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Maggie Newberry Mysteries #1
Murder in the South of France
ASIN B005GY0Y8S moved to this edition.
TOTALLY NEW AND REVISED EDITION! Maggie Newberry is sheltered, privileged but also a whip-smart advertising copywriter who's fast on her feet and a little stunned to realize that she's 34 years old and still hasn't found "the one." When her long-missing sister ends up dead in Maggie's trendy Atlanta condo, Maggie finds herself flying to the south of France to find the little niece that up until then no one in the family even knew existed. Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.
The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.
TOTALLY NEW AND REVISED EDITION! Maggie Newberry is sheltered, privileged but also a whip-smart advertising copywriter who's fast on her feet and a little stunned to realize that she's 34 years old and still hasn't found "the one." When her long-missing sister ends up dead in Maggie's trendy Atlanta condo, Maggie finds herself flying to the south of France to find the little niece that up until then no one in the family even knew existed. Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.
The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews
May 21, 2014
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Reading this novel was a frustrating experience. The plot was very choppy, and there were too many thinly developed characters.
I didn’t connect with the characters at all. Maggie, the protagonist, had no common sense. Her actions and reactions baffled me.
I didn’t find the events believable. The characters nonchalantly make terrible decisions.
Maggie's budding romance with Laurent isn’t interesting or believable either. It ends up detracting from the mystery.
I think if an author is going to have a murder mystery and a romance intertwined in a novel, it has to be done in a certain way. It just didn’t work for me here.
Reading this novel was a frustrating experience. The plot was very choppy, and there were too many thinly developed characters.
I didn’t connect with the characters at all. Maggie, the protagonist, had no common sense. Her actions and reactions baffled me.
I didn’t find the events believable. The characters nonchalantly make terrible decisions.
Maggie's budding romance with Laurent isn’t interesting or believable either. It ends up detracting from the mystery.
I think if an author is going to have a murder mystery and a romance intertwined in a novel, it has to be done in a certain way. It just didn’t work for me here.
October 3, 2013
1 Star
I didn’t like it. It was too inconsistent and conceited, the characters were unlikeable, and anything involving France felt fake and forced. The title should me “Murder in Atlanta” as that is where the book is actually set, but I suppose “Murder in the South of France” has a better ring to it…
Also when I read this line “Oh, I miss you so much, Laurent. I’m so used to processing everything through you, it’s hard to have an independent thought”
Yeah… need I say more?
October 7, 2013
Errors, Errors Everywhere in Two Languages
Language Errors:
1.She consistently has Laurent mixing the two languages in a fashion that sounds more like an American who knows a little French than like a Frenchman who knows a little English. He says complex things in English and then throws in some French words that he would certainly know in English if he had just spoken the rest of the sentence in English.
2.No one should scatter French phrases through a book without a much better knowledge of French. Here's just one example: on Page 118 (Location 1947), she has Laurent say, "Je compris." It should be, "Je comprends." That's an error that no Frenchman could possibly make, and even an American with 2 years of high school French shouldn't make. It's an error that would leave a Frenchman rolling in the aisles over American stupidity!
3.On Page 196, Location 3268, she has Laurent refer to Maggie as an American male rather than an American female, “You think you can go on and being the single girl, n’est-ce pas? Ach! You are so américain...” It should be, “. . . americaine.”
4.On Page 297, there are a number of French language errors that can perhaps be excused since they are spoken by Maggie who admittedly does not know French well. “Je me regret” is neither grammatically correct nor an accepted way of saying, “I’m sorry.” “Je regrette” or “Je regrette d’avoir fait quelque chose,” or “Je suis desolé,” all work. Who knows what “Je m’excuse” means? She could have said, “Je m’excuse d’etre en retard,” or “Veuillez m’excuser d’etre en retard,” or “Je vous prie de m’excuser d’etre en retard.”
Plot Errors:
1.Who would even consider accepting a child as a niece she had never seen from people she didn’t know and then taking her illegally out of the country with faked papers?
2.Who thinks they can diagnose a child with autism after knowing her only a few days in a country where she’s never been and doesn’t speak the language? To be able to diagnose Nichole as having autism after knowing her for only a few days is truly miraculous. She should quit writing mystery books and share this astounding ability with doctors and specialists in special needs.
