Barbara Hammond always gives you a good read and A Little Place in France is no exception. She is at her best with strong women and Genevive Sinclair is certainly that.
After losing both her parents and an aunt, she inherits a house in rural France, takes a year’s sabbatical and decides to turn the semi-derelict building into a bed and breakfast hostel. The book advertises itself as a crime story but I’d say it was more of a love story, as the relationship between Genevive and her builder Theo develops.
There are murdered corpses in the basement of Genevive’s house and one of her guests is murdered, so naturally the pair join forces to solve the crime. They do so spectacularly easily but then other guests are (wrongly) suspected of being the kidnappers of two missing children. When the real missing children turn up nearby, Genevive and Theo learn the truth behind the kidnapping and decide to help them escape.
As if that weren’t enough excitement, Genevive’s assistants become engaged and the engagement ring stirs up old family feuds – again it’s Genevive and Theo’s sleuthing that finds out the truth and a solution to satisfy everyone.
The pace is fast and none of the mysteries is prolonged. The crimes are almost solved before the reader has got into them. But it’s good fun and all’s well in the end. A Little Place in France is the perfect holiday read from Amazon
