An island of suspects

The sturdy 10th installment in Bannalec's series featuring food-obsessed French detective Georges Dupin (after Death of a Master Chef) sets a locked-room mystery on an island off the Brittany coast. A body found on a navigation buoy is quickly identified as that of Patric Prevost, the wealthiest and most disagreeable resident of Belle-Île, famed for its needlelike rock formations that inspired Claude Monet. Dupin's initial questioning reveals Prevost to have been deeply unloved and alienated from others by his fortune. As Dupin digs further, the responses by Prevost's neighbors, tenants, and the island's mayor frustrate him. When Prevost's estate is totaled at $20 million, and it emerges that much of it is willed to the island's improvement, there's plenty of motive, but no obvious suspect. Then an islander is kidnapped, and Prevost's ex-wife is found strangled to death after making a frantic phone call for help. The mystery's satisfying solution ties neatly into the series's focus on food. While the pacing sometimes drags, with sidebars about Breton culture slowing the action, fans will enjoy Dupin's characteristically wry observations. It's a satisfying enough series entry. (Feb.)

Bannalec's latest in his Brittany-set series (after Death of a Master Chef) is filled with the natural wonders and food of Belle-Île. In the midst of an August heat wave, Commissaire Georges Dupin is called to the scene when a body is found tangled in buoy nets. Someone has strangled Patric Provost, evidently hoping the tide would carry his body out to sea. Dupin follows Provost's trail to Belle-Île, the largest Breton island. In the little village there, Provost was the largest land owner, disliked by everyone. It's a very insular community, and no one is willing to reveal much, so Dupin must push for answers. He finds notes indicating that Provost was blackmailed, and his dog is missing. Then another islander is kidnapped, and a ransom demand left behind. Every one of the few suspects seems to have an alibi. Is it the August heat or the mysticism and legends of the island that leave Dupin dizzy and confused in this bewildering investigation? VERDICT This slow-paced, descriptive mystery should appeal to fans of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.--Lesa Holstine