Murder in the Rue Dumas (A Provençal Mystery Book 2)

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Although the author is British, her absolute love of all things French and Italian, shines through. Almost more than anything else, the book is a delight to read for its detailed descriptions of foods and wines, while art—I’d not known before of Gallés glass and ex-votos--, history—during the plague, the town fathers of Aix closed the city gates resulting in the plague passing without the loss of a single life in Aix--, literature—“What will survive of us is love.”--, and the French countryside receive their fair share of attention, as well. Despite being a murder-mystery series, Murder In Provence clearly takes the time to enjoy the finer things in life as well – and it is this idea that Allam says he really connects with. The setting is a smallish picturesque town in southern France named Aix-en-Provence. The main characters are Verlaque (a criminal judge) and his assistants and Marine Bonnet, a law professor and his girlfriend. Longworth was born in Toronto and moved to Aix in 1997. She has been influenced by Barbara Pym, and her mysteries are like "intricate puzzles". Longworth also teaches writing at NYU Paris. [3] Bibliography [ edit ] What I love about this book is the other stuff. I love the characters, they are really well written and interesting. I also love the travelogue (author was a journalist and travel writer(?) before she wrote this series) and the food and wine. Apart from that, there is also romance, some literature, art and philosophy - some very interesting stuff that sometimes I would put the book down and start looking up some of the stuff she talks about in the book. Some stuff makes me think and some stuff that is just really cleverly written. So you can see how busy this book is.

Death at the Château Bremontoffers charming French locales, vivid characters and an intriguing who-done-it.”—Kevin R. Kosar, author of Whiskey: A Global History Aided by his on-again, off-again girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet, Berlaque must turn Provence upside down, uncovering a world far more complicated than university politics, to find the killer before it’s too late.

Is Murder in Provence based on a true story?

Longworth’s novels . . . are mysteries for foodies, with the plot providing a table upon which the enchanting meals and accompanying wines are served.”— Booklist Not that Allam had the opportunity to test out his own cooking skills while filming however – and nor does the onscreen cuisine sound all that appetising either. Beguiling . . . Longworth evokes the pleasures of France in delicious detail—great wine, delicious meals, and fine company.”— Publishers Weekly Professor Moutte, the Doyen of the School of Theology at the University of Aix, is found murdered in his office. The murder occurred just after he announced that he would not be retiring. His announcement affected three of his colleagues who thought they in the mix for his prestigious position. Also affected were 4 post-graduate students in the competition for the lucrative Dumas Fellowship. Two days later, the professor’s secretary was killed in a hit and run accident. Coincidence or related to the murder? Into this turmoil, another crime is added – art glass forgery. Mary Lou Longworth, known as M. L. Longworth, is a Canadian author best known for her Verlaque and Bonnet series of detective novels set in Aix-en-Provence.

