Happy Birthday USA! As of the writing of this newsletter we are still in contention for the World Cup. and we had a little rain last week. So much goodness to celebrate. McIntyre's and all the shops in the Fearrington Village Center will be open Saturday, July 4th. And, while we're talking red, white and blue, let's take a trip to our sister country France (it's almost Bastille Day, too, after all).
Last summer in preparation for Martin Walker's visit, I decided I should read his first novel, Bruno, Chief of Police. It was the beginning of a binge in which I consumed all 19 of his novels. I, like others, so enjoy the armchair travel escapism: the food and history of the Perigord region. Martin tucks into his books, along with Bruno's deep and abiding friendships, a love for the terroir, animals, wine… the list goes on! And as is the case in most mysteries, unlike real life, order is restored after evil doing. So, recently something sad and chaotic happened and I wanted to lay in bed with another tale of Bruno's exploits to soothe myself, but, alas!, I had read them all. What's a girl to do?
Luckily, I was able to cast a wider net, and now I have some more great books to recommend for Francophiles, mystery lovers, and vicarious armchair travelers…
First off, I need to thank our customer who recommended the novels of Jean-Luc Bannalec. I am so loving this series. You can start with either of the first two (Death in Brittany and Murder on Brittany Shores). What I did not know going into these books was the level of influence the Celts had over this region. Brittany is the star of the show here, but the writing and plotting are tight and the characters well drawn. Le Commissaire Dupin is a coffee swilling semi-neurotic who is a stranger to the region, having moved from Paris five years earlier. His coworkers are committed to making him more of a Breton. My sister has started making a list of the actual towns listed in these books for a future travel itinerary. Would I sound like a TikToker if I said I am obsessed?!?
Another recent discovery is the novels of M.L. Longworth, which take place in Aix-en-Provence and feature the adventures of on-again, off-again couple Judge Antoine Verlaque and his girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet. I was a goner when I read this blurb on the jacket cover.“Longworth’s voice is like a rich vintage of sparkling Dorothy Sayers and grounded Donna Leon.” --Booklist (starred review). I have wandered into book three and will just keep going as I am enjoying them so much. Start with the first one, Murder at the Chateau Bremont.
Other French mysteries I enjoy or have my eye on:
I pulled the first Maigret by Georges Simenon,Pietre the Latvian,because you cannot start to excavate these French mysteries without going back to the beginning. It would be like vacuuming up British countryside mysteries and avoiding Agatha Christie.
Frequent McIntyre's visitor Cara Black's series is about Aimée Leduc, who is a chic, no-nonsense computer hacker turned Parisian private investigator extraordinaire who hunts down murderers. The conceit is that each novel takes place in a different arrondissement or neighborhood in Paris. The first in this series is Murder in the Marais(we are waiting on reprints from the publisher).
Colleen Cambridgehas a fun series based in a WWII Paris that features a young French-American living in an apartment with her grandfather and across the hall from Julia and Paul Child. I read the first in the series, Mastering the Art of French Murder, and found it to be a good, entertaining read without a lot of gore.
And last on my list (but never least), Maurice Leblanc's Arsene Lupin. We have copies of LeBlanc's The Best of Lupin. Lupin is a gentleman and a thief, a planner of elaborate heists, and a world famous master of disguise with a mischievous sense of humor. Martin Walker says," Arsene Lupin is one of the immortal figures of French crime fiction."
These and many more titles are on the shelves at McIntyre's. Please feel free to share your recs with us as well because that is how I found out about Mr. Bannalec. Now I'm ready to dive into food-rich and mafia-light Italian mysteries. If you know of any, let me know! Donna Leon, Andrea Camilleri, Michael Dibdin, and Camilla Trinchieriare on my starter list.