3.On Page 263, Michele Zouk ordered a Cabernet Sauvignon. Such an order by a French person would be highly unlikely. She may have ordered a Bordeaux from a particular wine area in Bordeaux, such as a Haut-Médoc, that was made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, but she would not have ordered it that way as we do in the United States. It is even more likely that she would have named a particular vineyard in the Haut-Médoc region such as a Château La Tour Carnet.
Format Errors: Left and right justified text changes abruptly to centered text and then back again on Page 252 indicating a really sloppy proofreading job.
Language Errors:
1.She consistently has Laurent mixing the two languages in a fashion that sounds more like an American who knows a little French than like a Frenchman who knows a little English. He says complex things in English and then throws in some French words that he would certainly know in English if he had just spoken the rest of the sentence in English.
2.No one should scatter French phrases through a book without a much better knowledge of French. Here's just one example: on Page 118 (Location 1947), she has Laurent say, "Je compris." It should be, "Je comprends." That's an error that no Frenchman could possibly make, and even an American with 2 years of high school French shouldn't make. It's an error that would leave a Frenchman rolling in the aisles over American stupidity!
3.On Page 196, Location 3268, she has Laurent refer to Maggie as an American male rather than an American female, “You think you can go on and being the single girl, n’est-ce pas? Ach! You are so américain...” It should be, “. . . americaine.”
4.On Page 297, there are a number of French language errors that can perhaps be excused since they are spoken by Maggie who admittedly does not know French well. “Je me regret” is neither grammatically correct nor an accepted way of saying, “I’m sorry.” “Je regrette” or “Je regrette d’avoir fait quelque chose,” or “Je suis desolé,” all work. Who knows what “Je m’excuse” means? She could have said, “Je m’excuse d’etre en retard,” or “Veuillez m’excuser d’etre en retard,” or “Je vous prie de m’excuser d’etre en retard.”
Plot Errors:
1.Who would even consider accepting a child as a niece she had never seen from people she didn’t know and then taking her illegally out of the country with faked papers?
2.Who thinks they can diagnose a child with autism after knowing her only a few days in a country where she’s never been and doesn’t speak the language? To be able to diagnose Nichole as having autism after knowing her for only a few days is truly miraculous. She should quit writing mystery books and share this astounding ability with doctors and specialists in special needs.
3.On Page 263, Michele Zouk ordered a Cabernet Sauvignon. Such an order by a French person would be highly unlikely. She may have ordered a Bordeaux from a particular wine area in Bordeaux, such as a Haut-Médoc, that was made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, but she would not have ordered it that way as we do in the United States. It is even more likely that she would have named a particular vineyard in the Haut-Médoc region such as a Château La Tour Carnet.
Format Errors: Left and right justified text changes abruptly to centered text and then back again on Page 252 indicating a really sloppy proofreading job.
December 28, 2015
This book was so full of errors that, after wading through the first 30% or so on my Kindle, I threw in the towel. Oh I skimmed through the rest of it, focusing on the last few chapters- I hate not finishing a book- but this one is ridiculous. Believe me, there's a very good reason this one's a freebie.
The first glaring mistake I caught was the main character calling her parents "at 8:30 pm in Atlanta, GA, USA"- and the sun hadn't even set yet in France. I grew up in the Midwest (same time zone as GA); I live in Europe. At 8:30 pm in GA it's 2:30 AM in France. The next massive one- first the bribe/ransom/whatever is 30,000 euros; then it's 30,000 dollars. And on and on and on.
And as so many others have mentioned- the entire plot line is so bizarre, so stupid- I'm not sure I've ever read a story where the 'good guys' were so completely utterly foolish. How Maggie's father managed to get (supposedly) rich when he coughs up big bucks in extortion and ransom every other week is beyond me. And how Maggie managed to survive into adulthood is also astounding.
Another thing that really irritated me: The big fuss Maggie made (maybe in her own thoughts, maybe to someone- don't remember) about a baby being born out of wedlock but then her complete willingness to get involved with that utter creep Laurent, have a 'one night stand' (albeit in the afternoon) with him, let him move in with her; and then TAKE HIM BACK after she knows he's a liar, a crook- who knows what all. And she thinks a baby born out of wedlock raises 'holier than thou eyebrows' while her stupid behavior doesn't??
