Murder Visits a French Village by Susan C. Shea: Sunday Salon and July in Paris Challenge

 

Murder Visits a French Village by Susan C. Shea, published March 7, 2023, Severn House

Genre: cozy mystery, France, Burgundy

About: Ariel Shepard is devastated by the sudden loss of her husband, but nothing could have prepared her for inheriting the rundown French château they'd visited on their honeymoon four years ago. With finances tight she has no choice but to swap her Manhattan apartment and city lifestyle for a renovation project in a peaceful French village. (publisher)

I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and found this one on my ebook shelf. It's a good choice as it also is set in France, which makes it a candidate for the July in Paris 2023 Challenge.

I enjoyed the book, even though much of it has to do with renovations and rebuilding, as so many stories of expats in France do. The chateau is old, but Ariel's husband secretly bought it for her some time before he died, leaving her to do all the changes by herself. She finds it a refreshing challenge, nevertheless.

Of course, there are other expats and many French people who work on the chateau. But this book is a mystery, not a travel memoir, and  there is a murder on the chateau grounds that Ariel has to solve. The mystery also involves the French laws of inheritance, which gives any offspring of the owner, legitimate or otherwise, the right of inheritance. The question remains whether or not Ariel legally owns the chateau, or if there is a son or daughter somewhere who would be the rightful owner. 

As she is a widow, Ariel had me waiting for a new romance to show up, but it turns out her real loves are the chateau and the memory of her deceased husband.

An enjoyable cozy, overall, but the wrap up takes some time. A four-star read overall. 

What's on your reading schedule this week and/or the rest of the month?#prisinjuly2023

#parisinjuly2023

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday. Paris in July 2023

A Paris Odyssey by Axel Forrester: July in Paris 2023 Challenge

 For Paris in July 2023 Reading Challenge 

A Paris Odyssey by Axel Forrester

Published April 1, 2023; NetGalley

Genre: travel fiction, Paris, France
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At first I thought this was a memoir, the details sounded to true and the narrator so authentic. Then I realized that the book was actually fiction - a novel about Grant the photographer on his first trip to Paris, written by a female author! This really didn't matter, in the long run.

The details of how Grant is robbed by professional pickpockets of his wallet, passport, and other IDs, and how easy it was to have them replaced at the American Embassy, rang so true. I had heard about pickpockets in all the major cities of the world.

I enjoyed the character's candid comments on visiting the famed catacombs, the underground tunnels of Paris filled with human bones from over the centuries. It's a place I have decided I'd never visit, as I hate anything speaking of horror!

The visit to the Louvre was also interesting, especially as Grant was in the company of a motley crew of street impersonators whom he spent most of his time with during his three to four week stay in Paris.

The people he decided to hang out with on the streets of Paris - the impersonators - seemed to be not only bizarre, but almost homeless, and Grant had to feed them most of the time. They seemed unreal yet authentic at the same time, and I wonder how much of what the author wrote in this novel is close to the truth of the streets of Paris, away from the tourist spots.

An enjoyable read, nevertheless, so much so I've decided to read Forrester's previous novel, A Chinese Odyssey.

Beginning French by Les Americains: July in Paris 2023 Challenge

  Paris in July 2023 Reading Challenge. My first contribution.  #

xxx BegoI was delighted to find this book hidden in my NetGalley shelf, perfect for the July in Paris 2023 Reading Title: Beginning French: Lessons from a Stone Farmhouse by Les Americains, published June 1, 2016

.I was delighted to find this book hidden in my NetGalley shelf, perfect for the July in Paris 2023 Reading Challenge I just joined.

Things may have changed since 2016 when this book was published, and I'm glad to see the archive date for this book has not yet been set on NetGalley!

I laughed out loud many times at Marty's wit in telling his story of finding and fixing and living in a stone house in Dordogne, France. The multiple fixes the old house required would have made others sell the house and move home to the U.S, permanently, but Marty and his wife persisted because of the million dollar views the house afforded.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the night markets in neighboring towns, the food, the camaraderie and the stories of the helpfulness of the French people in giving advice and fixing the old house time and again over the years. I also was amazed that there are so many English, Canadian, Australians and American expats who live full time or part time in France.

The book made me want to experience what the authors did, at least on a visit sometime.

The authors:

Les Américains is the nom de plume of Eileen McKenna and Marty Neumeier, an American couple who divide their time between California and France. Eileen is the kind of person who can predict an entire plot from the first line of a novel or the first scene in a movie. Marty is a design consultant who has written six bestselling books on innovation, creativity, and branding. Their daughter Sara, who appears in Beginning French and contributes the recipes, is a New York food stylist who began her career at Martha Stewart Living. The trois Américains meet every summer in France—to cook, write, and share photos and travel tips with their followers. (2016)

Take a virtual walk in Paris: A Walk in Paris on YouTube.

Paris in July 2023 Reading Challenge. stime.