Murder In The South Of France (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
The title I read was Murder on the Côte d'Azur Maggie Newberry, employed at an advertising agency, went to France to bring back her four-year-old niece, Nicole. Neither she nor her parents knew the girl existed. Maggie’s sister, Elise, a free-thinking artist who didn’t fit in to their ritzy Atlanta area, had left home several years ago to develop her art and style in France. While there, she became involved with a seedy group and was a junkie. Gerard, her sister’s boyfriend, a not very nice person, had kidnapped the girl a few months previously. Maggie’s father received a letter saying that he could get the child if he paid $15,000. Maggie went to France to complete the transaction and, after spending more time there than anticipated, was able to sneak Nicole back to the US with the help of Laurent, a man she met there. She also managed to fall in love with him. Nicole did not look like the Newberry family, but Maggie’s parents welcomed her into their home. She was quite unresponsive. Soon thereafter, Gerard called Maggie and said he wanted money or he would get Nicole back and report how she got into America. She met him in a dark parking lot and, after taking the money, dumped a large parcel out of his car before driving away. The parcel was Elise. Maggie took her sister to her own apartment and decided to get her cleaned up before letting her parents or Nicole know that she was there. Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly. When Maggie got home from work the next day, there were police all over the building. Elise had been killed. After not hearing from him for six months, Laurent showed up at Maggie’s home. He thought the police are not doing enough to solve Elise’s murder. Maggie’s attempts to find the killer took her back to France where she hoped to learn more about both Elise and Nicole. She promised Laurent that she would not try to find Gerard, whom she believed was the murderer. Meanwhile there are complications at work, partly because the owner is thinking of selling the business and moving away and, later, because of another murder. The book has a lot of descriptions of people and locations. There are French words sprinkled in, mostly without translations. The book has several inconsistencies: A partial description of Maggie on page 7 reads, “Almost elfin face, heart-shaped and perfect. Her mouth was small but sensuous and her large green eyes missed very little.” On page 12 it tells us “Her eyes were a pale blue, set in a heart shaped face, lips full, the chin strong and resolute.” It’s a quick read. This book was a free Amazon download. A cute, sweet mystery, but a mystery nonetheless. Maggie's older sister and niece are missing, and she travels to France to recover her niece and return her to the child's grandparents in Atlanta, Georgia. Using two continents provided good contrast between the main characters. I found the development of the main characters somewhat flat, but they were likable enough. It is an easy read, and enjoyable enough that I hope to come across some more from this series.
What do You think about Murder In The South Of France (2011)?
I just couldn't get into the story. I gave up a third of the way through.
—undirectedqueen
Thanks Book Bub for the free book. I want to read her next book!
—raraman47
