Fans of Bruno chief of police novels will recognise the style of writing with a bit of ' jolly hockey sticks ' added. Enjoyable tale

This was such an entertaining and refreshing read. With eccentric characters and a twisty but, at the same time, hilarious plot, you just need to sit down and enjoy this captivating mystery set in the beautiful South of France.

Now that she is single and her children are grown-ups and have their own families, Penelope Kite decides it is time to think about herself. So she leaves England and her selfish family behind and she moves to a small village in Provence where she’s bought an old farm in need of renovation, Le Chant d’Eau. But the start of her new life is quickly disturbed by the appearance of a dead body in her pool. The local police doesn’t seem to be very interested in finding out the truth about the murder or who is causing a series of incidents against her life, so Penelope starts investigating on her own with the help of her best friend Frankie. Between secret love affairs, misunderstandings, and feuds, everyone in the small Provençal village seems to be hiding something and Penelope turns into Miss Marple to find out the truth.

I am always excited when I discover a new author and I am already a fan of Serena Kent (the pen name for the husband and wife author team Deborah Lawrenson and Rob Rees). I found myself completely immersed in this charming and well-planned out novel. From Clemence Valencourt, the estate agent who refuses to eat croissants, to Didier, the electrician obsessed with James Bond and Pink Floyd, from the handsome and charming mayor of the village to the unhelpful and arrongant chief of police, this novel has a cast of colourful characters who made me laugh out loud with their quirks. Add evocative descriptions that make you dream of the warmth of the South of France, of orchards and vineyards, of tasty food (those croissants!) and good wine and you have an entertaining and witty novel.

DEATH IN PROVENCE is such a fun and enjoyable read and I’d like to thank Alainna Hadjigeorgiou and Orion for inviting me to take part of the blog tour.

Penelope Kite is a 50 year old retired divorcee, and after years of being at everyone's beck and call she decides to start a new life by purchasing an old house in the south of France. The house is gorgeous but in need of many renovations, but Penelope is up for this challenge. She's happy - until she finds a body floating in her swimming pool! Penelope soon finds out that there is more to this death as initially supposed and with police that's not so willing to cooperate, she has to use her skills she's learnt as a former forensic pathologist's assistant. Who did it? And why? Is it something bigger, as there are also few attempts on Penelope's life?

The characters were really well - rounded, though I must admit it took me time to get used to Penelope. I'm not sure why, I had problems to get into the book and to warm to her character though there is really no particular reason why - it's just one of those things. There were, however, very many characters, and till the end I had problems to match them, to know who is who and why and if they're the baddies or the good ones, if they're significant to the plot or they're only mentioned because they just fit in to the scene. But they were also very well rounded and quirky, for example the drop - dead gorgeous mayor, Penelope's larger than life best friend Frankie who takes no prisoners and Madame Valencourt, with her brilliant diet tips. Penelope was mature, she was smart and sassy and I admired her willpower and she was really brave to drop everything like this and move to another country

The mystery was really well tackled, and it was full of surprises. There were twists that I haven't seen coming and to be honest, I have suspected probably all of the characters throughout the whole story. I think I don't have to mention the fact that I didn't guess who was the perpetrator even though, now when I look in retrospective, there were enough clever hints and tips from the author on the way. My bad.

Serena Kent's writing style is incredibly inviting and vivid. The book is set in the south of France, Provence, just like the title suggests, and the descriptions of the places, people and food were picturesque. She has managed to also reflect the spirit of the French villagers, to capture their personalities and mentality in such a realistic, true to life way. She easily brought to life the town, the landscapes, the croissants and characters. On the other hand, those many, many detailed descriptions slowed down the reading for me a little and there were moments that I had a feeling that nothing's happening actually, that we're there to admire the setting, and it also felt repetitive, with the repetitions of what has happened, what we've discovered and how far in the investigation is.

Altogether, "Death in Provence" was a really cosy read, light and breezy. It was humorous and I really liked the characters' sense of humour. There was this real French vibe to it and writing style was so warm and inviting - I am already looking towards Serena Kent's next book!

Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Very readable and enjoyable book that flows well and the characters are believable. I liked the little sub-stories within the main tale and enjoyed the twist at the end.

Enjoyed the story in the Provence countryside. Good holiday read,nice and easy with quirky characters.

I enjoyed 'Death in Provence' enormously, from the wonderfully described French towns and countryside to the engaging characterisation and mystery. Our protagonist, Penelope Kite, is both credible and likeable. The book kept me reading in one sitting, although it dipped slightly about half way through and began to slow it soon picked up pace. Absolutely one for a holiday read, to read in the sunshine or, indeed, cheer up a rainy day indoors. Recommended.

A big thank you to Alainna Georgiou and the publisher for issuing me with a review copy of the book and for asking me to participate on the blog tour.

Death in Provence to me was a breathe of fresh air. It was a fun and easy read where the plot flowed as easy as the prosecco!

We are introduced to Penelope Kite (or Madamoiselle Keet as she is referred to by the locals!) on holiday who decides that she is going to start living for herself and not for other people, namely her slightly ungrateful stepchildren and their offspring – she bites the bullet and buys an old farmhouse, Le Chant d’Eau. Although her new abode is a bit downtrodden and her garden resembles a jungle, with the help of her glamourous estate agent, Clemence, she can see through the cosmetic issues and appreciate the beauty of her surroundings.

With images of morning swims in her pool followed by a croissant or two, things however don’t quite go to plan when work starts on the said (dilapidated) swimming pool and the dead body of the local drunk is discovered! Although this discovery would send most people running for the hills, Penny having worked for a forensic scientist previously, is quick to pick up that it isn’t a simple case of drowning……….but murder. With the arrival of her brash but loveable friend from the UK, Frankie, they set about trying to discover what has really happened whilst also sampling the local wine stock! To say they are opposites would be stating the obvious but they are brilliant pairing and I wished Frankie was in the story more! As she discovers more and is determined to find out what secrets the local Mayor is hiding, someone is out there determined to silence her for good.

I absolutely loved reading this book and being introduced to its 'interesting' characters. From her next door neighbour who loves his tractor and plum rum! to the unhelpful chief of police, we are introduced to a variety of people - some nice and some not so nice. The descriptions of the area are amazing and make you want to hop on a plane straightaway. You can almost picture the small village with its local bakery and smell the delicious croissants that Penny has become accustomed to!

Penny is a lovely character to read about and we follow her, determined to get to the bottom of things and not be frightened away from her new beginning at Le Chant d’Eau. She is quite a brave character to move abroad to somewhere where she knows nobody and it is a joy to read as she starts to become a part of the close-knit community.

This is a lovely book to read to get away from it all and I can’t recommend it enough!

Death in Provence by Serena Kent started well and promised much. I thought that the setting was well captured and it was a fairly engaging read. But the plot moved too slowly and some of the characters lacked definition.

Ah it’s been a while since I was last in the Luberon valley but this brought it all home to me and more. A gorgeous evocative and sumptuous visit to the valley with echoes of the lazy French way of life and the scent of the flowers in the fields, the food...oh the food...
But I digress, as this is more than just an evocative novel, it’s a nice murder mystery in paradise read with a nice central character in the form of Penelope.
It’s an easy read but one which evokes the setting and the murder within very well. Moving into a new property which needs work can’t be easy, and then to find a dead body there! Plenty of scope for a fun French set read. It was interesting to see the French police investigation.


Small town French set crime - a nice escape this summer!