Murder on the Ile Sordou

Verlaque and Bonnet Provençal Mystery Series, Book 4

By: M. L. Longworth

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

On-again couple Antoine Verlaque and Marine Bonnet are hoping for a relaxing holiday at the Locanda Sordou, but someone has other plans.

Hoteliers Maxime and Catherine Le Bon have spent their life savings restoring the hotel, which lies in an archipelago of sun-soaked islands off the coast of Marseille. To celebrate the grand opening, a group of privileged guests joins Verlaque and Bonnet: Marine's free-spirited best friend; an aging film star, his much-younger wife, and her disgruntled son; a pair of affable American tourists; and a querelous Parisian couple. But the murder of one of the guests casts a shadow over everyone's vacation, and things go from bad to worse when a violent storm cuts off all communication with the mainland. Will the killer strike again?

Like Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri, M. L. Longworth enchants mystery lovers with a taste for good food and gorgeous landscapes in this installment of her acclaimed mystery series.

©2014 Mary Lou Longworth (P)2018 Tantor

The reading, and the story.

I liked it all. The characters, plot development, and conversations. Intricate plot developments via conversations.

not my favorite narrator

stuck it out because I enjoy the story, but I just can't overlook the annoying narration. uneven pacing and inflection and I despise her attempt at French accented English. I did like her voicing of Marie-Therese and Mrs Hobbes. oh well

very good

loved it. great characters. never
would have guessed who done it. good love story.

Breathlessly Waiting for the Next Book!

Excellent atmosphere and premise based on the unaccessible island theme. Interesting characters and more development of the relationship between Verlaque and Bonnet. For those Francophiles trying to practice your french, this is a delight. And for the gourmands in the audience, it's a mouth-watering selection!
#Clever #HappyEnding #Quirky #Suspenseful #France #tagsgiving #sweepstakes,

Know what you're getting into...

I downloaded this book after watching the three "Murder In Provence" TV episodes. I found the TV main characters enjoyable to spend time with, and assumed, correctly, that their antecedents in the novels would be the same. However, you should know these things about this book:
The mystery part of the book doesn't really start until you're fully halfway through.
There are long biographical chapters on many of the main suspects, most of which are totally extraneous to the story.
There are long descriptive passages about natural surroundings and meals which are totally extraneous to the story.
There is a sex scene which is totally extraneous to the story, as if the author was throwing a bone (if you'll pardon the term) to the bodice-ripper demographic.
Don't get me wrong; Included to an appropriate degree, I totally appreciate any and all of the background info required to paint a picture of a good mystery. Inspector Montalbano's Sicilian seafood meals in Andrea Camilleri's books, Tony Hillerman's descriptions of the American southwest, Arthur Upfield's Outback...those are all wonderful additions to the interesting characters and plots that these authors create, but Ms. Longworth's book far exceeds judiciousness in this regard. Sometimes, less IS actually more.
So it comes to this: If you enjoy books about travel and good cuisine, with a little sex thrown in on the side, you may enjoy this book, but know that, for the first half of the book, that's about all you're getting. And, once the mystery part begins, it's a pretty good mystery with good characterizations. It saddens me, but, as much as I love Verlaque and Bonnet, I'm afraid I won't put myself through another of this series. I ended listening at 1.7x normal speed in order to get through it. I guess I'll just hope for future TV episodes, and seek my enjoyable mysteries with likable protagonists elsewhere.