And the child was 3 at one point, then 5; they knew about her for about 3 days; they knew about her for a year (or a month or 3 years- does it matter? Time continuity meant nothing to the author, that much is clear). You know the stories they tell about JK Rowling making spreadsheets to plot out her books? Yeah- she did that because if you want to keep things straight, write a story where 'facts' line up, you have to make an effort. There's a reason JKR got rich off of her books; she cares and she's good.
When I was in middle school, I used to make up long, detailed stories; some of them I wrote down, many were just in my head. This story is about as logical as those were.
Did any editor ever see this book?
The first glaring mistake I caught was the main character calling her parents "at 8:30 pm in Atlanta, GA, USA"- and the sun hadn't even set yet in France. I grew up in the Midwest (same time zone as GA); I live in Europe. At 8:30 pm in GA it's 2:30 AM in France. The next massive one- first the bribe/ransom/whatever is 30,000 euros; then it's 30,000 dollars. And on and on and on.
And as so many others have mentioned- the entire plot line is so bizarre, so stupid- I'm not sure I've ever read a story where the 'good guys' were so completely utterly foolish. How Maggie's father managed to get (supposedly) rich when he coughs up big bucks in extortion and ransom every other week is beyond me. And how Maggie managed to survive into adulthood is also astounding.
Another thing that really irritated me: The big fuss Maggie made (maybe in her own thoughts, maybe to someone- don't remember) about a baby being born out of wedlock but then her complete willingness to get involved with that utter creep Laurent, have a 'one night stand' (albeit in the afternoon) with him, let him move in with her; and then TAKE HIM BACK after she knows he's a liar, a crook- who knows what all. And she thinks a baby born out of wedlock raises 'holier than thou eyebrows' while her stupid behavior doesn't??
And the child was 3 at one point, then 5; they knew about her for about 3 days; they knew about her for a year (or a month or 3 years- does it matter? Time continuity meant nothing to the author, that much is clear). You know the stories they tell about JK Rowling making spreadsheets to plot out her books? Yeah- she did that because if you want to keep things straight, write a story where 'facts' line up, you have to make an effort. There's a reason JKR got rich off of her books; she cares and she's good.
When I was in middle school, I used to make up long, detailed stories; some of them I wrote down, many were just in my head. This story is about as logical as those were.
Did any editor ever see this book?
December 27, 2012
When I started this book, I was wondering why I had even downloaded it. I kept at it and it turned out to be a pretty good murder mystery. In fact, there's a nice little twist at the end. I can usually figure out "who done it" but this one kept me guessing. The story is about a woman (Maggie)who wants to find the person who murdered her sister. The police aren't much help so she does a lot of searching on her own. There's a side story about the owner of the agency she works at who is so over the crime in the city that he decides to sell the company and move to New Zealand. Maggie also has a relationship with one of the men involved in helping her track down her sister's daughter. Slow start, but worth reading.
December 21, 2016
I am a sucker for books set in France - especially in the Provence/Cote d'Azur region, as this book was supposed to be. The writer showed not an iota of knowledge or understanding of the real France, the French people themselves, the French language or anything at all to do with France and its culture. There is no excuse for a book that has French people speaking inaccurate and abysmal French - why on earth didn't the writer get her stuff checked out? The French are proud of their language and their education system ensures that most people speak and write grammatically. The plot was unbelievable and the characters were uninteresting and/or unpleasant. The prose was so trite, clunky and amateurish as to be utterly embarrassing. Sorry but this is absolute drivel. I managed to make myself read about 25% and then skim read another 25% (which included the ending) and then give up. This is an example of an American writer attempting to use a European setting to pull in the reader - but being totally unable to convey the character or personality of the people, the life or the location there. What an insult to the French. The fact that the plot then took everyone off to back to the USA was a real cheat in my eyes. This was beyond boring and would not even be fun as a beach read. Such a disappointment! I will not be reading anymore.
