A Noël Killing (A Provençal Mystery, #8)

by M.L. Longworth

Christmastime in the south of France is as beautiful as ever, but when a shady local businessman drops dead in the middle of the festivities, Verlaque and Bonnet must solve the case while keeping the holiday spirit alive.

Provençal Mystery Series #8
Watch the series! Murder in Provence is now on Britbox.

Antoine Verlaque, examining magistrate for the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence, doesn't like Christmas. The decorations appear in the shops far too early, festive tourists swarm the streets, and his beloved Cours Mirabeau is lined with chalets selling what he regards as tacky trinkets. But his wife and partner Marine Bonnet is determined to make this a Christmas they can both enjoy, beginning with the carol sing at the Cathedral Saint Sauveur, a beautiful service in a packed church.

Just as the holiday cheer is in full swing, a man is poisoned, sending the community into a tailspin. The list of suspects, Verlaque and Bonnet quickly discover, almost fills the church itself, from the visiting vendors at the Christmas fair to the victim’s unhappy wife and his disgruntled business partner. In A Noël Killing, with the help of an ever-watchful young woman named France, the pair must solve the murder while the spirit of the season attempts to warm Verlaque’s stubborn heart.

“Full of gourmet meals, silky wines, and sumptuous homes, these cozy mysteries transport you to the south of France . . . Perfect for the gourmands or Francophiles in your life.” —Slate

• ISBN10: 014313406X
• ISBN13: 9780143134060
• Publish Date: 12 November 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Penguin Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143134060

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

In general, this series has been excellent in every way, but this one wasn't its strongest entry.

The narrative meandered.  A lot.  It took several chapters to get a grip on what was going on, and who was doing what to whom.  There's a slow build up to the crime, which I don't mind, but because everything else was slow too, it was a battle to keep my attention on the book.  

Once things did start moving, they felt scattered and disorganised, though this improved quite a bit as the story progressed.  Still, of the books I've read this month, this is the one I'm struggling most to remember anything about.  It wasn't unpleasant or badly written, it just wasn't a strong plot and it lacked the usual strong writing, or perhaps strong editing.

I'm happy to blame it on Covid and hope that the next one measures up to the first 7.