The Granite Coast murders

The huge, variegated pink granite formations surrounding a beach resort in northern Brittany provide haunting atmosphere and a gripping climax to this sixth Brittany mystery starring Georges Dupin, commissaire of the town of Concarneau. Dupin is taking an enforced vacation, due to stress, with his cardiologist wife, Claire. Dupin is beyond miserable to be sidelined from crime solving. Dupin does everything he can to avoid relaxing on the beach, getting far more involved in looking into a break-in at a seaside house built by Gustave Eiffel and the stolen statue of a saint from a local church than he ordinarily would. Salvation comes for Dupin when the female half of a wealthy couple from Paris disappears. Dupin, Claire, and the other resort guests had witnessed the couple's heated arguments every night at dinner. A female corpse is soon discovered in a quarry, the same site where a murdered woman was found seven years earlier. Bannalec ratchets up both comedy and tension in Dupin's unofficial sleuthing, which he tries to hide from Claire, his colleagues in Concarneau, and the local police. The plot ticks along nicely, aided and abetted by Bannalec's tantalizing descriptions of Dupin and Claire's sightseeing and feasting. Bannalec's mysteries are both well crafted and impossible to read without wanting to use them as guides for future trips to the region.

In Bannalec's charming sixth Brittany mystery (after 2019's The Killing Tide), Commissaire Georges Dupin is taking a forced two-week vacation, along with his longtime girlfriend, cardiologist Claire Lannoy, at a hotel on Brittany's Côte de Granit Rose. Workaholic Dupin finds relaxing on the beach to be insufferable, and he soon discovers a conspirator in the hotel's owner, Rosmin Bellet, who feeds him information on a pair of seemingly unrelated petty crimes--a missing statue from a chapel and a break-in at a nearby house. Bellet also connects Dupin to the local gossip network, including a newsstand proprietor and a hairdresser, who become invaluable resources when a hotel guest goes missing. Dupin is determined to investigate the disappearance, despite Claire's insistence on leaving work at home. Meanwhile, Claire has secrets that Dupin ends up exploiting once a woman's body turns up in one of the area's famed quarries. Series fans will enjoy seeing Dupin's relationship with Claire deepen. Armchair travelers and gourmands alike will appreciate visiting this region of Brittany. (Apr.)

Unsolved crimes and a restless policeman turn out to be excellent holiday companions in Brittany. Commissaire Georges Dupin is on vacation. His doctor has ordered it. His girlfriend, Claire, has arranged it. Most important, his assistant, Nolwenn, is enforcing it. Two weeks of rest on the beach, that's it. No phone calls about any dastardly deeds back in the gendarmerie in Concarneau. Inspectors Riwal and Kadeg have been instructed to answer his calls by regaling him with tales from Breton folklore. So of course Dupin's going absolutely crazy. Despite the spectacular scenery of the Rose Coast, with towering cliffs of pink granite cascading down to a turquoise sea, despite its quaint inns with beautiful vistas, despite delicious meals each night on the spacious terrace of his hotel, he's bored silly. Fortunately, it amuses Rosmin Bellet, proprietor of L'Île Rose, to regale his restless guest with tales of local outrages. The statue of the patron saint has been stolen from Chapelle Sainte-Ann. Someone has broken into the Gustave Eiffel House, once owned by the famous tower's architect. A stone thrown through her window injures Deputy Viviane Rabier. Soon Dupin is sneaking out like a guilty lover to Tabac-Presse, where owner Élodie Riou fills him in on the latest gossip. Wealthy quarry owner Jérome Chastagner is suspected of financial fiddles. So is Mme. Rabier's sworn enemy, Hugues Ellec. Then Gilbert Durand's flighty young wife, Alizée, disappears after dinner. Vacation is soon every bit as exciting as work for Dupin, who attacks this smorgasbord of malfeasance with gusto. Between the food, the scenery, and the felonies, what's not to like? Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.