Captaine Roger Blanc
specializes in ferreting our corruption. He thinks he’s solved an
important case in Paris when suddenly he’s transferred to Provence,
to a small provincial hamlet. His wife decides to stay behind in
Paris with her lover, so he’s alone in a crumbling house that was
once housed an olive olive press.
On his first day on
the job, the Commandant assigns a murder case that looks like a drug
related death that will go immediately to Marseilles. Unfortunately,
Blanc’s partner Tonon recognizes the body as belonging to a local
thug who delights in terrorizing his neighbors. The Commandant
expects the case to go away, but when another body turns up, this
time a builder who may or may not have been accidentally killed on
his sailboat, Blanc can’t give up the hunt.
The best part of
this book is the scenes of Provence, the scent of wild thyme, and the
haunting winds of the Mistral. I enjoyed the way Blanc, the Parisian,
begins to appreciate his new home. He’s a character you can’t
help but relate to. He knows that he may be getting himself crosswise
with his new superior, but when he scents the mystery, he has to go
after the culprit.
The mystery is not
hard to figure out. The author gives us all the clues early in the
novel. However, because the French police and criminal justice system are
so different from ours, it’s a fascinating read. If you enjoy a
good mystery, and likable characters in an exotic local, you’ll
enjoy this book.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
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