March 26, 2013
I think the title of this was a misnomer. The book started off with the main character searching for her missing sister's kidnapped child in France. She succeeded in getting the child back and then the action moved back to Atlanta...which is where all the murders take place. There aren't any murders in the Cote d'Azur, so why the author felt the need to call it completely escapes me.
I also got irritated with the main character, as she didn't seem to have any focus at all. Things seemed to drift, as time passed almost from one sentence to the other, but there didn't seem to be any structure to it.
She ended up back in Paris, where she found out some more information about her sister, and suddenly had a blinding flash of inspiration as to the murderer, and also heard something she didn't like about her lover, but this didn't seem to be addressed at all, other than she knew he'd lied and she would deal with it.
I was not impressed by this at all.
I also got irritated with the main character, as she didn't seem to have any focus at all. Things seemed to drift, as time passed almost from one sentence to the other, but there didn't seem to be any structure to it.
She ended up back in Paris, where she found out some more information about her sister, and suddenly had a blinding flash of inspiration as to the murderer, and also heard something she didn't like about her lover, but this didn't seem to be addressed at all, other than she knew he'd lied and she would deal with it.
I was not impressed by this at all.
December 7, 2013
DNF
Congratulations, Murder in Atlanta - oh sorry! "South of France", you had me fooled by the title for a minute *rolls eyes* - is my first DNF. I just can't continue reading it.
I did have one entertaining moment: This quote.
"Eight hours later, Maggie scanned the crowd at Hartsfield International Airport for her parents. Big John and diminutive, auburn-haired Elspeth, the Southern beauty queen, the Newberry matriarch"
Now, me being me, the first thing I though of is Honey Boo Boo... I got this image stuck in my head:
I honestly don't think that was what the author intended.
Congratulations, Murder in Atlanta - oh sorry! "South of France", you had me fooled by the title for a minute *rolls eyes* - is my first DNF. I just can't continue reading it.
I did have one entertaining moment: This quote.
"Eight hours later, Maggie scanned the crowd at Hartsfield International Airport for her parents. Big John and diminutive, auburn-haired Elspeth, the Southern beauty queen, the Newberry matriarch"
Now, me being me, the first thing I though of is Honey Boo Boo... I got this image stuck in my head:
I honestly don't think that was what the author intended.
September 19, 2012
It isn't that there is anything obviously wrong with this book (other than the usual need for better copy editing), but it definitely didn't work for me. Too much head hopping for one thing. Very slow at times. Small things that felt out of character. The ending didn't settle well either, although I am challenged to explain why. Also I think the cops were presented as rather too incompetent to be believable. Finally, I found the title totally inappropriate for the contents.
December 24, 2022
I really enjoyed this book! It took me a little longer to read because of other things going on, not because I wasn’t enjoying it.
August 2, 2016
The basic plot of the story has some merit, but it was not developped satisfactorily. I didn't much like the main character's personnality. The French language is very, very badly written. I'm not referring to Maggie's dialogue, as one whose mother tongue is English. I'm referring to French people saying awful French sentences (my mother tongue is French). On top of that, the book is filled with clichés about French culture and people. This made me grit my teeth through the whole book, but I kept reading, giving a chance to the writer to redeem herself with a strong ending. Unfortunately, she did not.
April 2, 2013
I don't understand the title of the book at all. The murder didn't even take place in France and it took 1/4 of the book to even get to a murder. The rest of the story meandered along until the last 20 pages where the murderer was revealed and everyone lived happily ever after. I wasn't a fan of this one. I'm glad it was free but I wish I hadn't spent the time to read it.
March 11, 2015
I'm not sure I like how the author ended the relationship between Maggie and Laurent but that could be because it carries over to the next book in the series. The niece that was found had issues and then all of a sudden at the end she was a happy little girl, this was never addressed on how that came to be. Again this is the first book in the series so maybe some of these loose ends will be explained later. Also unless you know French you will sometimes want to use something like Google translate. (less)
November 9, 2019
This lacks research. Badly.
March 13, 2020
Strange romance with a good mystery attached. Main character is an over-protected, born rich, near-spinster. Narration often overlooks typos, so unlike some reviewers, I enjoyed the plot because audiobooks lack the irritation caused by bad editing. That may have saved its ratings a bit but there’s a good plot without gore but there’s overly-described sex scenes (disappointing) and light profanity. Some LGBA references.
