Murder in the Rue Dumas

Originally posted on A Reader of Fictions.

Despite mysteries not being my favorite genre, I read this one right on the heels of the prequel to Luther. The two could not be any more different, but both turned out to be entirely delightful vacation reads, this one especially so. In a rare occurrence, I read this book without first reading the first book in the series. While I would have preferred to read them in order, I will say that my enjoyment of the book was in no way hampered by my lack of knowledge of the first book.

I accepted the review request for this becase of the setting. I have been lucky enough in my quarter century of life to do some traveling abroad, and one of the places I have been to is Aix in Provence. Of course, I only show more spent a couple of days there and I certainly don't have enough memories of the place to be able to recall anything specific enough to aid in my knowledge of the book, but I still liked being able to immerse myself in smaller town French culture.

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.

Longworth's mystery hearkens back to Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, following more of a classic tradition in both plot arc and hero. Modern detectives seem always to come hard-boiled and violent, getting involved in a very hands-on manner in cases. Antoine Verlaque cares about solving the case of course, but he does not entirely relinquish the finer things in life to do so, nor does he have any intention of being involved in some final, dramatic confrontation with the killer. He is clever and closed off and a little bit sassy.

Bonnet, actually, is not a detective at all. She's Verlaque's girlfriend, who, I presume, he hooked up with in the first book. Their relationship is in that awkward phase where neither is quite sure how serious it is. Bonnet does help some with the case, but is, largely, on the periphery. I do like her, and I like that she isn't his partner, as that changes up typical dynamics a bit. I was not super attached to the characters, but I was entertained by them, which was enough for me.

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.

This mystery will be a breath of fresh burgundy for those who miss the old days and the classic detectives. Everything happens at a slower pace and involves much less vigilante justice and a lot more thinking. I would recommend drinking a nice bottle of French wine as you read. show less

This is my first in the series and I found it absolutely delightful. Longworth strikes the right balance between plot and character development. The main characters of Marine, Antoine and Bruno are engaging with their faults and strength - and don't have excessively bizarre foibles as is often the case in murder mystery series. I thoroughly enjoyed the Provençal backdrop, the hints to wine and the art history theme. A light, fun read, it is perfect entertainment for the weekend. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.

I loved this book as much as the first in the series. I did listen to it on audio, but that did not diminish my enjoyment. Verlaque and Bonnet are at their best here. They are exploring and feeling out their own relationship, while at the site time, trying to solve the mystery of the murder of Director of Theology in the Aix-en-Province University. There are a lot of people with motives in this crime, so Judge Verlaque has to sift through it all to come up with the right perpetrator. I love the way Verlaque and his talented team work their way through an investigation. I love the Verlaque and Bonnet relationship and I love the setting in Provence France. The scrumptious food and fine wine certainly help, but the settings in this book in show more Provence and in Italy where Verlaque and Bonnet go to investigate different threads from th mystery is darn well comfort overload. This is a great series with great mysteries, lovely settings, and great characters Highly recommend. show less

This second book in the Verlaque and Bonnet series contains many of the elements that made the first book enjoyable: delicious descriptions of food, an ensemble cast, and an easy pace that keeps the pages turning. It also contains more than the usual amounts of exclamation marks in dialogue! This is less enjoyable for me because it seems a bit forced sometimes! So the lesson is probably to pace myself with these books and save them for when I need a fun pick-me-up.

The second in a (so far) 6 book series, this one started off much more slowly for me, as the author takes the time to set the murder scene, introduce the suspects, and hint at motivations before we ever hear from our two MCs. I recognise the value of this, but I mostly find it tedious.

Once the body drops, the pace starts to pick up, albeit slowly, and Bonnet makes very few appearances until the last half of the book. From this point on, I once again fell into Aix-en-Provence - and Umbria Italy! - and lost myself in the mystery, the setting and the characters.

The mystery plotting was very good, although I think Longworth could be accused of over-complicating it. But I totally didn't see that ending coming and when it came it was tense.
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Murder in the Rue Dumas wasn't quite as good as the first one, but it was still better than most cozies available now - it's got a much more 'traditional mystery' feel and I can't wait for book three to arrive in the post.

This was my Free Friday Read #5 and was 296 pages long. show less

I'm not a mystery genre reader, and this book is not going to make me one. I read it because it got good reviews, the French location appealed to me, and the placing of the action in a university theology department led to me to think this might be a pretty intelligent book.

Well, it's not. The prose is mediocre and the mystery is nothing very clever. Actually, the mystery seemed almost a sideshow, as if the author's real interests are describing the food and wine of the region. Honestly, who can blame her, though. And so it's not surprising I think that the one thing I'm going to remember and take away from this novel is the intention to acquire a canele mold and try to whip up a batch. Sounds delicious.

Several friends recommended the Verlaque and Bonnet series by M L Longworth set in current day France. The author utilizes the wine, food, and art of France and Italy to embellish the story. The food sounds delicious, but the discussion of church and wine tends to fall flat and just add more pages to the novel. The characters live and breath as tainted individuals with real problems. I especially enjoyed the manner the author tied up the loose ends at the end of the book. Not one of my favorite stories, but I will try one more of this series.