Disaster at the Vendome Theater

by M. L. Longworth

Overview

Calamity befalls the little Vendome Theater in the tenth installment of the sun- and wine-soaked Provençal Mystery Series.

Provençal Mystery Series #10
Watch the series! Murder in Provence is now on Britbox.

When Jean-Marc Sauvet, successful lawyer and the best friend of Aix-en-Provence’s examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque, accepted a small role in a local theater’s summer production of Marcel Pagnol’s Cigalon, he had no idea that the lead actress would be played by the great Liliane Poncet. But Jean-Marc’s excitement about rubbing elbows with one of France’s legendary film stars is quickly extinguished. The lead actor, Gauthier Lesage, is rude and unenthusiastic, and nobody understands how he got the part. Chaos reigns backstage thanks to the absentminded theater director. And everyone seems to be harboring a secret. When one of the actors goes missing for good, it’s up to the soon-to-be-a-father Verlaque and his police commissioner, Bruno Paulik, to untangle the threads of a mystery that seems to get more complicated every day…
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525506973
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Series:	Provençal Mystery Series , #10
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	15,729
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

M. L. Longworth has lived in Aix-en-Provence since 1997. She has written about the region for The Washington Post, The Times (London), The Independent (London), and Bon Appétit. She is the author of a bilingual collection of essays, Une Américaine en Provence, published by La Martinière in 2004. She is married and has one daughter.

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2022

Set in Aix-en-Provence with detours to Paris, Longworth’s pleasing 10th Provençal mystery (after 2021’s The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral) finds the largely amateur cast of the Théâtre Vendôme’s upcoming production of Marcel Pagnol’s Cigalon all atwitter at the thought of working with real professionals like Liliane Poncet, the once great leading lady of French stage and screen, and Liliane’s costar, Gauthier Lesage, TV actor and guest on various game shows. Gauthier’s arrogance and condescension toward his fellow thespians, however, creates friction. When he’s found strangled in the theater’s storeroom, chaos breaks out. Examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque and his heavily pregnant wife, Marine Bonnet, investigate. Will the show go on, with the town butcher stepping into the leading role? What secrets are the ragtag band of actors hiding? The more pressing questions for readers are when will Martine give birth, and will it be a boy or a girl? As usual, people and place matter more than the coincidence-filled plot. Packed with luscious descriptions of food and flashes of cultural history, this is a fine way to relax in the company of old friends. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"...Pleasing...Packed with luscious descriptions of food and flashes of cultural history, this is a fine way to relax in the company of old friends.” —Publisher's Weekly

Praise for M. L. Longworth’s Provençal Mystery Series

“Sprightly . . . The charm here is the locale — vaccinated readers will want to book their flights — and enjoying the suave company of examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque and his wife, Marine Bonnet.”
—The Washington Post

“Entertaining . . . Charming characters complement the tidy mystery plot. This is just the ticket for those seeking a much-needed vicarious vacation.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Full of gourmet meals, silky wines, and sumptuous homes, these cozy mysteries transport you to the south of France . . . Perfect for the gourmands or Francophiles in your life.” 
—Slate

“The Verlaque and Bonnet mysteries . . . plunge you into a languid world of epicurean pleasures and good living.”
—NPR
 
“Longworth’s novels . . . are mysteries for foodies, with the plot providing a table upon which the enchanting meals and accompanying wines are served.” 
—Booklist

From the Publisher

09/01/2022

Longworth's 10th Provençal novel (following The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral) is a literary mystery that's more character-driven than suspenseful. A group of professional and amateur actors come together to perform Marcel Pagnol's play Cigalon in a small theater in Aix-en-Provence, France. But then the death of one of the actors, Gauthier, brings the play to a screeching halt and places it on the verge of cancellation. Investigating, the police slowly discover hidden connections between the actors and the play's director. Further questioning reveals that three of the people involved with Cigalon were also in a production of West Side Story 25 years earlier. The mystery intensifies when another cast member is pushed down the stairs at the theater. VERDICT This is a slow-burn mystery with little gore or suspense, but the alternating points of view give readers a unique perspective on the murders. For fans of Miranda James's "Cat in the Stacks" mysteries, which also walk the line between lighthearted fluff and suspense while dispensing with graphic violence.—Victoria Kollar

Library Journal