Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec

Death in Brittany
by Jean-Luc Bannalec
narrated by Jean Brassard

Find out more about this book and author:
Goodreads

Published: 2015
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery, France
Hardback: 320
Rating: 3

Brittany Mystery series:
Death in Brittany
Murder on Brittany Shores
The Fleur de Sel Murders
The Missing Corpse
The Killing Tide
books 6-8 not yet translated

First sentence(s):
The seventh of July was a magnificent summer's day, one of those majestic Atlantic days that always lifted Commissaire Dupin's spirits.

Commissaire Georges Dupin, a Parisian-born caffeine junkie recently relocated from the glamour of Paris to the remote (if picturesque) Breton coast, is not happy when he is dragged from his morning croissant and coffee to the scene of a curious murder. The local village of Pont-Aven-a sleepy community by the sea where everyone knows one other and nothing much seems to happen-is in shock. The legendary ninety-one-year-old hotelier Pierre-Louis Pennec, owner of the Central Hotel, has been found dead.

A picture-perfect seaside village which played host to Gaugin in the 19th century, Pont-Aven is at the height of its tourist season and is immediately thrown into uproar. Dupin and his team identify five principal suspects, including a rising political star, a longtime friend of the victim, and a wealthy art historian. An obstinate detective whose unconventional methods include good food, good wine, and taking in plenty of sea air, Dupin finds his case further complicated when ongoing incidents compound the mystery. As Dupin delves further into the lives of the victim and the suspects, he uncovers a web of secrecy and silence that belies the village's quaint image. A delectable read, Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec transports readers to the French coast where you can practically smell the sea air and taste the perfectly cooked steak frites in an expertly crafted, page-turning mystery.

My two-bits:

While I liked the setting and it was presented well, I could not get into the story or the characters.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

* part of Books, Inc. Foreign Intrigue Book Club (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 6.22.19

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Welcoming home my college graduate :-)

2. Listening to live accordion tunes at North Beach Italian festival

3. Surprise ticket to Hamilton to see with friends!

~*~
Library:

Death in Brittany
by Jean-Luc Bannalec
-Mystery, France | Goodreads
FOR face-to-face group, Foreign Mystery Book Club, July pick.


Freebies: from Free Little Library

Aurora
by Kim Stanley Robinson
-SciFi, Space Opera | Goodreads
FOR a future sci-fi binge reading pile.


AND watched: in theatre

The Dead Don't Die (2019)
Director/Writer: Jim Jarmusch
Stars: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny
-Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Zombies | imdb | my rating: 4
The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.

FUN cast with dark and depressing points made regarding the state of today's world.

Maiden (2018)
Director: Alex Holmes
Star: Tracy Edwards
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
The story of Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989.

SCREENING included Q&A with director and Tracy Edwards. Amazing story and boat crew that made historical strides for women in the sailing world.

And the story of this vessel continues with a current world tour...

The Maiden will be visiting San Francisco August 21-30, 2019 (details)


AND watched: at Davies Symphony Hall accompanied by orchestra

Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Screenplay: James Ivory
Based on book by: André Aciman
Starring: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg
-Drama, Romance, LTBTQ | imdb | my rating: 5
Based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman, this coming-of-age romance evokes the feeling of a golden Italian summer, filled with music, food, art, and the heady feelings of first love. It’s 1983, and amid the sun-kissed landscapes of Lombardy, Italy, a precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending lazy days with his family at their 17th-century summer villa. He soon meets Oliver, a handsome American doctoral student who works as an intern for Elio’s professor father. Little by little, an unexpected bond grows between Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer) that will alter their lives forever. Imbued with hauntingly beautiful original songs by singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, don’t miss the SF Symphony perform this hypnotic score live to film on the big screen. (details)

LOVED it the first time I saw this and loved it again with this special screening. The soundtrack was performed by the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by George Stelluto and composed by Sufjan Stevens.

~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Foreign Intrigue Book Club 2019

Foreign Intrigue Book Club
face-to-face (details)
Books, Inc. Laurel Village
Do you like to travel? Experience a country through the eyes of a local? Try the food of another country?

2019

December & January pick:

Six Four
by Hideo Yokoyama
translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies
-Mystery, Thriller, Japan
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
February pick:

The Master Key
by Masako Togawa
translated by Simon Grove
-Mystery, Thriller, Japan
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

March pick:

The Widows of Malabar Hill
by Sujata Massey
-Mystery, Historical, India | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5
April pick:

The Hole
by Hye-Young Pyun
-Mystery, Horror, Korea | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5
May pick:

Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
by Mario Giordano
-Mystery, Italy, Sicily | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5
June pick:

Shadows on the Lake
(Commissario Stefania Valenti #1)
by Giovanni Cocco, Amneris Magella
-Mystery, Historical, Italy, Lake Como | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
July pick:

Death in Brittany
by Jean-Luc Bannalec
-Mystery, France | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 3
August pick:

The Bookseller
(Hugo Marston #1)
by Mark Pryor
-Mystery, France, Paris | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5
September pick:

Winter in the Madrid
by C.J. Sansom
-Mystery, Historical, Spain, Madrid | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
October pick:

Swiss Vendetta
(Agnes Luthi Mysteries #1)
by Tracee de Hahn
-Mystery, Switzerland | Goodreads | my review| my rating: 4
November pick:

The Execution of Justice
by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
-Mystery, Germany | Goodreads | my review: DNF