November 20, 2014
I read this book because the title sounded like exotic escapism to me but the characters were flat and seemed to be either stereotypes of stock French characters or shallow, self-absorbed Americans--particularly the main character, a spoiled very rich woman from Atlanta who seems to think because she has Daddy's credit card she can bypass rules that affect others. We are supposed to like her? Please.
I kept reading to see if the book would have some redeeming qualities, perhaps offer some insights into suffering caused by heroin use (her sister was an addict) or maybe some realistic descriptions of life in the south of France. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but hitting the readers over the head with clues as to who the male villain is proves predictably ineffective here and anyone trying to write a mystery series should already know that. Once a serial killer is revealed and the character has opportunity to share perspective, all we get is what is intended to be horrific but reads like parody--one thing this character has in common with the heroine is their shallowness. Also troubling, the final love message seems to be "if he has a nice enough body, ladies, don't worry about his ethics, insincerity, or past crimes against your family."
As I read along and grew increasingly irritated by the narcissism of the main character, I vaguely felt like we had met before. Only at the end of the book--I forced myself to complete it--did I realize I had read the second book in this series a year ago! What a dolt I am--I should heed my own reviews and recognize the author if not the series. At least in that second book the descriptions of the French setting had improved--but I went back and checked, and in my response to that book I also found the personality of the heroine unattractive, her persona shallow, ethnocentric, and selfish.
I won't be reading more books in this series.
I kept reading to see if the book would have some redeeming qualities, perhaps offer some insights into suffering caused by heroin use (her sister was an addict) or maybe some realistic descriptions of life in the south of France. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but hitting the readers over the head with clues as to who the male villain is proves predictably ineffective here and anyone trying to write a mystery series should already know that. Once a serial killer is revealed and the character has opportunity to share perspective, all we get is what is intended to be horrific but reads like parody--one thing this character has in common with the heroine is their shallowness. Also troubling, the final love message seems to be "if he has a nice enough body, ladies, don't worry about his ethics, insincerity, or past crimes against your family."
As I read along and grew increasingly irritated by the narcissism of the main character, I vaguely felt like we had met before. Only at the end of the book--I forced myself to complete it--did I realize I had read the second book in this series a year ago! What a dolt I am--I should heed my own reviews and recognize the author if not the series. At least in that second book the descriptions of the French setting had improved--but I went back and checked, and in my response to that book I also found the personality of the heroine unattractive, her persona shallow, ethnocentric, and selfish.
I won't be reading more books in this series.
October 24, 2017
I read book 7 first ("Murder in the Latin Quarter" got it free) and liked it a lot--great mystery and characters and I liked the writing style. I decided to read it from the beginning (this one). It was interesting to see the start of the relationship when I knew (in book 7) what it led too. Maggie is very likable and Laurent is growing on me. I will definitely continue with the series.
This is a very "readable" series with great story lines and locales in France. I do wish, however, she would get an editor who speaks French. I speak it and have noticed quite a few grammatical/wrong word errors. Doesn't detract from the story for me, but if she is using French phrases/sentences, they should be used/spelled accurately. Examples: she used "s'il tu plait" when it should have been "s'il TE plait"; she used "roue" (which means a rogue or a low life) instead of ROUX, which she was going for (a kind of butter sauce used in French cooking) and these were just two, and on the SAME page!!! There are quite a few in the two books I read. Most people would probably not notice, but if you set your stories in France, it attracts people who may speak French or have lived in France and these errors would be glaring, besides the fact that, of course, they are unprofessional.
This is a very "readable" series with great story lines and locales in France. I do wish, however, she would get an editor who speaks French. I speak it and have noticed quite a few grammatical/wrong word errors. Doesn't detract from the story for me, but if she is using French phrases/sentences, they should be used/spelled accurately. Examples: she used "s'il tu plait" when it should have been "s'il TE plait"; she used "roue" (which means a rogue or a low life) instead of ROUX, which she was going for (a kind of butter sauce used in French cooking) and these were just two, and on the SAME page!!! There are quite a few in the two books I read. Most people would probably not notice, but if you set your stories in France, it attracts people who may speak French or have lived in France and these errors would be glaring, besides the fact that, of course, they are unprofessional.
