Death at the Chateau Bremont

Verlaque and Bonnet Provençal Mystery Series, Book 1

By: M.L. Longworth

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

When local nobleman Étienne de Bremont falls to his death from the family château, it sets the historic town of Aix-en-Provence abuzz with rumors. Antoine Verlaque, the charming chief magistrate of Aix, suspects foul play, and when he discovers Bremont had been a close friend of Marine Bonnet, his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Verlaque must turn to her for help.

The once-idyllic town suddenly seems filled with people who could have benefited from Bremont's death - including his playboy brother, François, who's heavily in debt and mixed up with some unsavory characters. But just as Verlaque and Bonnet are narrowing down their list of suspects, another death occurs. And this time, there can be no doubt - it's murder.

A lively mystery steeped in the enticing atmosphere of the South of France and seasoned with romance as rich as the French cuisine that inspires it, this first installment of M. L. Longworth's acclaimed Provençal Mystery series is as addictive and captivating as Provence itself.

©2011 Mary Lou Longworth (P)2018 Tantor

Story was fine. French accent meh

The story was fine, although perhaps a bit predictable. I’m guessing this book was originally in French? Why do the characters have to have heavy French accents in the audio translation? And the car brand is “Porsh-uh” not “Porssh” that the Juge drives. But few Americans get that right.

Disapointing beginning

This first book was not very good at all. The character development was terrible, the story boring and the narration bad and distracting. Glad it was in my free list.

Too much French

Too many French names, french phraseology and I found it difficult to follow the plot in audible form.

Narrator is awful

I don’t read books with accents ! So why listening to them with bad accents ? The French accent done by narrator Christa Lewis is over killed , borderline offensive and insulting. As a French women, I was born and raised in Aix myself and the bad French accent didn’t add anything to the story . I couldn’t even finish the audible as it was so annoying ! I saw that she is the narrator for all these books by Longworth… sadly enough I will just have to read them instead of listening to them .

A good listen

I really enjoyed this book it reminded me of Louise Penny gamache series. I saw a few negative reviews on the narration, as a naive American I did not notice the pronunciation and quite enjoyed the readers ability to jump from one character to another. A great cozy mystery and perfect escape into an intrigue and murder as the weather gets colder.

Terrible narration

I bought this after enjoying the Murder in Provence series on Britbox that is based on these books. This might be a good book, but the narration is so terrible, I couldn't keep listening. Why not take the approach of the TV series, and simply have the narrator speak in her normal British accent? Her French pronunciation is appalling and grating.

Terrible narration

Very good story, but the narrator spoiled it through her harsh yelling when she would switch to a man’s voice. It hurt my ears. Why can’t the narrators read in a normal voice? The reader can interpret the differences on his or her own.

Fairly Good Story Read by the Wrong Narrator

The story had intrigue, suspense and good twist. However, I agree with reviews that the narrator was not good for this book. If you are unable to produce a credible French accent, none is preferable to bad. Again, a decent story for cozy mystery readers but the narration took away from the enjoyment of the audiobook.