“Roll over Maigret. Commissaire Dupin has arrived.” —M.C. Beaton on Death in Brittany “Very satisfying…along the lines of Martin Walker’s novels set in Dordogne, or M.L. Longworth’s Aix-en-Provence mysteries.” —Booklist on Murder on Brittany ShoresThe Missing Corpse is internationally bestselling author, Jean-Luc Bannalec’s fourth novel in the Commissaire Dupin series. It’s picturesque, … the Commissaire Dupin series. It’s picturesque, suspenseful, and the next best thing to a trip to Brittany.
Along the picturesque Belon River, home of the world famous oyster beds, between steep cliffs, ominous forests and the Atlantic Ocean, a stubborn elderly film actress discovers a corpse. By the time Commissaire Dupin arrives at the scene, the body has disappeared. A little while later, he receives a phone call from the mystical hills of Monts d’Arree, where legends of fairies and the devil abound: another unidentified body has turned up. Dupin quickly realizes this may be his most difficult and confounding case yet, with links to celtic myths, a sand theft operation, and mysterious ancient druid cults.
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Brittany, law-enforcement, teamwork, murder-investigation, oyster-culture, Celtic-heritage-societies, translated, theft
As innovative as Sicilian Commissario Montalbano and as irreverent as Dr Siri Paiboun, that is Breton Commissario Georges Dupin. The murder mystery is diabolical and guaranteed to baffle the reader. The characters are all too realistic and the scenery is awe inspiring. Have I established that I loved it and that you can read the summary in the publisher’s blurb or other reviews? Good. I live in Wisconsin and have no idea about things like raising oysters for marketing or the viruses they are susceptible to. Nor did I know that there is an international problem of the theft of sand for industrial purposes. And I admit to not being aware of current Transceltic cultural heritage societies beyond those whose forebears came from Scotland and Eire. Guess I must have been living in a box or something. But I do know a few things about working with law enforcement, enough to know how much the dedicated ones are alike regardless of national allegiance! Commissario Dupin is one of the finest and I’m very happy that this translation is now available in English!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Minotaur Books/St Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
“A Missing Corpse” is subtitled “A Brittany Mystery”, and a delightful and thought-provoking one it is from Jean luc Bannalec, especially if you like reading about gastronomic delights alongside the details of a murder investigation. And who doesn’t? We’re reading about food within the first few pages. A good start. And a body on the same page. Even better. Our author does not disappoint in either regard.
Commissaire Georges Dupin is back in this, his fourth investigation. His fifth year with the Commissariat de Police Concarneau is approaching, and that hangs over his head throughout the book, and not in a good way, not for him. His friends and associates are looking forward to it.
An elderly woman, Madame Bandol, claims to have seen a dead body while out walking. By the time the police get there – no body. Is the old actress – who may not be an actress, but her twin sister – confused? Dupin sets out to find out, of course. Soon we have a body. Just not “that” one. It’s revealed that the murdered man is a Scot. How has he come to be in France? Curiouser and curiouser.
In between the pages of the book we get examples of what faithful readers have come to know and look forward to – the love of Breton that populates this series. The weather is described, the landscape, the sound of the sea, the smell of the rain. Familiar, happy, calming. Along the way we also receive notification of what makes the area “food famous” – in this case, oysters in the village of Port Belon. As Dupin meets and talks with the witnesses, the suspects, his subordinates and his superiors (that Prefect!), he gets to eat, and we get to follow along. Do not be hungry when you read these books.
Always densely plotted, these books are, but this book seems even more than most, as thick as the “rocs” that the author describes in such detail. There are red herrings, missing (possible) witnesses, and alibis to check and double-check. Then he’s sidetracked by an investigation into the theft of sand off French beaches – that’s a close one, for a member of his team. That is how a Dupin investigation goes; it’s not just about murder, or missing bodies, it’s about old Breton myths, of Celtic legends and Druids and Celtic music. A suspect is almost killed. Oh, and it all hinges on the sighting of a “ghost.” And Nolween, Dupin’s incomparable assistant, is there to remind him of his party. Oh, and did I mention the great news from his girlfriend? No wonder the man needs a glass or three of his favorite Gigondas to get through it all.
It does tend to be a bit confusing, I’d have to admit. It takes a long while to get at the real reason for the murder(s). But, just as Madame Bandol’s favorite detective Hercule Poirot uses his little grey cells to put all the pieces together, Monsieur le Commissaire does the same.
“The Missing Corpse” ends with a magnificent description of Dupin’s anniversary dinner. Everyone important in his life is there. That is the essence of these books; the characters, the life of Breton. Dupin solves mysteries. Life, glorious Breton life, goes on.
Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for a copy of this book, in exchange for this review.