Murder Visits a French Village is the first book in a new cozy series by Susan C. Shea. Released 7th March 2023 by Dundurn Press, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Paperback due out 4th quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well written and engaging cozy, set in Burgundy. The protagonist is cut adrift and grieving, having just tragically lost her husband very suddenly. Straitened finances mean her seemingly best option is to sell up in Manhattan and move to a mostly ruined castle/manor she inherited in France.

The writing and scenery are steeped in the descriptions of the area and it's attractively and romantically presented (even the realities of getting house repairs in rural France are more quaint than offputting). The main character is likeable if a bit of a doormat to begin with.

The actual mystery isn't complex, but the whole read is elevated by the settings and descriptions. It's a light and easy character driven in the manner of Ellery Adams, M. E. Hilliard, and Susan Isaacs.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Not to miss first entry!

By now you’ve read the synopsis of the book, so I won’t bore you with a summary of what you have already read. I will tell you that I typically read cozy mysteries that have an English setting. When I stumbled across this title on NetGalley I found the premise to be intriguing. Who hasn’t fantasized about restoring a historic building and parlaying it into a home or business? Despite Susan C. Shea being a new author to me, I found her writing style to be intelligent and entertaining. Her depictions of the French countryside and Ariel Shepherd, her amateur sleuth’s new community, had me craving a change of scenery and a charcuterie board with a crusty baguette and a glass of Burgundy wine. But, it was the relationship between her fellow female sleuths and the suspense of the plot that kept me reading and wanting more. There were many times when the author thwarted convention and brought a refreshing approach to the story. Like when she didn’t rely on a country policeman to partner with Ariel and help her through the sleuthing process. Or when she provided enough characters via townsfolk and construction crew that you couldn’t quite tell who was really involved and who wasn’t. I thought this first entry in the Château in Burgundy Mystery series was a great success! I can’t wait for the second installment and to learn more about any previous mysteries Pippa and Katherine solved together. I would love to see this background information woven in to add even more layers to these characters. Also, if recipes could be added would be great; except of course for the recipe in the book that used rabbit. As a rabbit rescuer and foster mother I wouldn’t be able to stomach it. I requested and received an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

EXCERPT:A persistent buzzing from the underbrush interrupted her thoughts about how far along this extensive restoration she'd get before running out of money all together. At first, peering into the dense thicket, she saw nothing unusual. The sound seemed to be coming from below, perhaps at the base of the moat. Could there be a hive there, or perhaps a ground nest of biting wasps? As she pushed aside some tall weeds and took a tentative step forward, her shoe banged into something. It looked a lot like Christiane's silver thermos, but it couldn't be. The woman was much too careful to lose the bottle she used every day. Perhaps the plumber dropped it since he had been near here. She bent down to pick it up and looked past it into the deep, grass-covered trench that was the dry moat.
A straw hat? Surely Christiane would not have let her hat fly away. She must have come early this morning to pace off the moat, but lost her hat in a sudden gust, although the air was now still. A small knot of worry took hold in Ariel's stomach. Had Christiane felt ill and walked quickly into the château for shade or a bottle of water since she'd lost her thermos? Determined to retrieve it and then go searching for her friend inside, she looked for a simpler way to the bottom of the slope and found it. The scholar must have found her way down at that spot because the wildflower stalks had been broken off and trampled on. Ariel started down the slope, looking at the ground underneath her so she wouldn't slip, and that was why she didn't see the body until she reached almost the base of the hill.
Christiane lay facing up, her arms spread wide, her mouth and eyes open. The sound was the flies already clustered on her face.

ABOUT 'MURDER VISITS A FRENCH VILLAGE': Ariel Shepherd is devastated by the sudden loss of her husband, but nothing could have prepared her for inheriting the rundown French château they'd visited on their honeymoon four years ago. With finances tight she has no choice but to swap her Manhattan apartment and city lifestyle for a renovation project in a peaceful French village.

