Customer Reviews

To Die in Provence

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

this is a phenomenal thriller! incredible characters......gorgeous locale....intelligent writing.... fantastic plot and the ultimate sociopath! PLEASE DISREGARD previous review as she obviously hasn't read this book! mr. bogner gives us the benefit of his years in provence and we graciously thank him for it....you can smell the delicious aromas of provence through these pages....i devoured this book and am thrilled to know that a sequel is in the works! i must end this with....please write faster, mr. bogner....we need more of these evil adventures in provence!

yes, the character of BOY would certainly make dr. lecter most proud!!! just about the perfect sociopath ever and wow!! what a setting......provence! bogner captured the true essence and flavors of this marvelous area perfectly and added dashes of such amazing characters....this would make an awesome tv mini-series...many juicy roles and colorful locales....I LOVED IT!!! cannot wait to read a sequel with the incredible local cop!!! will there be one soooooon???????

I started this book because the inside cover sounded interesting. After I started reading To Die in Provence I soon became horrified. I thought that several of the scenes were unnecessary and crude. Did the author really need to explain in graphic detail how Boy and Maddie went about killing Louise? I thought the last few chapters of the book were great. The ending left me feeling very satisfied and the book had a suspensful atmosphere to it that kept me reading even if I found some of the scenes offensive. Over all I think this book was for the type of reader who enjoys reading horror/thriller novels. This book is not a mild murder mystery for the inquisitive reader.

Former porno star Boy has left America to travel to Provence, France in order to join his girl friend Maddie Gold, daughter of a very successful TV producer. However, Boy is nothing like his name as he is a vicious person, who wrecks havoc wherever he is. While in France, Boy has brutally murdered two visiting Americans and has become a noted serial killer.

Adam has hired Jennifer Bowen to keep his daughter out of trouble, however, Maddie wants nothing to do except rejoin her beloved Boy and she will do whatever it takes to accomplish that feat. Meanwhile, suspended police officer Michael Danton tries to ferret out the identity of the evil killer, who has frightened the entire countryside before the death count is raised even higher.

TO DIE IN PROVENCE is a frightening novel written by the brilliant Norman Bogner,author of SEVENTH AVENUE. Like its predecessor, this novel is a great, but scary tale. The story line is typical serial killer fare except that the a! udience knows almost from the beginning who the killer is. However, it is the characters, especially the seemingly angelic first impressions of the evil Boy, who turn this novel into a first rate and refreshing sub-genre entry. Readers will welcome Mr. Bogner's triumphant return to fiction after a 10 year self-imposed exile with his latest novel.

Harriet Klausner

I looked forward to this book because of the plot and the location (Provence)and bought it to read on my vacation flight. I was appalled at the awfulness of the writing. The dialogue was atrocious and the characters were completely wrong for the 1990s. I've read books that weren't brilliantly written before because the story and/or the characters were strong enough to overcome the the author's expository limitations, but there is a degree of dreadfulness that completely gets in the way of the plot, no matter how ingenious or interesting. That was the case here. I was only able to read about 30 pages before throwing it (literally) into the waste paper basket. Warning: Don't waste your money. P.S.: I didn't wish to give this book ANY stars. Your program for submitting reviews insists on at least one. Don't be fooled. It didn't deserve even that one.

The novel is a charming, compelling sexual/psychological thriller with European flair. It is set in Aix-en-Provence with lots of local color and texture, including French gastronomy, right down to the kitchen smells. In the opening chapter, Provence homicide detective Michel Danton is trying to get himself back to duty and off the medical furlough and get over being dumped by Yvette, his live-in girlfriend and tabloid TV reporter in her own right. Circumstances, including a couple of gruesome homicides, bring him together with Jennifer Bowen, a young, attractive American art history prof who is there doing field work. Arrangements for her research stipend are a bit unusual, but sufficient for her purposes. Plane ticket and living expenses were paid by Mr. & Mrs. Adam Gold, Los Angeles TV producer, in return for her keeping an eye on their rebellious daughter Maddie. The problem is that tarty Maddie has a trouble-making has brought along her friend, "Boy". As the story unwinds, he is revealed as a cunning psychopath. Can unhorsed Det. Danton climb back into the saddle and get his man? Veteran storyteller Norman Bogner spins a fascinating tale, building hero Michel Danton and heroine Jennifer Bowen from flesh, sinew, intellect and emotion, and providing tantalizing peeks into the minds of rebellious Maddie and psychopathic "Boy." Francophile and Francophone Norman Bogner has an eye for the landscape around the French Riviera and a good ear for the tone, rhythm of the language and the nuances of Gaelic wit. It made me wish I had stayed longer when motoring through in 1971.

Bogner's writing smacks of the forced sexual indulgence of the '60's. The construct is poor, the metaphors are absurd, and whole resembles the stylized rantings of a troubled teenager. I do not understand how it can have been given good reviews.

The setting of this book seemed interesting--I enjoy books that convey a real sense of place, but by the time I got about 150 pages into it, I quit. Every character was unappealing, the murders were incredibly grisly, and I had a stack of better books waiting to be read. At least I hadn't bought the book, someone shared it with me, so I didn't waste my money, only my time. You know you've made a mistake when you keep wondering how much longer it will take to finish!!

This is a crime story you just can't put down. Technically superb! This quick paced novel keeps one turning pages. The characters are well developed and the reader soon becomes intimately aquainted with each of their motivations.

NOT a book for the faint of heart. It includes graphic descriptions of lewd sexual acts and violence.

Provence is more generally associated with Impressionist scenery, glorious food and wine, and escapism for expatriates of all nationalities, rather than murder. But Norman Bogner changes all that in his gruesome but entertaining tale of mayhem set in this most picturesque region of France.

A vicious young serial killer is loose in Provence, the companion of Maddie, a wealthy, rebellious young American girl whose father is one of America's most successful TV producers.

The sinister 'Boy' Boynton has the face of an angel but is a cold-blooded psychopath, the result of a hellish childhood where he was sexually abused and tortured by the adults in his life.

Maddie is supposedly studying French in Aix-en-Provence under the eye of her hired tutor Jennifer Bowen, but she and Boy are secretly embarking on a horrifying murder spree.

Michel Danton is a local police detective who is trying to sort all the killings out. As he gets closer to the truth, his life and those around him are increasingly at risk.