Ever wonder what you’d do if someone pushed the re-set button on the world?The Stranded in Provence Mysteries tell the story of an American woman on vacation in the south of France when the unthinkable happens. After a dirty bomb explodes over the Riviera she finds herself stranded in a French village where daily life is essentially sent reeling back to the 1950s.So now forget solving crimes with … crimes with DNA or accessing massive criminal databases. Likewise forget worrying about international terrorism, because that’s now gone too. But you can also forget spending hours on your smartphone, tablet, computer or even TV set.
On the other hand, the bistros are all still open, the produce and cheese markets still run every morning, bicycles dominate the wide avenues instead of cars, and for a budding amateur sleuth and now permanent ex-pat, any murders she stumbles across will have to be solved the old-fashioned way—with brain power and shoe leather.
Oh, and it turns out that romance still works the same as before too.
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I love the author’s Maggie Newberry series also situated in the South of France and also featuring an American woman protagonist. So I was excited to read Stranded in Provence. The writing is good and the story interesting. But, I was hugely disappointed in the heroine. She was so unlikeable that I have no desire to read more of her adventures. Maggie can be annoying sometimes, but Jules is obnoxious. She has no common sense or sensitivity to others. Another American asks if she has ANY friends after she has insulted new acquaintances. She fancies herself an investigator, but she has no talent in that direction. She is smart and good at solving puzzles, so after needlessly putting herself in life threatening situations from which others have to rescue her, she often puts the pieces together and solves the puzzle. Rude, obnoxious and not recognizing when people care about her and try to help. It’s amazing anyone does. Sorry, author needs to give Jules some insight into herself.
I think one of the total absurdies of books like this is how an author can actually take a meaningless character, in this case a horrifyingly naive young woman, and imagine that she can actually solve mysteries in France without even speaking the language. France, with it’s linguistic pride and complicated bureaucracy is not the sort of place that could happen even in deepest imagining. Plus, the character had almost shocking superficiality, that she would do an exchange, go to a wonderful town in France not knowing language, culture of history, stay in an old house and complain because it didn’t have all the modern conveniences she felt she deserved. Don’t bother with this.
A nice read.
Love this series!
Unique concept, they did get a little repetitive. Interesting secondary characters
I love an original plot, a mystery, and anything to do with France, so this series was absolutely perfect in every way!
Stranded in Provence books 1-3 by Susan Kieran Lewis are delightful. Jules Hooker comes to France on a two week housing exchange after an unexpected breakup with her boyfriend. While in the small village of Chabanel a nuclear disaster reverts the world to life in the 1950’s. A journalist by profession, Jules finds herself investigating murders as a way to make money and to fill her time until the life gets back to normal and she can return home. These books are fun to read, well written, full of French customs, characters, language and ambience. Jules finds herself in predicaments both dangerous and humorous as she solves cases the police don’t have time to investigate.
I just fnished the first 3 books in this series. I confess to being a bit of a Francophile, but these books should appeal to any reader who enjoys a quirky, but likable, heroine in stories that are delightfully different. Jules, our plucky heroine, ends up stuck in France when the worst thing possible happens. Humorous? Yes, but more than that, Jules, who seems self-absorbed, even a bit selfish in the beginning, is a woman who wasn’t really close to anyone, not even her mother. When the world changes, it becomes obvious to the reader that Jules is putting together a family with the oddball—totally wonderful—secondary characters in the book. Great premise. Great stories!
Relaxing and easy to read.
Just finishing the 3rd book, which might be the best.
Nic rainy day book set.
A fun read with likeable characters and entertaining plot twists.
Roll back the sundial and get to the basic necessities.. wine, cheese, coffee, baguettes and living.
These stories are set in France and it was nice to read about the little village and the people who live there. Set in a time when power has been lost everywhere so the main character cannot return home so she makes new friends and solves crimes without benefit of DNA and other resources that are useful in our modern world. Fun and easy to read.
Such a fun read! Loved the heroine – Jules. Three books together was a great deal. Waiting to read the other books in this series.
Light romance and mystery. Relaxing read.
Getting ready to travel to Provence:)
The whole idea of a Georgia girl stranded in Provence after an apocalyptic event is intriguing, and this book keeps it on the light side. Jules never really panics when she is threatened by murderers or when she is running out of money, and she seems to make friends easily even though she speaks no French–something it seems to me she should work on. The stories move at a leisurely pace, and in three books little progress has been made in the romance which must be waiting for Jules and the chief of police. Eventually. After another cup of coffee and a croissant. Probably. J’espere.
Fascinating premise which was consistently developed. I really enjoyed the books, the first was probably my favorite because it really laid out so many ideas. I don’t want to spoil anything for other readers but it is a great series, certainly read them in order and start with the first. It will blow your mind.
This book was based on a thought-provoking idea: What would life be like if we were to be knocked off the power grid. Yes, it was just a series of easy little murder mysteries, but under this was a premise of a personal scare. Could I exist as people did a hundred years ago?