her seemingly best option is to sell up in Manhattan and move to a mostly ruined castle/manor she inherited in France. 

The writing and scenery are steeped in the descriptions of the area and it's attractively and romantically presented (even the realities of getting house repairs in rural France are more quaint than offputting). The main character is likeable if a bit of a doormat to begin with.

The actual mystery isn't complex, but the whole read is elevated by the settings and descriptions. It's a light and easy character driven in the manner of Ellery Adams, M. E. Hilliard, and Susan Isaacs. 

Four stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.