The Secrets of the Bastide Blanche (A Provençal Mystery)

“Beguiling . . . Longworth evokes the pleasures of France in delicious detail—great wine, delicious meals, and fine company.” —Publishers Weekly

When a scandalous author moves to the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence, Verlaque and Bonnet are called in to investigate whether he’s haunted by more than just his past, in this delightful new mystery from M. L. Longworth
 
One hot summer night, Aix-en-Provence is aflutter with news that controversial author Valère Barbier, who once shared dinners with French presidents and all-night drinking bouts with rock stars, has moved into La Bastide Blanche, a grand house left empty for decades. But Valère’s ideas of a peaceful retirement are quickly dashed. Rambunctious neighborhood children, a fast-talking gossip of a housekeeper, and a rival novelist filter through the home at all hours of the day—and by night there are unseen visitors with more sinister intentions.

While Antoine Verlaque investigates Valère’s sordid history, his wife and partner, Marine Bonnet, questions why the estate was abandoned in the first place—and what they both find raises more questions than answers. Is Valère imagining the ethereal cries that fill the bastide at night? Is he losing his mind? Or have these ghosts returned from Valère’s checkered past to haunt him?

• The Curse of La Fontaine (A Provençal Mystery)
• The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne (A Provençal Mystery)
• Murder on the Ile Sordou (A Provençal Mystery)
• Death in the Vines (A Provençal Mystery)
• Murder in the Rue Dumas (Verlaque and Bonnet Provencal Mysteries) (A Provençal Mystery)
• Death at the Chateau Bremont (A Provençal Mystery)
• A Taste for Vengeance: A Bruno, Chief of Police novel (Bruno, Chief of Police Series)
• The Fleur de Sel Murders: A Brittany Mystery (Brittany Mystery Series)
• The Body in the Castle Well: A Bruno, Chief of Police novel (Bruno, Chief of Police Series)
• Murder on Brittany Shores: A Mystery (Brittany Mystery Series)