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Saturday, June 11, 2022

Book review of Five Dead Men by Rachel Green

French Village Diaries book review Five Dead Men by Rachel Green
Five Dead Men by Rachel Green


Five Dead Men by Rachel Green


When the bodies of five men are discovered in a secret vault at the villa Belle Époque, suspicion falls upon the villa’s former owner, enigmatic Pascal Deveraux.

 

Actor, gambler, general good-for-nothing - Pascal has lived a life of privilege and excess. But with no evidence to implicate him in murder, the case goes unsolved.

 

Called in to investigate the cold case, it’s not long before Margot’s enquiries re-open old wounds. Aided by policière municipale, Alia Leon, the investigation moves swiftly from the smugglers’ trails of the Pyrenees to the cannabis clubs of Barcelona. And it’s there, in the dark medieval streets of the city’s Gothic Quarter, that someone finds a reason to silence her.


 

French Village Diaries book review Five Dead Men by Rachel Green
Five Dead Men Blog Tour


My Review

 

I very much enjoyed meeting Margot Renard in Body on the Rocks, so was delighted to return to the Pyrenees Orientale where another case needs her careful investigating skills. This time she is sent to a sleepy village where little happens, aside from the gruesome discovery of five bodies in the vault of a villa, whose identities and killer remain unknown. 

 

Margot wastes no time in stirring things up in the village and gaining access to the villa and the dysfunctional family who used to live there. Alongside Alia, who is clearly wasted in her currentpolice municipale position, every shred of evidence from the police files is carefully combed through until a tenuous link is found and our duo then find themselves on the trail of a possible lead, but not everyone is happy with their involvement.

 

This book is cleverly crafted with an intriguing plot and lots for my brain to contemplate as I’m reading. There are dark deeds and mysterious characters whose behaviour attracts suspicion, and as Margot sets off into unknown territory, the plot becomes both thrilling and heart-stopping in places. Despite the danger she found herself in, there is something about Margot’s calm and clear thinking that gave me great confidence in her ability not only to solve the case, but to survive.

 

This is the second book in the Madame Renard Investigates series, and I’ve really enjoyed them both and I’m hoping there will be more.

 

If you are looking for something engaging to read this summer, I’m sure you will love Five Dead Men.

 

You can read my review of the first book in the series here:

Body on the Rocks


 

 

French Village Diaries book review Five Dead Men by Rachel Green
Five Dead Men by Rachel Green

Purchase Links 

 

UK 

US 

 

Author Bio 


Rachel Green is the pen name of a writer from the UK. Rachel has twice been longlisted for both the Bath Novel Award and the BPA First Novel Award, as well as being on the shortlist for the Capital Crime New Voices Award. Rachel lives in a tiny village in England, but travels frequently to the south of France where the stories from the Madame Renard Investigates series are set.

 

Social Media Links

 

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Bookbub 

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Book review of Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson

French Village Diaries book review Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson
Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson


Daisy’s French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson


Fly to France for the perfect summer getaway –without leaving your house! This is a heartwarming, feel good read perfect for fans of Lucy Coleman and Jo Thomas.

 

Escape to heaven…

Daisy has never been lucky in love, and when her love life implodes—again—she flees to France. A summer in the sun helping out at her friend Poppys guesthouse is the perfect way to put unsuitable men behind her!

 

When Daisy finds herself dog sitting for two loveable rescues they quickly wind their way into Daisys heart. The trouble is so does their owner – enigmatic widower and bookseller Anton! But she didnt come to France fall for another unattainable man…

 

Can they honour the past and take a chance on the future?




French Village Diaries book review Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson
Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson

 

My Review 

Having enjoyed Poppy’s Place in the Sun, Christmas at the Château and Jojo’s French Escape, it was great to be back in this latest book in the Escape to France series. 

 

Poppy’s friend Daisy needs a change of scenery, so a summer helping out at the guest house provides the perfect escape. Daisy intrigued me from the beginning. She has an unusual gift that has caused trouble for her in the past but has just saved her from making a huge mistake and opened up new possibilities for her future. 

 

It was the energy of this book that I loved the most. Daisy radiates energy and quickly finds herself accepted by the pack of rescue dogs whose energetic antics never failed to make me smile and are now as well-established characters in this series as their humans. Lorraine’s writing also fed my history, cultural and geographical appetites too as we delved into the ancient legends of an area of France she obviously loves. 

 

It was easy to warm to Daisy and become invested in her journey as she discovers that this place she has run to, may well be the place she feels she finally belongs. Romance and love are not always easy, but this book combined humour with the sadness that comes from difficult circumstances and still made me feel warm and fuzzy.

 

I am a big fan of Lorraine’s writing, and this latest hot summer delight didn’t disappoint.

 

If you want to escape to France this summer, this book will take you there, but having read it, you might find yourself planning a real visit too such is Lorraine’s passion for this area.


You can read my reviews of the other books in this series here:

Poppy’s Place in the Sun

Christmas at the Château

Jojo’s French Escape


Purchase Links 



UK 

US  

 

French Village Diaries book review Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson
Lorraine Wilson, with her dogs


Author Bio 

Lorraine Wilson writes flirty, feel-good fiction for One More Chapter – a division of HarperCollins – and is unashamedly fond of happy endings.
She splits her time between the South of France and is usually either writing or reading while being sat on, walked over or barked at by one of her growing band of rescue dogs.

 

 

Social Media Links

Amazon author page 

Facebook 

Twitter 

Website 

 

French Village Diaries book review Daisy's French Farmhouse by Lorraine Wilson
Giveaway L'Occitane Clary Sage Collection


Giveaway to Win a L’OCCITANE Clary Sage Collection travel set (Open UK)

 

L’OCCITANE Clary Sage Collection travel set containing:


• 50ml Herbae par L'OCCITANE Clary Sage Shower Gel

• 50ml Herbae par L'OCCITANE Clary Sage Body Milk

• 100g Herbae par L'OCCITANE Clary Sage Scented Soap

• 30ml Herbae par L'OCCITANE Clary Sage Hand Cream

• in a L’OCCITANE cosmetic bag

 

*Terms and Conditions – UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.



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