When Ariel hires an expert to help her uncover the legacy of her beautiful ruin, life only becomes more complicated. Christiane, the historian, is found dead in the moat, and although the local police aren't suspicious, Ariel is. She joins two other ex-pats, Pippa and Katherine, to investigate, but with plenty of workmen - and errant tools - around the château, many people had the means, but who had the motive? Why would anyone want to kill a historian?


Ariel begins to suspect that her French village life will be anything but peaceful! Can she solve the suspicious murder and make her château in Burgundy the perfect new home?

MY THOUGHTS: An interesting beginning to a new series by a new-to-me author.

I enjoyed the introduction to the story in which Ariel meets, marries, then loses Dan, the love of her life, and introduces us to the chateau, Dan's gift to Ariel.

Ariel soon makes friends with her landlords in the village, owners of the local cafè and with a group of ex-pats, whose characters I mostly enjoyed.

I'm sure the author has made restoring a chateau sound far easier than it actually is. It's not something that I would ever contemplate doing unless I had an endless supply of money and was fluent in speaking French. While Ariel does speak French, it's the scholarly variety, not much use for conversing with plumbers and builders. And money is a worry.

Although I thought I knew who was behind the murder early on, it wasn't until I was three-quarters through the read that I was certain. But there were still several questions to be answered and I read on with great interest, finishing this in a little over twenty-four hours.

This is a good start to a new series, one I will be following with interest.

⭐⭐⭐.8

#MurderVisitsaFrenchVillage #NetGalley

I: @susanwrit @severnhouseimprint

T: #SusanCShea @severnhouse

#contemporaryfiction #cosymystery #crime #friendship #murdermystery

THE AUTHOR: Born in NYC, raised on as diet of reading and art, transplant to Northern CA, satisfying career in journalism, higher ed exec, and then leapt off the diving board to become crime author. And, yes, I'm a Francophile.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Severn House via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Murder Visits a French Village by Susan C. Shea. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Instagram, Amazon and my webpage

A widow, a thief, and a body!

Mention of Julia Child, Beouf Bourguignon, red wine and baguette, and author Shea had me at the first paragraph.
Widowed Ariel Shepherd is astounded to find Daniel, her beloved husband of only four years had bought her a ruined château in Burgandy. It was to be a surprise.
Ariel impulsively sells their Manhattan apartment and moves to France, and hopefully a new chapter in her life.
What she didn’t count on was finding the dead body of a woman, a Sorbonne educated academic, whose area of interest was the provenance of châteaux of Burgundy, in the moat. Madame Breton had been looking into Ariel’s legal forms. Something about them had Madame puzzled.
So early on I had my suspicions about things, although they kept being muddied, as bodies piled up.
A cozy mystery that had me salivating over the food descriptions more than anything else.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

It's an entertaining story but it's more about expat in France than a mystery. The setting is lovely, the characters are fleshed out and I had fun in reading their relationship.
The mystery is full of potential but it takes the backseat.
I am sure the next book will be more mystery as I liked what I read and it kept me guessing.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Ariel and Dan had a perfect marriage, but after only four years she finds herself widowed when Dan suffers an aneurysm. On their honeymoon through France they had admired a rundown chateau. Dan’s will reveals that he purchased the chateau with plans to renovate it. Ariel sells their apartment in Manhattan and heads to France to start a new life and take possession of the property. Dan made the purchase through his US lawyers and notaire Brunet, who is happy to recommend workers for the restoration.

Settling into rooms above a local bistro, Ariel befriends Katherine, the wife of an American musician, and Pippa, a mystery writer. She is also introduced to Christiane Breton, an architect and historian. At Ariel’s request, Christiane begins researching the history of the chateau and has questions regarding the ownership transfer to Dan. When Christiane’s body is discovered in the chateau’s moat, Katherine and Pippa are determined to solve the crime. They had previously worked together to solve a murder and are not totally confident in Brigadier Allard’s abilities. With a number of workmen on the property, Ariel is not sure of who she can trust. Christiane’s husband is also attacked and Ariel is found at the scene by a persistent reporter. A news story implying Ariel’s involvement in the attacks threatens her place in the community. It is up to Katherine, Pippa and Ariel to find Christiane’s notes to discover just what she found that led to her murder.

