Murder on the Ile Sordou: Verlaque and Bonnet Series #4. M. L. Longworth. Viking Penguin Group (USA). September
2014. 320 pp. ISBN#: 9780143125549.
Maxime
and Catherine Le Bon have invested everything they had and borrowed everywhere
they can to create a lovely hotel resort on the Ile Sordou, a lovely island off
the coast of Marseilles, France, on the Mediterranean Sea. Interestingly, the
author reminds the reader that the Ile is the place where author Alexandre
Dumas placed his novel, The Count of
Monte Cristo. Business, however, for the owners of our present luxury
resort isn’t great at all, a fact which troubles them immensely; but for now
they are occupied with providing a wonderful experience for their present
guests. Some of the owner’s employees are here because they have found a
perfect job in a gorgeously beautiful place and others see it as a stepping
stone to greater service in a more well-known hotel in one of the major French
cities. Some of the Ile’s inhabitants are strange folk who provide food to the
hotel and provide an aura of mystery to the area. And
then there is the motley crew of guests who have arrived to relax and enjoy the
Ile’s beaches, boats and unique meals presented by a creative and talented
chef!
We
meet Judge Antoine Verlaque (Aix-en-Provence’s examining magistrate) and his
sexy girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet.
Their only desire is to enjoy each other without any reference to their
legal work. They meet Eric Mannier,
former teacher and poet, on the boat traveling to the Isle. Mannier normally is rather reserved and while
on the Ile seems totally focused on writing his poetry as the days progress,
much to the wonder of his fellow guests. Shirley and Bill Hobbs are Americans
visitors who are obsessed with luxury and design but are friendly and
unassuming to all. Alain Denis is a
former famous film star now reduced to making dog food commercials appears with
his “Botox” wife, Emmanuelle, and his son Brice who seems like a very angry
young man.
The
remainder of the story moves from the characters getting to know each other,
gossiping as they get to know each other better, and then being minutely
examined after one of them is found dead on a nearby beach, shot up close in
the forehead. It reads like an Agatha
Christie mystery novel, for sure, and is creatively and carefully plotted,
drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the attempt to solve the murder
mystery before the police do so. And no,
you probably won’t be able to do so either, but that won’t stop you from trying
as the author elicits your obsession with the solution to this unforeseen
crime!
Very
nicely plotted with a perfect medley of characters and intrigue added to the
mix! Well done fourth mystery in this
Verlaque and Bonnet series!
No comments:
Post a Comment