Messandrierre by Angela Wren
Who did what and when? There’s plenty for Jacques Foret to
find out in this story that’s a nice cosy / police mystery. There are various
interlinked threads in the story and sufficient clues to make it reasonably
easy to work out who has done what and why - the dates on the timeline good
indicators for this, though the insertions of these are slightly confusing at
first.
I’d like to think that a policeman’s job in rural France wouldn’t
normally be so interspersed with disappearances which turn out to have deadly
consequences but the situation does make the day a bit busier and a lot more
interesting for Gendarme Foret. Amusing interludes and minor dramas of domestic
situations in the rural setting are dealt with by Jacques in a competent and
sympathetic manner though the reader can tell that this aspect of his job at
the beginning of the novel isn’t really satisfying him. A good aspect of these
daily dealings is that it allows the author to introduce a neat range of
secondary characters for Jacques to interact with. However, investigation is
much more appealing to him yet he’s not an intense and driven cop.
Beth has previously had some emotional traumas to deal with,
and new shocks to contend which seem even worse, yet I’m afraid I didn’t really
empathise with her. She initially comes across to me as very selfish, though
that’s less evident towards the end. The romantic element adds a bit of tension
as the story progresses and works towards a happier conclusion.
This was quite an engrossing read! I recommend it to the lover of cosy 'whodunits'.
You can get a copy of it:
Slainthe!
This was quite an engrossing read! I recommend it to the lover of cosy 'whodunits'.
You can get a copy of it:
Slainthe!
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