November 9, 2019
Great beginning to a new (to me) series. This story sets up the characters, plot lines, and settings that I imagine will be flushed out during the many following novels. Excellent descriptions of France and the wonderful cuisine. I look forward to continuing my adventure in France with Maggie Newberry!
February 3, 2013
Boring!! This author will not be read again. She skips around too much and the story simply did not hold my interest. I really struggled to read it and finally just skipped to the end to see who the killer was. Glad it was a freebie.
Shelved as 'dnf'
November 16, 2019Couldn't get into this. Opens with a woman travelling to France to collect her sister's body and find her niece, but so far has involved her contact negging her and pushing her to dress up a little more.
July 8, 2022
I read the first three Stranded in Provence books by this author and enjoyed them. They were light and fun and held my interest especially since I had lived in the south of France for several years. So I was expecting this book to be written in the same manner. WRONG! Ridiculous story line, no fun at all, and just plain unenjoyable. Don't waste your time with this one.
May 24, 2021
A quick read
Not bad. A very quick read. Could use more location narrative and more character build. I was disappointed it ended so soon.
Not bad. A very quick read. Could use more location narrative and more character build. I was disappointed it ended so soon.
January 26, 2015
I forced myself to finish this just to satisfy my curiosity, but I shouldn't have wasted my time. No sense in repeating what I didn't like because I agree with the other negative reviews. Frustrating to read, slow-moving, etc. I don't usually do this, but this book was so unlikeable that I sought it out online to read the reviews, wondering what others thought. Apparently the consensus matches my opinion.
September 13, 2022
2.5 Stars
There are some books I have enjoyed on print and others on audio. I think I would have enjoyed this one better in print.
The love story in the background is a bit ridiculous...from "one night stand with a con man to I'm now a changed man cause I love you"...meh. Both characters have no compulsions with deceptions and lies....which makes make not all that likable.
Being French, I love the idea of this book taking place in France. It is narrated by the author and, while she has a nice voice, I found her monotone. A better narrator would have made this book come alive.
I also found the mispronunciation of some words distracting. For instance, the word "Tabac" which is used quite often has a silent c...the narrator pronounced it as a hard c...took me a while to figure out what she meant. I also understand that most non speaker will never know....so not a biggy. There are also grammatical errors and that bothers me....it is either ma petite or mon petit, but never mon petite as in the book. Mixing feminine and masculine is a pet peeve. I know it is a bit wonky for Americans this feminine/masculine thing but as an author, especially if a non speaker, have it checked.
The sound editing in quite a few places is not well done, you can hear the author rereading portions.
Sex: Mild. There is some but nothing descriptive
Violence: Mild. It is a murder mystery so there are death but nothing gory or overly violent
Language: No f-bombs but more languages than I personally would like.
I plan to continue this series to see where it leads mainly because it is in France :)
There are some books I have enjoyed on print and others on audio. I think I would have enjoyed this one better in print.
The love story in the background is a bit ridiculous...from "one night stand with a con man to I'm now a changed man cause I love you"...meh. Both characters have no compulsions with deceptions and lies....which makes make not all that likable.
Being French, I love the idea of this book taking place in France. It is narrated by the author and, while she has a nice voice, I found her monotone. A better narrator would have made this book come alive.
I also found the mispronunciation of some words distracting. For instance, the word "Tabac" which is used quite often has a silent c...the narrator pronounced it as a hard c...took me a while to figure out what she meant. I also understand that most non speaker will never know....so not a biggy. There are also grammatical errors and that bothers me....it is either ma petite or mon petit, but never mon petite as in the book. Mixing feminine and masculine is a pet peeve. I know it is a bit wonky for Americans this feminine/masculine thing but as an author, especially if a non speaker, have it checked.
The sound editing in quite a few places is not well done, you can hear the author rereading portions.
Sex: Mild. There is some but nothing descriptive
Violence: Mild. It is a murder mystery so there are death but nothing gory or overly violent
Language: No f-bombs but more languages than I personally would like.
