annieb123's Review of The Body by the Sea (Commissaire Dupin, #8)

by Jean-Luc Bannalec

A town on the sea, Concarneau’s nickname is Ville Bleue, or the Blue Town. With three harbors at its centre, visitors can see enormous ships, sailors, fisherman, and the industry that goes alongside it. Because of its geographical location, Concarneau has shown it’s perfectly positioned to protect its inhabitants from enemy attacks.

For this reason and more, including his favourite restaurant, the Amiral, Commissaire Georges Dupin calls this town home. Most of his colleagues are on vacation for the Pentecost long weekend, but Dupin remains. His future in-laws are coming to visit.

But what happens when an enemy attacks from within? Dupin’s plans as host must change when the body of Doctor Chaboseau is discovered. Chaboseau fell to his death, pushed from his home above the Amiral. With only two new colleagues to help - no one else is answering their phone - Dupin is tasked with finding out what happened to the doctor.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Body by the Sea is the 8th Brittany Mystery by Jean-Luc Bannalec. Released 25th April 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out from the same publisher in second quarter 2024. 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 such a restful and well written series. It's absolutely redolent with the food, culture, sights, and sounds of Brittany and the coastal areas. An ensemble cast, featuring the clever and understanding Commisaire Georges Dupin, return to solve a crime, this time a murder on Dupin's own home turf.

The book is full of wonderful descriptions of food, settings, the areas in and around Concarneau, including references to Georges Simeon's classic mysteries, one of which was fictitiously set in the same area, in 1931.

This is *such* a restful series. Well constructed, beautifully well written, and genuinely entertaining. Although it's the 8th book in the series, the mystery is self contained and it works perfectly well as a standalone. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition, or for a long binge or buddy read.

Four and a half stars.

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

Reading updates

14 July, 2023: Started reading

14 July, 2023: Finished reading

14 July, 2023: Reviewed