Mysteries In France

First in the Catherine Patterson Mysteries. A cast of characters, English and French, all living in the Deux Sevres, in the Poitou-Charentes region of western France, suddenly starts to experience a series of bizarre, frightening and even life threatening events. Reviewed By Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite: GM Haley’s mystery novel, Danger in the Deux Sevres, is a fascinating tale of adventure and espionage. The story starts off like a gentle tour of the French countryside around Deux Sevres, complete with the quiet life of its residents, the camaraderie, and the history. ...

A vengeful female ringleader heads an expensive show horse kidnapping operation, selling to the black market. One couple loses a much treasured dressage mount. Will Cajun Magic make it back to his rightful owners? Can the Mob push back against the villain's dark ways?

MURDER IN LA JOLLA (A Sadie Brown Mystery) by P. Austin Heaton finds a circa 1920s news reporter digging into suspicious activity when her husband is injured in a car accident and the driver shot in the head. Colorful descriptions of period landmarks and scenery add to the well-crafted storyline, bringing readers to a satisfying, yet unexpected, conclusion. — Review by "IndieReader" It’s 1921, and Sadie Brown, aviatrix, reporter, and sometimes crime investigator, has a serious problem on her hands. After an almost fatal auto accident, her husband's in a coma in the hospital — all due ...

It’s springtime in Provence! Trees are in bloom and critters are abuzz— including a murderer or two. Pastry chef Julie Cavallo is gearing up for the Easter weekend. Life is blissfully tranquil… until she learns of a wrongful conviction. Chiropractor Quentin Vernet was found guilty of fatal malpractice, stripped of his license and imprisoned for a year. And now he has lost all hope of clearing his good name. If only there was a way to help him! Unfortunately, Julie has nothing to go on. Her crew of amateur sleuths deems the case too cold and too sticky. Her gendarme boyfriend warns her...

Julie has her freedom, a dream job as a pastry chef, and a corpse growing cold on her floor... Welcome to Beldoc, a small town in the heart of Provence, imbued with lavender and fresh baked bread! You can idle around, or you can puzzle out a murder mystery. When a man dies on her watch in her pâtisserie, newly divorced chef Julie Cavallo is dismayed. It isn’t that she’s a suspect. The local gendarmerie captain signs off the death as a natural event. A heart attack. But for a reason she won’t discuss, Julie suspects Maurice Sauve was poisoned. What’s a girl to do? She’ll ignore ...

A murder mystery book set in France and England during the early 1920s. In "Bordeaux Pines," Albert Carlson, a junior partner in a London-based wine merchant firm, embarks on a routine tour of wine exporters in France. His journey through the picturesque yet desolate landscapes of the early 1920s takes an unexpected turn when he encounters a mysterious motor lorry and an enigmatic girl named Madeleine Coburn near a secluded sawmill. This seemingly uneventful business trip soon spirals into a riveting tale of intrigue, deception, and smuggling. Carlson's inquiring nature leads him to notice ...

When a French priest collapses at Easter Mass, the church suspects foul play. A missing junior priest quickly becomes the prime suspect, but not everyone agrees. Reverend Annabelle Dixon and Inspector Mike Nichols were looking forward to a few days off, but when her oldest friend in the whole world asks for help with this conundrum, how can Annabelle say no?...

Fans of this series will enjoy reading about the antics of their favourite amateur sleuth in Peril in Poitiers. Catherine is questioned as the main suspect in a theft. Discovering that the only person with any information to help clear her name is missing, she is forced to enlist the help of friends to investigate the truth of the matter. Unfortunately, the phlegmatic Inspector Maupetit is less than impressed with Catherine snooping around.

"THIS IS AN ENTERTAINING NOVEL THAT WILL DELIGHT FANS OF SLEUTHING, MYSTERY AND MURDER." - Readers' Favorite. The tourist season is almost over so Catherine is happy to have four guests staying at her chambres d’hôtes for an indefinite time: Leaving those guests for a short time in the care of her husband Karl, Catherine accompanies her friend Marie to a family gathering. Events take a turn for the worse so Catherine returns home only to discover that one of her guests is missing. With circumstances spiralling out of control, Catherine is once again put in harm's way. Events conclude ...

'A lively and interesting read, with a good mystery. Readers will be looking forward to the next Catherine Patterson mystery, especially since dead bodies seem to always appear where she least expects to find them.' It is amazing how Catherine seems to attract dead bodies at her chambres d’hôtes in rural southwest France. Even local Inspector Maupetit seems to think it odd that mystery and murder all focus around this woman and her picturesque little corner of the world. Readers' Favorite - 'Vengeance in the Vendee is GM Haley’s second in the Catherine Patterson Mystery Books. The ...

