A Noel Killing

Written by M. L. Longworth

Narrated by Christa Lewis

Christmastime in the south of France is as beautiful as ever, but when a shady local businessman drops dead in the middle of the festivities, Verlaque and Bonnet must solve the case while keeping the holiday spirit alive.

Antoine Verlaque, examining magistrate for the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence, doesn't like Christmas. The decorations appear in the shops far too early, festive tourists swarm the streets, and his beloved Cours Mirabeau is lined with chalets selling what he regards as tacky trinkets. But his wife and partner Marine Bonnet is determined to make this a Christmas they can both enjoy, beginning with the carol sing at the Cathedral Saint Sauveur, a beautiful service in a packed church.

Just as the holiday cheer is in full swing, a man is poisoned, sending the community into a tailspin. The list of suspects, Verlaque and Bonnet quickly discover, almost fills the church itself, from the visiting vendors at the Christmas fair to the victim's unhappy wife and his disgruntled business partner. With the help of an ever-watchful young woman named France, the pair must solve the murder while the spirit of the season attempts to warm Verlaque's stubborn heart.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781494535346

Reviews for A Noel Killing

[diana.hauser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A NOEL KILLING is written by M. L. Longworth. The title is Book #8 - a Verlaque and Bonnet Provencal Mystery.It is Christmastime in Aix-en-Provence and the holiday markets and traditional festivities all make an appearance.Intelligent, realistic characters; dazzling locations; thoughtful plots; wonderful food and wine - all offer up a very good read.I like this series and particular title very much. ****

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In general, this series has been excellent in every way, but this one wasn't its strongest entry.The narrative meandered. A lot. It took several chapters to get a grip on what was going on, and who was doing what to whom. There's a slow build up to the crime, which I don't mind, but because everything else was slow too, it was a battle to keep my attention on the book. Once things did start moving, they felt scattered and disorganised, though this improved quite a bit as the story progressed. Still, of the books I've read this month, this is the one I'm struggling most to remember anything about. It wasn't unpleasant or badly written, it just wasn't a strong plot and it lacked the usual strong writing, or perhaps strong editing.I'm happy to blame it on Covid and hope that the next one measures up to the first 7.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A good story, interesting premise: The one character we all dislike dies by mistake, which makes for a more complicated case... Who was the murderer, who was the intended victim... What about the bicyclist pushed off by a car? But seriously? This book was long, drawn-out & Boooooooooooor-ing! And although, the wrong person was murdered, we still cheered!

[oddandbookish · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an ARC of this book for free from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review. You may be wondering why I read a Christmas book at the end of February. I actually started this book at the end of December but fell into a huge reading slump. I just got out of the slump and devoured this book in a few days. This book is part of a series. I have not read any of the other books in the series but was still able to enjoy this book as a standalone. I was a little confused at the beginning of the book because there were a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of all of them and what they were doing. But once the murder happened, I quickly understood who everyone was. I loved how French this book was. It’s very clear that the author lives in France. Reading this made me want to go to France so badly. The town seemed so quaint and the food sounded so heavenly. This is a cozy mystery so there’s nothing earth-shattering about the mystery itself. I did want a little bit more at the end, particularly how everyone’s Christmases went.Lastly, this book is set during Christmastime but it is not overly Christmasy. If you want to read it outside of the holiday season, then go for it! Overall, this is a charming cozy mystery set in France. If you can’t take a trip to France, this book may be the next best thing!

[brianewilliams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent whodunnit set in modern day France: a good story, an intricate plot, a great sense of place and an ensemble cast of interesting characters. Aix-en-Provence and the French way of life play a prominent part in the story set in the Christmas season. It's a good introduction to an established series of crime novels. Recommended.