The Curse of La Fontaine

Front Cover
Penguin, Apr 4, 2017 - Fiction - 320 pages
In this captivating installment of M. L. Longworth’s acclaimed series, our newlywed investigators contend with their most sinister challenge yet: a centuries-old curse

Provençal Mystery Series #6
Watch the series! Murder in Provence is now on Britbox.


Chef Sigisbert “Bear” Valets has just opened his own restaurant, La Fontaine, in Aix-en-Provence. It’s an immediate success—glowing reviews and a loyal clientele, including our favorite investigative duo, Verlaque and Bonnet. But when he decides to extend his restaurant’s seating into a historic courtyard, some very powerful neighbors are against him. The local historical society wants the courtyard, which witnessed a seventeenth-century hanging and two World War II-era murders, to remain untouched.

Valets charges on, even after a skeleton is found buried next to the courtyard’s ancient fountain. But when Valets begins receiving threatening letters, he becomes convinced that his life is in danger. And then the fountain inexplicably stops running. By disturbing the garden, has Bear triggered an age-old curse? And can newlyweds Verlaque and Bonnet solve the mystery before someone else ends up dead? Set against the blossoming backdrop of the south of France, M. L. Longworth’s latest is sure to thrill fans of Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri.

“Beguiling . . . Longworth evokes the pleasures of France in delicious detail—great wine, delicious meals, and fine company.” —Publishers Weekly
 

Selected pages

Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
11
Section 3
19
Section 4
30
Section 5
47
Section 6
55
Section 7
65
Section 8
75
Section 17
166
Section 18
176
Section 19
185
Section 20
197
Section 21
211
Section 22
222
Section 23
230
Section 24
240

Section 9
83
Section 10
95
Section 11
105
Section 12
114
Section 13
119
Section 14
127
Section 15
139
Section 16
150
Section 25
245
Section 26
252
Section 27
264
Section 28
284
Section 29
296
Section 30
301
Copyright

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About the author (2017)

M. L. Longworth has lived in Aix-en-Provence since 1997. She has written about the region for the Washington Post, the Times (London), the Independent (London), and Bon Appétit. She is the author of a bilingual collection of essays, Une Américaine en Provence. She divides her time between Aix and Paris.

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