When Stanley Lambchop is asked to help catch an art thief in Paris, he's thrilled! Posing as a painting in the Louvre museum on a wall across from the famous Mona Lisa? - c'est magnifique! But Stanley soon grows bored - until he meets Etoile, an art student who shows him around the City of Light. Then when Stanley goes back to the museum, he soon realizes that the Mona Lisa looks…different. It's been switched for a fake!

A thriller book set in Aix-les-Bains, Savoy, during the early 20th century. Step into the opulent yet enigmatic world of Aix-les-Bains, where the tranquility of the early 20th century is shattered by the chilling and unexpected murder of Mme. Camille Dauvray. In "Framed for Murder," a leisurely vacation takes a harrowing turn for Mr. Henderson, a well-to-do widower, when he becomes entangled in a gripping investigation led by the legendary detective, M. Hanaud. Mr. Henderson's annual retreat to the serene town becomes anything but routine when he encounters Celia Harland, a captivating ...

Catherine and her friends visit a family friend in Ruffec for a short holiday. When they realise all is not what it seems, Catherine becomes engrossed in solving mysteries from the family's past. Meanwhile Inspector Maupetit turns up unexpectedly in the area but isn't keen on divulging why he's there. Events take a turn for the worse when there is an accusation of murder and the Inspector's investigations collide with Catherine's amateur sleuthing. Unfortunately, though not unexpectedly, Catherine is once again put in harm's way.

Hilarious misadventures involving unexpected twists including murder, drug running and an inheritance as newly retired Jack and Susie buy their first caravan. Jack and Susie Morton have had their fill of the daily grind, bored and tired of their jobs. And Jack has been ill, a heart attack and triple bypass. It was time to spend some quality time together. So they go ahead and retire early. Buy a caravan they call Daisy. Only problem is that the hapless couple know absolutely nothing about caravanning. It's a steep learning curve. Can Jack overcome his terror of towing? Will they master the ...

American architect Jordan Mayfair travels to Provence with visions of Roman ruins bathed in magical Provençal light‚ exquisite foods and wines‚ and - possibly - an alluring Frenchmen. She will experience all she imagined‚ but she never expected to be chased across the French countryside for an Elvis recording. Danger follows her to the village of Fontvieille‚ where the colorful inhabitants are in a frenzy over missing Van Gogh sketches.

Sir Jack Drummond, with his wife, Lady Anne, and their 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, were on holiday on the French Riviera when they stopped to make camp just off the road near a farm called La Grand' Terre in Provence. The family was found murdered the next morning. More than two years later, the barely literate, 75-year-old proprietor of La Grand' Terre, Gaston Dominici, was brought to trial, convicted, and condemned to death by guillotine.

Following the funeral of a local farmer, Bruno gets a phone call from his son. He tells Bruno that before his father's sudden death, he had signed over his property to an insurance company in return for a subscription to a luxury retirement home. Bruno discovers that both the retirement home and the insurance company are scams with links to a Russian oligarch whose dealings are already being tracked by the French police.

San Diego Union-Tribune (U-T) Lynne Kennedy’s novel, Deadly Provenance, focuses on “Still Life: Vase with Oleanders,” a Vincent van Gogh painting that disappeared from a French chateau during World War II. In fiction, she solves this mystery. In truth, she’s still on the case. San Diego Jewish Journal Kennedy may not get to the bottom of this perplexing (real-life) mystery like her character in Deadly Provenance did, but she sure is having fun trying. “Still Life: Vase with Oleanders” is a painting by Vincent van Gogh, believed to have been confiscated by the Nazis during World ...

THE GUEST’s visit to the author’s Spanish home was meant to be a carefree fortnight of work and leisure, but it didn’t turn out that way. Mike Rippon’s account of John Smith’s eventful stay is both humorous and harrowing, as his guest’s behaviour becomes increasingly odd. Undisputedly an expert golfer, John’s veiled tales of his life as a secret serviceman begin to strike a less than harmonic chord and Mike is soon counting down the days until his departure. John, however, is in no hurry to leave, and despite enlisting the help of his friends, Mike’s undoubted patience and ...

Beleaguered Captain Katel Marelle hopes for an open-and-shut case while investigating a death in the rugged French Ardennes. But an apparent suicide turns vastly more complicated when three IDs are pulled from the glove box of the deceased’s car. Renaud Duval, Pierre Rousseau, Hans Bernard—three men with the same face but different birthplaces. Marelle has her work cut out for her, figuring out not only how the man died but who he really was.