Fab read with substance.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my feedback.

Nan meets Andre, a violinist, when she travels to Paris to find her Aunt Vivian, who has communicated with the family about trouble. Nan and Andre investigate. Nan leaves him behind and returns to the US after solving several crimes that require the same high level of willing suspension of disbelief as do the other Nan mysteries.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The love affair between jazz, black musicians and Paris is an eternal story; Carter illuminates it with rare intelligence and a gripping vortex of thrills, feeling and wit' Time Out on Coq Au Vin

Straight-talking jazz musician Nanette Hayes is swapping New York for Paris as she tries to solve the mystery of her missing aunt. . . but will she lose more than just her heart in the city of love?

When Nanette's mother calls with the news that her Aunt Vivian has gone missing, it's not exactly out of the ordinary. Vivacious and bohemian Aunt Vivian has never been one to play by the rules. This time, however, the circumstances surrounding Vivian's disappearance are troubling. Would Nanette be up to polishing her French and flying to Paris, where she was last seen, to track her down? It's not a tough decision for Nanette.

Now, swanning about her favourite city, Nanette has a hard time keeping her attention on the task at hand. . . especially after she meets handsome violinist Andre, a fellow street musician from Detroit. But trouble has a way of finding Nanette, and her search for Vivian lands her in the underbelly of historic Paris and in the crosshairs of some very unsavoury characters.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel is brilliant and I'm very happy i discovered this series and this author. Jazz, solid mystery, great characters, and a lot of humour.
It's a book that kept me hooked and guessing, I loved it and want to read the other books in this series.
The author is a talented storyteller and the atmosphere made me wish I was in Paris.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of Coq au Vin, the second novel to feature musician Nanette Hayes, originally published in 1999.

Nanette’s aunt Vivian, the family black sheep, has sent an SOS from Paris for money after many years of no communication. Nanette’s mum sends her to Paris with instructions to find Vivian and solve her problems. Paris is Nanette’s favourite city so she has trouble keeping on task, especially when she meets Andre, a jazz musician from Detroit.

Coq au Vin is not what I thought it would be (a straightforward crime novel) so I have mixed feelings about it. For much of the novel the crime aspect takes second place to Nanette and her efforts to take charge of her life. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t understand much of it as I found her reasoning difficult to understand. Obviously I’m not a black American, so there’s that in the background but it’s more about her lack of purpose and direction and it’s not even as if she enjoys this rootlessness.

On the other hand the author has a good feel for Paris, the loucheness of the night club scene, the joy of the restaurants and the beauty of the city although she ignores the endemic rudeness and the viciousness of the petty crime.

The crime element, i.e. the hunt for Vivian, simmers away unsuccessfully until the final quarter of the novel when it explodes in a flurry of action and debriefs. It is exciting and satisfying in that all the questions are answered. Whether it’s credible or even believable is another matter. It’s all tied in to Vivian’s character and all the bad decisions she’s made in her lifetime, so that’s probably every decision she ever made. Again, it’s hard to empathise with her.

Coq au Vin is a pleasant read, but not what I look for in a crime novel.

A wonderful read can be read as a stand-alone.A book with Jazz tones fantastic characters a great storyline a perfect story for me.I will be catching up with the authors books.#netgalley #johnmurraypress

Deliciously Atmospheric…
Blunt, feisty jazz musician Nanette Hayes swaps New York for Paris in search of her aunt. It soon becomes clear that her aunt is missing and Nan turns private investigator with a cool flick of the wrist, as she immerses herself in the Parisian music scene and deep in the backstreets of her favourite city. Not everything runs smoothly for Nan but she may well find love on the way. A deliciously atmospheric mystery with a well crafted cast and an enigmatic protagonist in Nan. The reader will be cheering her on all the way.

This book was fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was worried having not read any of the previous books in the series, however that didn't seem to matter (I'm sure it would have helped in understanding Nanette a bit better) regardless, I was still able to be utterly absorbed in the novel and all the characters. A taste of Paris and the allure of its historic music scene that is so often forgotten, this story is a brilliant murder mystery that will leave you wanting to read more of Carter's books.

A jazz infused novel which starts in New York and then heads to Paris

A funny read with warm and quirky tone of phrase

You find out a lot about jazz music and how black musicians have influenced it over the years

You will see Paris in a way you 've never thought of before

A search for a missing aunt reveals so many discoveries

Really enjoyabke. I only downloaded this yesterday but had great fun with it!

I didn't realise when I chose Charlotte Carter's lyrical and witty novel that I had read it before, but it was so long ago that I had forgotten it but I remember having good feelings about it. It features the charismatic Nanette Hayes, a jazz obsessed itinerent saxophonist playing on the streets of Manhattan, New York. Her mother tells her that her Aunt Vivian, a free spirited, beautiful, bohemian woman known for her partying and taking of drugs in her heyday, is in Paris and needs help and money. Hayes had not seen her aunt since her childhood, she had been ostracised by her father's side of the family, but she had worshipped her and is delighted to be looking for her as she returns to Paris, the city of lights and romance that is so close to her heart. The book pays homage to the age old hallowed relationship between black American jazz and blues musicians and Paris.

Hayes plays the French speaking persona of the cool private investigator as she looks for the elusive Vivian and combines it with the nostalgic revisiting of significant memories and old haunts, only to find little has remained the same. She can't stop herself playing on the streets, not always the safest of places as she discovers when racist thugs attack her, but this is how she meets Andre, a violinist with whom she plunges into a thrilling and passionate love affair that has her dreaming of a future with him. Andre opens her eyes to the ghosts of a glamorous black past with his encyclopaedic knowledge of black American jazz musicians and singers in Paris. However, there is no sign of Vivian, and Hayes turns towards the darker and more dangerous underbelly of the place and the characters that inhabit it to help her find her.

This did not really feel like a reread at all, I had virtually forgotten the story, it is a wonderful novel where jazz music is central to the narrative through the character of Hayes and Andre, their musical connection lending a sense of magic to their relationship as they perform together in public. This is a terrific, atmospheric and engrossing read, pulsating with the rhythms of jazz music, with a strong cast of characters, and a marvellous sense of location. I think many crime and mystery readers will adore Nan, and this novel. Many thanks to the publisher.