A fragrant haze of French tobacco, the deep joy of the perfectly crisp croissant and the beauty of Haussmann’s boulevards—it’s not hard to see why the novel often considered the first whodunit, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841), was set in Paris. Add a frisson of what lies in the shadows beyond the tourist track, and the mystery set in France is a sensuous journey to intrigue. The best provide not only a satisfying puzzle but armchair escapism of the highest calibre.
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie showed the way south in 1928 with The Mystery of the Blue Train, a story that begins steeped in old-style glamor at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, where even today you can eat at one of the most sumptuous station restaurants in the world, Le Train Bleu, named for the iconic Blue Train, the luxurious night express train to the Riviera that was the choice of wealthy and famous passengers in the decades before World War II. As the train nears the warmth and fabled blue of the Mediterranean of the South of France, an American heiress is murdered, and her fabulous ruby stolen. But Hercule Poirot is at hand…
Madam, Will You Talk by Mary Stewart
Evocative descriptions are an essential part of this genre, and Mary Stewart excelled at them. In her very first novel, Madam, Will You Talk (1955), she created an unforgettable atmosphere of romance and intrigue in the dusty Provencal landscape. Young widow Charity Selborne arrives in Avignon anticipating a driving holiday through France with a friend. But the act of befriending a young boy in trouble leads her into a complex web of murder and revenge – and the dangerous lure of a man who may or may not be what he seems. Like all Stewart’s books, this is now overlaid with a nostalgic veneer of what the South of France was like before mass tourism, in all its chain-smoking, car-chasing on twisty roads, pine-forested glory.
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Not so much scenery as seen-and-heard in Frederick Forsyth’s gripping thriller that focuses like the viewfinder of the assassin’s rifle on the turbulent France of the early 1960s. The Jackal is a mercenary hired to kill President Charles De Gaulle by mutinying Foreign Legion paratroopers who have formed a secret army to prevent Algeria’s independence from French colonial rule. Forsyth was a Reuters correspondent in Paris at the time and his first-hand experience of the place and the tensions makes for a compelling read with the tang of authenticity.
House of the Hunted by Mark Mills
Another siren call to the French Riviera, this is a beautifully-written tale set at the poor man’s end of the Riviera sits Le Rayol, a haven for artists, expatriates and refugees and highly evocative of the real Sanary-sur-Mer. Tom Nash has a past that includes the British Secret Intelligence Service—and it doesn’t want to let him go. A midnight intruder tries to kill him, and Nash has no doubt it won’t be the last time. Worse, his nearest and dearest are relaxing at Le Rayol for the summer, including his much loved goddaughter Lucy. But one of them has betrayed him. How can he draw his enemy out of the shadows to see who he is up against?
Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker
Benoît Courrèges is Chief of Police—actually, the only policeman—in a small village in Bergerac, south-west France. This is La France Profonde, where age-old traditions are still kept: the world stops for lunch, lip-smacking food and wine are central to life, and loyal friendships and love affairs are cherished. In this introduction to former soldier Bruno’s idiosyncratic methods and subsequent cases, the murder of an elderly North African shakes the pretty backwater of St Denis. A swastika is carved into the victim’s chest. Bruno’s investigation leads back to a wartime tragedy and the realization that not even his idyllic backwater is exempt from the sinister legacy of that time.
Jacquot and the Master by Martin O’Brien
As police procedurals go, Martin O’Brien’s Jacquot series is less quirky but equally rich in insights about French life, this time in the area around Marseille. Policeman Daniel Jacquot is a former French national team rugby player who is still remembered for scoring the winning try in a match against England. Now he’s a chief inspector, working homicide. This outing sees him posing as journalist at a luxury Provençal hotel to look (discreetly) into an apparent missing person case. Soon he is embroiled in the world of art and painting. The Master is a reclusive latter-day Picasso, and those around him almost all have ulterior motives. When a second murder occurs, Jacquot’s disguise comes off. Glorious landscapes are painted as suspects, jealousy, greed, and old enmities jostle for power.
Treachery in Bordeaux by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen (translator: Anne Trager)
There are surprisingly few luscious French cozy mysteries translated into English, but this (the first in a 22-bookseries) is the real deal where wine and food are concerned. A prestigious wine estate in Bordeaux is inexplicably failing. World-renowned winemaker turned gentleman detective Benjamin Cooker sniffs sabotage. Who would want to target this esteemed vintner, and why? A lovely, relaxing read, rather satisfyingly old-style with plenty of inside track on food and wine and French culture. Jean-Pierre Alaux is a journalist and cookbook writer. This mystery series co-written with Noël Balen is a hit on TV in France.
Monsieur Pamplemousse on Vacation by Michael Bond
Best known as the creator of Paddington Bear, Bond also brought his trademark quirky and gentle humor to bear on his equally charming and entertaining amateur detective hero for adults, Monsieur Pamplemousse and faithful pooch Pommes Frites. In this outing, Monsieur Pamplemousse is anticipating a well-earned break in the South of France—and, as ever, some gourmet food—when he is sent by his employer to collect a piece of artwork. But his contact fails to show. A body washes up outside his hotel, and Pamplemousse is inexorably drawn into this trickiest of cases. Luckily, bloodhound Pommes Frites is an expert in this kind of business: during his time with the Paris police, he just happened to be one of their top sniffer dogs.
Death in Provence by Serena Kent
All Penelope Kite, a young-at-heart divorcee of fifty, wants from the South of France is a dream home in Provence and some time to herself. She very quickly finds the farmhouse in the Luberon with its gorgeous backdrop of hill villages, lavender fields and olive groves—what she doesn’t bargain for is the dead body floating in her swimming pool. Luckily, she’s no fool, and unknown to the local police and her new neighbours, Penelope has a background in forensic pathology. Along with an unexpected ally, her effortlessly chic Parisienne realtor, she steels herself with an excess of rosé and croissants and starts investigating.
Writing this with my husband Rob, drawing on our own experiences of this region of France was such a joy. All the elements of vivid armchair travel that make the other books in this list so successful fell very naturally into place. We love it when reviewers write that the book is as good as a vacation! And that they couldn’t guess the solution, either…
