Review: The Fleur de Sel Murders: A Brittany Mystery by Jean-Luc Bannalec

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 4134 KB
• Print Length: 304 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1250071909
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 24 2018)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0763SG7QG

Book Description

Commissaire Dupin is back in The Fleur de Sel Murders, this Brittany mystery from international bestselling author Jean-Luc Bannalec.

The old salt farmers have always said that the violet scent of the Fleur de Sel at harvest time on the salt marshes of the Guérande Peninsula has been known to cause hallucinations. Commissaire Dupin also starts to believe this when he’s attacked out of the blue in the salt works.

He had actually been looking forward to escaping his endless paperwork and taking a trip to the “white country” between the raging Atlantic Ocean and idyllic rivers. But when he starts snooping around mysterious barrels on behalf of Lilou Breval, a journalist friend, he finds himself unexpectedly under attack. The offender remains a mystery, and a short time later, Breval disappears without a trace. It is thanks to his secretary Nolwenn and the ambition of the prefect that Dupin is assigned to the case. But he won’t be working alone because Sylvaine Rose is the investigator responsible for the department—and she lives up to her name…

What’s going on in the salt works? Dupin and Rose search feverishly for clues and stumble upon false alibis, massive conflicts of interest, personal feuds—and ancient Breton legends.

About the Author

JEAN-LUC BANNALEC is a pseudonym. The author divides his time between Germany and coastal Brittany, France. Death in Brittany, the first case for Commissaire Dupin, was published in German in March 2012 and sold 600,000 copies, spending many months on the bestseller list. It has been sold into 14 countries.



My Review

The Fleur de Sel Murders: A Brittany Mystery  by Jean-Luc Bannalec is not the first book in the series but can easily be read as a stand alone novel.

I really enjoyed the Fleur de Sel Murders. While it is a slower pace than many mystery novels, the writing is well done and the story is really interesting. I have never been to Brittany and I love the descriptions of it. I feel like I am right there.

I basically knew nothing about salt (sel) before this book. The reader learns all about the fleur de sel which is only harvested in the Brittany region of France. And all about salt ponds. They remind me of the cranberry fields here at home in BC.

Fascinating and clever mystery story! You will enjoy The Fleur del Sel Murders!