A Christmas Mystery in Provence [Hardcover]

Mary-Jane Deeb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

Despite a narrow escape from death during her last visit to Grand-mere’s eighteenth-century villa, Chrissy de Medici returns to celebrate a quiet family Christmas, complete with the traditional food and customs of Provence. Her plan is to regain control of her struggling paper, Le Loup Garou, which she left in capable hands while she took a much-needed respite after her summer’s adventures. But when a valuable fifteenth-century illuminated prayer book disappears from Grand-mere’s room and her uncle’s body is found dead in the orange grove, Chrissy is thrown into solving the mysteries. Hoping to vindicate the de Medici name and get the "scoop" for her paper, Chrissy joins forces with her irrepressible Grand-mere and medieval manuscript expert, Sister Felicity, visiting from Scholastica Abbey on Cape Cod. Claude Bizzard, the inspector from Paris who saved Chrissy’s life once before, will be hard pressed to match the energy and expertise of this trio - but Chrissy can’t shake the feeling that he might be another kind of match for her. Can Chrissy balance solving the mysteries, saving her paper and smoothing strained family relations without missing the joy of Christmas?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This light, uneven mystery from Deeb ("Murder on the Riviera") will please Francophiles and rare book aficionados but may disappoint mystery fans. When Marie-Christine "Chrissy" de Medici spends the Christmas holiday in southern France with her grandmother and assorted family members, a rare 15th-century illuminated manuscript goes missing, and a relative turns up dead. The novel contains many recognizable mystery clichés, including the "we’re-all-trapped-in-this-country-estate-because-of-the-snowstorm" device. The main character seems more like a giddy adolescent than a newspaper editor, heiress and successful amateur sleuth—a problem heightened by the novel’s bizarre use of Bridget Jones-style narration, with too many exclamation points and too few subject pronouns. (In a total about-face to the immature voice of the protagonist, the mystery is interrupted several times by jarring academic footnotes.) If the plot and characters are tired, the book’s saving graces are the author’s extensive knowledge of the world of rare books (she heads up the Near East section of the Library of Congress) and her wonderful forays into French Christmas traditions: readers learn about the crèche, the burning of the yule log, the three tablecloths at Christmas Eve dinner and other customs. Despite the book’s flaws, some readers will enjoy its peek at the lifestyles of the rich and famous in Provence.
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About the Author

Mary-Jane Deeb is a Near East Specialist at the Library of Congress and teaches International Politics as the American University in Washington DC. She is the author of Murder on the Riviera.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA) (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557254109
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254108
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,007,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling Christmas holiday adventure, December 10, 2004

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Christmas Mystery in Provence (Hardcover)

An entire season has passed since we last heard from Marie-Christine de Medici, the young American woman whose earlier visit to the French Riviera was quickly transformed from carefree vacation to murder investigation --- or rather, multiple-murder investigation. But that was over the summer, when Cannes and its environs likely would be crawling with bothersome criminals anyway. It's Christmas now, a time of peace and goodwill toward men, if you don't count the occasional man who turns up decidedly and deliberately dead.

Marie-Christine's holiday adventure begins quietly enough, with her parents and assorted other family members joining her at her Grand-mère's stately home in the Riviera town of Grasse not far from Cannes. Also invited to the celebration is Sister Felicity, a medieval manuscript expert from Scholastica Abbey on Cape Cod who proved instrumental in unraveling the summertime mystery. Given her presumed hotline to the Spirit --- and her memory of the harrowing events just four months earlier --- you might think she would reconsider this trip. But no. Sister Felicity is undaunted by the prospect of spending time once again with the unusual de Medicis and helping to guard a priceless illuminated manuscript that dates back to the 15th century.

You can probably tell where this is going, but that doesn't mean you won't enjoy the ride. Yes, the manuscript disappears, and yes, a dead body appears. But there seems to be no apparent connection between the body, which belongs to Chrissy's uncle, and the manuscript other than being under the same roof for a time, a roof that belongs, of course, to Grand-mère. And though the apparent victim is a family member, Chrissy's interest in the double mystery goes far beyond the personal. As the long-distance publisher of Grasse's local newspaper, Le Loup Garou, Chrissy has a professional interest in solving the crimes --- namely, a much-needed scoop that could breathe new life into the stagnant paper.

Adding a touch of romantic diversion is the appearance of Claude Bizzard, the Paris police inspector whom Grand-mère had earlier invited to spend Christmas with the family. Presumably, she's well aware that the man makes Chrissy weak in the knees, and equally presumably, she enjoys Chrissy's behavior when he's around more than she would ever admit. Bizzard lends his support to the investigation, which involves a fair amount of religious intrigue added to the theft and murder.

Mary-Jane Deeb handles the intricate plot with her usual skill, though I confess I found some of the background and conversations about the two manuscripts --- did I fail to mention there were two manuscripts? --- to be confusing. But I decided to disregard my confusion and get back to enjoying the story and its many references to culinary delights, taking place in France and all. Yes, Deeb knows her food and describes it well. Expect to salivate a time or two.

A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY IN PROVENCE is an entertaining book that would make a delightful gift for mystery lovers --- as well as readers like me who would buy pretty much anything with "Christmas mystery" in the title.