Ariel is still suffering from the loss of her husband but draws strength from her memories of their time together. Her chateau is located in a small community and Susan Shea brings out all of the charm of the village and the surrounding French countryside. The friendships that Ariel develops are warm and supportive, giving Murder Visits a French Village a welcoming feel that draws you in from the moment Ariel first arrives. I would like to thank NetGalley and Severn House for providing this book for my review.

A “cozy” mystery gone horribly wrong. Maybe an attempt for an Acorn show? Poorly written, unbelievable characters, haphazard plot-need I go on?

A cute quick read. While not realistic and at times pretty cheesy, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wish it dove more into the actual chateau and French life around it, but the mystery element kept me glued to the pages

An interesting start for a new series- but know that it's less a murder mystery than a tale about a small French village with a lot of ex-pat residents who dislike one another. Katherine, who moved to the village with her husband Michael, and Jeanette, a teen, tell the tale and give their own perspectives when Albert falls to the bottom of the stairs of his chateau. I liked Jeanette's voice more than Katherine's but that may be because it's a fresh way to present a cozy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. While this is an easy read, I'm hoping for more in the next one.

I received this advance reader copy via Netgalley and Severn House, in return for an honest review. Lovely mystery set in a derelict French chateau in the gorgeous countryside near Cannes. The recently widowed Ariel Shepard’s husband bought the chateau as a surprise gift after they discovered it during their honeymoon. His unexpected death results in Ariel being cash poor but property rich. So, she sells the NYC apartment and decamps to the chateau, hoping it can be repaired as an upscale B&B. Things go badly from the outset when mixing contractor issues, property issues and cultural surprises. New expat friends certainly help, as does recommendations for reliable workers, until one is accused of a murder on the chateau’s grounds. Really enjoyable cozy and I look forward to the next in this new series.

Ah, Burgundy! It was so nice to leave the tiny east coast villages and British countryside for the FRENCH countryside.

The intro to the story was sweet and a great way to introduce Ariel to her new chateau. I enjoyed that she quickly became friends with other ex-pats, but while Katherine was charming, Pippa borderline irritated me.

I loved the different personalities of the people working on the chateau with Ariel but would’ve loved to see more gossip from the villagers minus a few scenes. The theme of greed and fraud around the history of the chateau was such a great concept, but I think the whodunnit became too apparent early on for me, and I would’ve loved for the ending to be more about where things went afterwards and what happened after heir was discovered. Maybe that’s coming in the next book!

There was so much I really enjoyed in this book including many of the characters and their distinct personalities. I loved the attention to the complexities of French law and the sheet work into fixing up a chateau. A fun and quick read!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #SevernHouse for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ariel Shepherd is in shock after her husband passes away suddenly from a brain aneurysm. Faced with decisions on where to live and what to do next, she discovers that her husband had purchased an ancient chateau in France and placed it in her name. Ariel decides she may as well take the risk and heads off to France to look into restoring the chateau as her future home. As she navigates the challenges of French building codes and hiring workers who will stick around for not a ton of money, a historian who had come to trace the roots of the chateau is found murdered in the dried-up moat. This was a fun read and helped me through my withdrawal from a British TV show called The Madame Blanc Mysteries. It was a good story to pass a few evenings with. I actually liked that it was a more sophisticated, cozy mystery that wasn't overly complex, so my brain could relax and just read! I think, like a good wine, this mystery series might improve as it goes on.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy of the ebook.

A fun mystery in an appealing setting…

I’m a sucker for mysteries set in France, so I was thrilled to receive an advance review copy of Susan C Shea’s Murder Visits a French Village. And I liked it a lot.

As the story opens, Ariel Shepard’s husband, Dan, has just passed away. And, she finds out, unbeknownst to her, he had recently purchased the run-down French chateau they had visited on their honeymoon, intending to have it refurbished as a surprise present. Due to inheritance squabbles, though, Ariel ends up “land-poor” - with the chateau, their New York apartment, and not much else. Something has to change, and Ariel, who learned French at university, picks the French countryside over New York. So she sells the apartment to fund the refurbishment of the chateau, with an eye towards setting up as a bed-and-breakfast once the renovations are complete.

