Read Death in the Vines: A Verlaque and Bonnet Provençal Mystery Online
Authors: M. L. Longworth
Death in the Vines: A Verlaque and Bonnet Provençal Mystery
Praise for
Murder in the Rue Dumas
“Fans of European sleuths with a taste for good foodâ¦will have fun.”
âPublishers Weekly
“What really makes Longworth's writing special is her deep knowledge of French history, landscape, cuisine, and even contemporary cafés and restaurants. This is that rare atmospheric mystery that is street-wise and café-canny.”
âBooklist
(starred review)
“Longworth's gentle procedural succeeds on several levels, whether it's for academic and literary allusions, police work, or armchair travel. With deftly shifting points of view, Longworth creates a beguiling read that will appeal to Louise Penny and Donna Leon fans.”
âLibrary Journal
“French-set mysteries have never been more popular [and] among the very best is a series set in Provence featuring Monsieur Verlaque, an examining magistrate, and his sometime girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet.”
âThe Denver Post
Praise for
Death at the Château Bremont
“This first novel in a projected series has charm, wit, and Aix-en-Provence all going for it. Longworth's voice is like a rich vintage of sparkling Dorothy Sayers and grounded Donna Leonâ¦. Longworth has lived in Aix since 1997, and her knowledge of the region is apparent on every page. Bon appétit.”
âBooklist
“A promising debut for Longworth, who shows there's more to France than Paris and more to mystery than Maigret.”
âKirkus Reviews
“Mystery and romance served up with a hearty dose of French cuisine. I relished every word. Longworth does for Aix-en-Provence what Frances Mayes does for Tuscany: you want to be thereâNOW!”
âBarbara Fairchild, former editor in chief,
Bon Appétit
“
Death at the Château Bremont
is replete with romance, mystery, and a rich atmosphere that makes the south of France spring off the page in a manner reminiscent of Donna Leon's Venice. A wonderful start to a series sure to gain a legion of fans.”
âTasha Alexander, author of the Lady Emily mysteries
“Longworth has a good eye and a sharp wit, and this introduction to Verlaque and Bonnet holds promise for a terrific series.”
âThe Globe and Mail
“
Death at the Château Bremont
offers charming French locales, vivid characters and an intriguing whodunit.”
âKevin R. Kosar, author of
Whiskey: A Global History
“Here's hoping the series lasts for years.”
âRT Book Reviews
“Your readers will eat this one up.”
â
Library Journal
A PENGUIN MYSTERY
Death in the Vines
M. L. LONGWORTH
has lived in Aix-en-Provence since 1997. She has written about the region for the
Washington Post,
the
Times
(UK), the
Independent,
and
Bon Appétit
magazine. She is the author of a bilingual collection of essays,
Une Américaine en Provence
, published by Ãditions de La Martinière in 2004. This is her third Verlaque and Bonnet mystery, after 2012's
Murder in the Rue Dumas
. She divides her time between Aix, where she writes, and Paris, where she teaches writing at New York University.
Death in the Vines
A VERLAQUE AND BONNET
PROVENÃAL MYSTERY
â¢
M. L. LONGWORTH
â¢
PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
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First published in Penguin Books 2013
Copyright © Mary Lou Longworth, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint excerpts from “Esse” and “From the Rising of the Sun” from
New and Collected Poems: 1931â2001
by Czeslaw Milosz. Copyright © 1988, 1991, 1995, 2001 by Czeslaw Milosz Royalties, Inc.
Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Longworth, M. L. (Mary Lou), 1963â
Death in the Vines : a Verlaque and Bonnet Provençal mystery / M. L. Longworth.
pages cm
ISBN: 978-1-101-61164-7
1. JudgesâFranceâFiction. 2. Women law teachersâ
Fiction. 3. MurderâInvestigationâFranceâFiction. 4. Aix-en-Provence (France)â
Fiction. 5. Mystery fiction. I. Title.
PR9199.4.L596D46 2013
813'.6âdc23Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2012044302
Designed by Elke Sigal
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental
Dedicated to the memory of
Sandra Lorentz O'Hagan, 1946â2012
and
David Ewing Coates, 1929â2012
Chapter One: The Angels' Share
Chapter Two: A Final Market Day
Chapter Three: A Worried Husband
Chapter Four: Confessions of a Wine Thief
Chapter Five: An Attack in Ãguilles
Chapter Six: An Alsatian Tries to Understand Provence
Chapter Nine: Jules's Little Notebook
Chapter Eleven: A Changed Village
Chapter Twelve: Too Bling for Me
Chapter Thirteen: Philomène Arranges the Flowers
Chapter Fourteen: Les Enfants d'Amour
Chapter Fifteen: Oh Voleur, Oh Voleur!
Chapter Eighteen: Verlaque Suspects a Friend
Chapter Nineteen: Southern Charm
Chapter Twenty: A New Bus Pass
Chapter Twenty-one: La Politesse
Chapter Twenty-two: The Car That Saved a President
Chapter Twenty-three: A Secret in the Garden
Chapter Twenty-four: Honey and Buttered Toast
Chapter Twenty-five: Big Spender
Chapter Twenty-six: Two Glasses of Lagavulin