Death at the Chateau Bremont

"Death at the Chateau Bremont," A Verlaque and Bonnet Mystery, by M. L. Longworth was just published this year. My spouse picked it up on the "best picks" shelf at our local library then passed it on to me because he thought it was a book I'd enjoy, too.

He was definitely right about that! I thoroughly enjoyed this new mystery (in what I hope will be an ongoing series) which was rich in details about the countryside as well as the cast of characters.

A local nobleman, Etienne de Bremont, falls to his death from the family chateau and Chief Magistrate of Ais, Antoine Verlaque, suspects it might be foul play. When he learns Bremont was a close childhood friend of his ex-girlfriend, Marine, he enlists her help to seek answers from the family that she knows so well -- his brother, Francois -- in debt and maybe in some other trouble, too. Then there's the widow and her sister and the chauteau caretaker and his sister. When another murder occurs, Verlaque's suspicions about the fall possibly being murder are heightened.

In the meantime, Verlaque is enjoying an excuse to spend time once again with Marine, a law professor at the local university. Will they be able to solve the cases? Will they be able to rekindle their romance and work out all the issues that kept it from being a success before?

M. L. Longworth writes well and, although this is her first work of fiction, she has written about the Aix-en-Provence region where the novel is set for the Washington Post, the Times (UK), the Independent (UK) and Bon Appetit magazine. She has authored a bilingual collection of essays, Une Americaine en Provence" that was published in 2004. She divides her time between Aix (where she writes) and Paris (where she teaches writing at New York University.)

If you enjoy a mystery with lots of twists and turns, this one is for you!

pazt