From here, we follow along as Ariel discovers that: (1) inheritance law in France is even more complicated than in the US, (2) French contractors don’t show up any more reliably than American contractors, (3) houses are money pits but chateaux are even bigger money pits, (4) a command of academic French may not be of much use when trying to deal with said contractors, and (5) good friends are worth their weight in gold, wherever you are. And luckily for Ariel, when the charming French professor who is researching the history of her chateau is found dead in its moat, her newfound friends have skills and connections when it comes to solving murders.

As it turned out, the mystery was pretty easy to figure out, and I knew pretty much what had happened early on, although I hadn’t figured out all of the precise details. But the rest of the story was so much fun (wine and cheese, please!) that I didn’t care, and I still really enjoyed Murder Visits a French Village. Please keep in mind that since I try to limit “star-flation” a bit, my four-star review is a solid recommendation to read this book. And finally, my thanks to the publishers, Severn House, and to NetGalley for the review copy.

I really like cosy mysteries, and from the cover design, I was hoping that this might be my sort of book.

The protagonist was a character that I warmed to quickly, and I warmed to the other characters too. There was an event early on in the book that made me unexpectedly sad, and I felt for the protagonist and the situation that she found herself in.

This was a light, entertaining read, and satisfied my cravings for a cosy mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Ariel Shepherd inherits a crumbling rundown french chateau after the sudden death of her beloved husband. She sells her luxurious Manhatten apartment to finance the renovation and moves to France. Ariel hires a historian to help her uncover the legacy of the chateau, but the historian is found dead in the moat and Ariel is determined to ferret out the killer. This was a good start to this charming new series.

While it is easy to solve the mystery early on, the characters and setting are so charming I did not mind. I hope this series continues!

The first in the Château in Burgundy Mystery series has a fascinating setting. The Château de Champs-sur-Serein most likely started its existence as a medieval fortress, but now it's a neglected, rundown edifice with an impressive tower and an empty moat. It's also a gift that Ariel Shepherd's husband, Dan, had planned to have restored before surprising her with it. Sadly, Dan died suddenly before he could carry out his plans.

When Ariel discovered its existence, she sold their condo, gave up her teaching job, and hopped on a plane for France for what would become the next phase of her life. Naively believing restoration of the château could take a year before she could rent out the bedrooms to travelers and even host cooking classes, Ariel was soon enlightened by her new expatriate friends, American Katherine and British Pippa, as to the lackadaisical speed of such things in the French countryside. Undaunted, she hires roofers, electricians, and carpenters and obtains Sorbonne scholar Christiane Breton's assistance with researching the history of the château for a brochure that Ariel plans to write and distribute to her future customers. But when Christiane is found dead in the dry moat under suspicious circumstances, Ariel doesn't know whom to suspect but knows she must reluctantly rely on the local gendarmes to solve the case.

My favorite part of the book, which is the focus of the story, is the intimate and detailed look at what it takes to restore a historical building and the French inheritance laws. I also enjoyed the well-plotted mystery and the diverse characters. Readers of the author's French Village Mysteries will recognize Katherine and Pippa from those books, but this book can be read as a standalone with Ariel as the protagonist in a new series. The author is also an expert at bringing the French countryside to life in her books, and I'm hoping to read more about Ariel's adventures once the château is open for business.

My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and author. Intrigue and mystery…characters who come alive on the pages…what will happen next? This is a quick fun read. This talented author has written a mystery that comes to a satisfying conclusion. Enjoy

A Murderous Iceberg…
Listed as the first in the Chateau in Burgundy series of mysteries, the reader is introduced to Ariel Shepherd - an American who, already reeling from the unexpected death of her new husband, has another shock in store. The crumbling Chateau set in a beautiful French village, that the pair discovered on their honeymoon, is now hers. The trouble is that she has to renovate it - if only that were the least of her troubles, as it turns out to be the mere tip of a murderous iceberg. With a gloriously well done cast of characters and a nigh on perfect setting this is a wholly satisfying murder mystery peppered with red herrings and laced with a gentle humour.