Something strange has happened at the unassuming Musée de Quentin-Savary in Aix-en-Provence.When the director, Monsieur Achille Formentin, walks in one beautiful April morning, he is shocked to find the whole museum emptied of its contents—only a bench, the reception desk, and a lowly fern remain. Distressed, he calls the local police, and Aix's examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque sets out to discover the thief's identity. But it's the most baffling case Verlaque has ever encountered. Why would someone want to steal porcelain dessert plates, some old documents, and a few small paintings? Could this have something to do with the mysterious robbery of Madame de Montbarbon's apartment a few weeks earlier? And how can Verlaque possibly concentrate on the theft when he and his wife, Marine Bonnet, are going to have a baby?Breezy, charming, and perfectly escapist, The Disappearing Museum in the Rue Mistral brings us back to the heart of sun- and...

Calamity befalls the little Vendome Theater in the tenth installment of the sun- and wine-soaked Provençal Mystery Series.Provençal Mystery Series #10Watch the series! Murder in Provence is now on Britbox.When Jean-Marc Sauvet, successful lawyer and the best friend of Aix-en-Provence’s examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque, accepted a small role in a local theater’s summer production of Marcel Pagnol’s Cigalon, he had no idea that the lead actress would be played by the great Liliane Poncet. But Jean-Marc’s excitement about rubbing elbows with one of France’s legendary film stars is quickly extinguished. The lead actor, Gauthier Lesage, is rude and unenthusiastic, and nobody understands how he got the part. Chaos reigns backstage thanks to the absentminded theater director. And everyone seems to be harboring a secret. When one of the actors goes missing for good, it’s up to the...

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 aliveAntoine 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...

"Beguiling . . . Longworth evokes the pleasures of France in delicious detail—great wine, delicious meals, and fine company." —Publishers WeeklyIn the spine-tingling seventh book in the series, Verlaque and Bonnet must investigate when a controversial author new to Provence seems to be haunted by more than just his past One hot summer night, Aix-en-Provence is aflutter with news that controversial author Valère Barbier, who once shared dinners with French presidents and all-night drinking bouts with rock stars, has moved into La Bastide Blanche, a grand house left empty for decades. But Valère's ideas of a peaceful retirement are quickly dashed. Rambunctious neighborhood children, a fast-talking gossip of a housekeeper, and a rival novelist filter through the home at all hours of the day—and by night there are unseen visitors with more sinister intentions. While Antoine Verlaque investigates Valère's sordid...

The fifth entry in this acclaimed series finds Verlaque and Bonnet investigating a murder and the provenance of a mysterious painting Like Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri, M. L. Longworth's enchanting mystery series blends clever whodunits with gustatory delights and the timeless appeal of Provence. The Mystery of the Lost Cézanne adds a new twist by immersing Antoine and Marine in a clever double narrative that costars Provence's greatest artist.A friend in his cigar club asks Antoine to visit René Rouquet, a retired postal worker who has found a rolled-up canvas in his apartment. As the apartment once belonged to Cézanne, Rouquet is convinced he's discovered a treasure. But when Antoine arrives at the apartment, he finds René dead, the canvas missing, and a mysterious art history professor standing over the body.When the painting is finally recovered, the mystery only deepens. The brushwork and color all point to Cézanne. But who is the smiling...

The fourth book in the series finds Verlaque and Bonnet on vacation on a remote island in the glittering MediterraneanLike Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri, M. L. Longworth's books enchant mystery lovers with a taste for good food and gorgeous landscapes. In Murder on the Île Sordou, Judge Antoine Verlaque and his girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet, are hoping to enjoy a relaxing holiday at the Locanda Sordou, an opulent hotel that is reopening after decades, but someone has other plans.Maxime Le Bon and his wife have spent their life savings restoring the Locanda, which lies on an archipelago just off the coast of Marseille. The murder of one of the guests casts a shadow over everyone's vacation, and Verlaque and Bonnet are once again called to investigate. But things go from bad to worse when a violent storm cuts off all communication with the mainland. Will the killer strike again?

In the latest captivating installment of M. L. Longworth's acclaimed Verlaque & Bonnet Provençal Mystery series, the newlywed investigators contend with their most sinister challenge yet: a centuries-old curseChef 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 of 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...