As one character knowingly observes, “It’s very Agatha Christie”. But that’s all part of the charm for lead actor Roger Allam, a three-time Laurence Olivier Award-winner who is perhaps best known these days for his role as Detective Inspector Fred Thursday in the Inspector Morse prequel series Endeavour. Longworth deftly portrays a large cast of characters (some of them suspects), including theology students, professors, and friends and neighbors of Verlaque and Bonnet, including police commissioner Bruno Paulik, the chief magistrate’s right hand. As interesting as the university milieu may be, and as intricate as the mystery is, what provides the most pleasure in reading Murder in the Rue Dumas is Longworth’s description of Verlaque and Bonnet’s daily lives – their up-and-down romance, their conversations, and their relationship to food and wine. The author vividly depicts the town of Aix-en-Provence, its markets, its citizens, and its glorious food. One can practically smell the freshly-baked croissants and savor the espresso on Verlaque’s breakfast table. The case centers around a prestigious academic scholarship, forged artwork, and professional reputations – all of which may have played a part in the murder of theology Professor Moutte. As much as most of their questions center around university life, Verlaque and Bonnet also have occasion to leave their beloved Aix and travel up and down the coast of southern France, to Paris, and take a side trip to Italy to solve the mystery. But more importantly, the reader is treated to the various dishes and especially the wines that the pair always find time to sample during the course of their investigations. M. L. Longworth who also penned Death at the Chateau Bremont (2011) has lived in Aix-en-Provence for the past 15 or so years, and has written for major publications regarding this region. One can only assume that she loves her adopted home from the warm descriptions of places and food included in her story. Rather than hindering the mystery they simply serve to enrich and vivify it. We confess to not reading all that many new books from other countries and perhaps should do so more often. “Murder in the Rue Dumas” comes to us from France by way of M.L. Longworth. She actually resides in Aix, the setting of this story and so generously paints a warm and beautiful picture of the area. Enough to have us wondering how delightful a town it would be to visit. Just not when people are being murdered there.For the general plot and mystery I can't say I love it because the book is bogged down with too many characters. There are too many changing POVs and the mystery proceeds slowly because so much is going on. Another egregious plot device which made me want to throw the book across the room was that our hero, a JUDGE, deliberately breaks into premises outside his jurisdiction with his accomplice a LAW PROFESSOR, based on nothing more than a hunch and conjecture. In the real world they would both have been fired and prosecuted, not been invited to dinner. And they aren't even contrite about it. Even so, the whole sequence should have been resolved with a simple telephone call (which, in a way, it ultimately is). The Brits sure do love a good murder mystery – even one set in France, as is the case with Murder In Provence, a sort of Midsomer Murders clone but with better food, better scenery, more sunshine and a lot more wine. In that respect, I got absolutely everything I hoped for from Murder in the Rue Dumas. The book is so French. There is much discussion of food, wine, alcohol, and such things. Warning: this book will make you hungry. There's a certain snobbishness to it, but I found it fabulous. The book, if anything, was considerably worse. At least the TV adaptation had the sense to move the action from a theology department to medieval history and so saved itself from some of the pitfalls of this dreadfully badly written and incompletely edited tome.

Another tedious repetition was the author showing off her knowledge of Aix, providing detailed steet-by-street, turn-by-turn routes various people walk through the city (sometimes including non-existent street names for no apparent reason). Enough! Murder in the Rue Dumas also happens to be a very academic mystery. The murder victim works in the theology department of the same university where Bonnet teaches law. Most of the large cast of characters work in academia, so there's quite a bit of theological or otherwise very intelligent discussion. In this way, the book reminded me quite a bit of David Lodge's books, which are sort of academic humor and are in fact referenced in this novel.Disaster at the Vendome Theater (A Provençal Mystery Book 10), Penguin USA (Release date: October 4, 2022) Samen met zijn rechterhand Bruno Paulik wordt Antoine Verlaque aangesteld om deze zaak te onderzoeken. Ze ondervragen faculteitsmedewerkers, docenten en studenten, trekken alibi’s na, doorzoeken zijn kantoor en woonruimte en komen erachter dat Moutte een man was die mensen regelmatig tegen elkaar uitspeelde en niet door iedereen aimabel werd gevonden. Daarnaast ontdekken ze dat hij naast zijn werk nog een andere passie had, die een extra onderzoekslijn oplevert. De ondervraagden hebben allemaal hun eigen verhaal, laten niet direct het achterste van hun tong zien en het verdachtenlijstje wordt niet vlot ingekort, er worden eerder mensen aan toegevoegd.

Another egregious plotWhen Dr. Georges Moutte is found mudrered, investigator Antoine Verlaque is stumped. Certainly the director of theology at the Université d’Aix had his enemies. Moutte was just about to name the recipient of an elite fellowship as well as his own successor—a highly coveted position—when his lips were sealed permanently. But Verlaque isn't convinced that anyone in the tiny community of academics is capable of murder. The head of Aix University’s Theology is expected to announce both the winner of the prestigious Dumas fellowship, and, with his retirement, the appointment of his successor—who will acquire his very luxurious apartment. Before any of this occurs, he is found having been murdered in his office. Police commissioner Bruno Paulik, his boss examining magistrate Judge Antoine Verlaque, and the judge’s lover, law professor Marine Bonnet, seek the killer The investigation is headed by Verlaque, a judge who maintains good relations with the men he works with as well as benefiting from the helping hand of his girlfriend, Marine Bonnet, a law professor. The last thing you should do as an actor is to actually eat anything while filming because you’re stuffed a few takes in – and the wine is some sort of diluted prune juice.