Reboul, Sam and Elena reunite for more Marsailles fun. Also included are Phillipe, Mimi and Flo and Jo, the Corsican brothers from the last in this series. It feels a little like Mayle is pumping these out having found a formula that works for him (and for publishers); but by the same token, these are fun literary trips to the south of France with likable characters and wonderful food to read.

Super quick read-fun, light reading for summer, but definitely not an in-depth or believable mystery. Should be billed as a tongue-in-cheek novella.

"master sleuth, Sam Levitt, eating, drinking, and romancing his way through the South of France even as he investigates a case of deadly intrigue among the Riviera’s jet set.Billionaire Francis Reboul is taking in the view at his coastal estate, awaiting the arrival of vacationing friends Sam Levitt and Elena Morales, when he spies a massive yacht whose passengers seem a little too interested in his property. The yacht belongs to rapacious Russian tycoon Oleg Vronsky, who, for his own purposes, will stop at nothing to obtain Reboul’s villa. When Reboul refuses to sell, Vronsky’s methods quickly turn unsavory. Now it’s up to Sam—he’s saved Reboul’s neck before—to negotiate with an underworld of mercenaries and hit men, not to mention the Corsican mafia, to prevent his friend from becoming a victim of Vronsky’s “Russian diplomacy.”

can't get enough of the goings on in the south of france

Short and sweet. A very nice evening's escape from the frigid cold of Chicago winter, to the delightful Provencal seaside, with all its luxurious and delicious trappings. Slight, but fun.

This latest novel from Peter Mayle, the author of A Year in Provence, is a light frolic of suspense with the local billionaires along the Mediterranean coast near Marseilles. The author tells the readers from the onset who the victim is and who wants to kill him, but this knowledge doesn't lessen the tension.
Billionaire Francis Reboul is enjoying his palatial coastal estate, Le Pharo, and entertaining his guests, Sam Levitt and Elena Morales from Los Angeles. The tranquility of their quiet lunch and pleasure in Reboul's fine wine cellar is interrupted when a helicopter flies overhead and swoops low enough for them to see the binoculars that are trained on the estate and its occupants. Reboul soon discovers through his contacts in the Marseilles police that a Russian billionaire with a less than savory past has sailed into harbor on his yacht The Caspian Queen, and has his eye on Le Pharo. He has made up his mind to own Reboul's estate, whether Reboul wants to sell or not.
When Reboul refuses the offer to sell at any price, Oleg Vronsky makes plans to eliminate Reboul, as he has down before when some person stood in the way of something he wanted. Sam and Elena discover that Vronsky is smart as well as ruthless. He always manages to be far away when a rival is killed.
The action moves to the island of Corsica, where loyalties are strong and people know who their friends and enemies are. While Vronsky has taken off to Paris, he has left behind a couple of Russian thugs, but they are no match for a the Corsican mafia types who protect their own.
I read this novel in a day and a half, and enjoyed every moment of an escape into the world of champagne for lunch and a snack of escargot and caviar. It was a very pleasant diversion from reality.
(As published in Suspense Magazine)

Don't waster you time - thin characters, thinner mystery. The food is good.

You can see my whole review at Carol's Notebook.

The plot was sort so-so for me, but really I read these for the beautiful, rich descriptions of the meals and scenery.

Stopped ⅔ through. Too formulaic and empty.