I plan to continue this series to see where it leads mainly because it is in France :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2021
Murder in the South of France was written by Susan Kiernan-Lewis. This is an action-packed thriller with the sister of a murder victim becoming an amateur sleuth, she has a passionate desire to find the killer and bring them to justice.
There are many interesting characters in this story, we see Maggie, who is the sister who travels to France to bring back her sisters body to Atlanta, a niece that she never knew she had, a cruel and vicious boyfriend of her dead sister, a French man who at first glance appears to be helping Maggie on her journey of discovery, some prostitutes and a couple of French Detectives who are not terribly motivated to investigate the murder to find the killer or killers.
Susan has well developed the scene of what it might be like in France, I found I could smell the coffee, feel the crowds walking along the crowded streets, hear the loud hustle and bustle of the busy café’s and I had a glimpse into what it might be like living in a popular tourist destination. Susan brought the characters and France to life for me.
This is a genre that I enjoy read, murder mysteries. This one was a little slower than I like, but Maggie’s character was well thought out, passionate and thoughtful. She becomes more self-aware as the story progresses, she is confident, even in a country she knows little about. There is a use of the French language throughout this book, it was not used in large amounts, just enough to remind me that this story was playing out in France.
I did enjoy reading Murder in the South of France, I read it over 2 days in 2 sittings, it was an easy book to read. There were a few grammatical errors that I picked up early in the book, but as I got involved in the story, I was unaware if there were more, she told a story, and I became immersed. There were a couple of twists that I did not see coming, which is always a great thing, nothing worse than being able to tell who dunnit before the final pages of the book. The book leaves space for the next book to pick up. I am hoping Susan can continue to grow her characters as I can see huge potential and room for growth.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read murder/mystery stories.
I received a copy of Murder in the South of France as a gift from the author Susan Kiernan-Lewis
There are many interesting characters in this story, we see Maggie, who is the sister who travels to France to bring back her sisters body to Atlanta, a niece that she never knew she had, a cruel and vicious boyfriend of her dead sister, a French man who at first glance appears to be helping Maggie on her journey of discovery, some prostitutes and a couple of French Detectives who are not terribly motivated to investigate the murder to find the killer or killers.
Susan has well developed the scene of what it might be like in France, I found I could smell the coffee, feel the crowds walking along the crowded streets, hear the loud hustle and bustle of the busy café’s and I had a glimpse into what it might be like living in a popular tourist destination. Susan brought the characters and France to life for me.
This is a genre that I enjoy read, murder mysteries. This one was a little slower than I like, but Maggie’s character was well thought out, passionate and thoughtful. She becomes more self-aware as the story progresses, she is confident, even in a country she knows little about. There is a use of the French language throughout this book, it was not used in large amounts, just enough to remind me that this story was playing out in France.
I did enjoy reading Murder in the South of France, I read it over 2 days in 2 sittings, it was an easy book to read. There were a few grammatical errors that I picked up early in the book, but as I got involved in the story, I was unaware if there were more, she told a story, and I became immersed. There were a couple of twists that I did not see coming, which is always a great thing, nothing worse than being able to tell who dunnit before the final pages of the book. The book leaves space for the next book to pick up. I am hoping Susan can continue to grow her characters as I can see huge potential and room for growth.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read murder/mystery stories.
I received a copy of Murder in the South of France as a gift from the author Susan Kiernan-Lewis
October 13, 2020
This is first in a series, set in both France and Atlanta. I wasn't crazy about some of the characters, but I did enjoy it enough to download the next in the series. I have seen some criticisms of the use of French in the dialog (the native French character seems to speak better English than French) which I suspect is valid, but it does add to the atmosphere. I didn't really get the ending relationship of the main character and her French suitor who turned to be hiding a pretty big secret, but I will read the next one to see if it makes more sense there.
June 2, 2020
I read this book because it was set in France. Interesting twist in the murder mystery. The main character Maggie needs a little more depth. Maybe she’ll get deeper in the sequels. It was a quick read.
July 7, 2017
Really enjoyed this easy to read, fun mystery.
Want to read
October 7, 2019TheFussyLibrarian
August 17, 2023
Liked the story of a woman trying to find out how her sister died in France. Many unexpected, twists, and almost like a sightseeing tour as well. Interesting characters and intricate plot.
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