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The threats came by email, with no sender and no address. For DI John Bright they are not the first, but they do follow the winding up of one of his biggest cases, and the most recent threats have been directed at his girlfriend Jude. His boss suggests two things, warn Jude to put her on her guard, and take a holiday. John Bright favours neither. Coincidentally Jude is pressing for them to take a holiday abroad and against his better judgement John agrees. They settle for a driving holiday through France down to Provence. Having done this trip myself, I can say that Maureen OšBrien captures the mood exactly, I was there. The description of their overnight stay at the sleepy town of Neufchatel brought back many memories, except for the presence of Mariela, the rather gorgeous fiancée of Louis, the owner of the Hotel Sanglier, where they have booked in for the night. She didnšt feature in any of my trips through France, luckily! After the traditional French breakfast of bread and croissants which only taste right in France, John and Jude set off to visit Chateau-Les-Mines, which they follow by a picnic lunch and an afternoon siesta in a near by field. Their idyll is shattered by the presence of several Gendarmešs who take John in for questioning. But for what? Although Jude can speak some French she is unable to ascertain exactly what the problem is. The frustration of trying to make oneself understood in a foreign land, and also to get ones head around the chain of command in a foreign police force is brilliantly portrayed. Eventually the local English teacher is brought in to help with the language difficulty, and Jude finally discovers that John is a suspect in the murder of Mariela. Whilst John is detained, Jude has nowhere to go, the hotel is not an option and so she and John accept the hospitality of M Breton, the English teacher. Again Maureen OšBrien excels with her description of hospitality in rural France. Being detained for a crime in a foreign land is pretty terrifying especially in a small rural village, where everyone wants it to be the foreigner. John Bright really has only one option, to find the killer himself. The mystery was exciting, but running along reasonably conventional lines, and then it shocked me, but thatšs what thrillers are all about, isnšt it? --------- Other books by Maureen OšBrien are Close up on Death, Deadly Reflection, Mask of Betrayal, Dead Innocent & Revenge.
Reviewed by Lizzie Hayes, March 2003
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