Location! Location!! Location!!! Reigny-sur-Canne, a lovely, quiet town in Burgundy is the locale for LOVE & DEATH IN BURGUNDY. It is home to artist Katherine Goff, and her musician husband, Michael. They are transplants from California. Michael is happy living there as a recluse. He only needs his music to be happy and content. Katherine, however, will not be content until she is accepted into the community by her neighbors. For three years she has been snubbed and ignored by the locals who are resistant to outsiders especially Americans.

Katherine has plans to change that soon! Asked by the mayor to be Chairman of the yearly Feast of the Assumption Celebration, she plans to wow them with her creativity and line up of entertainers. She is also hard at work for her own show of her paintings at the local gallery, happening soon. How can they not accept her?

Talking to her cat, she tells it about her special luncheon. She is inviting the important people she is hoping to impress. At the top of her list is the elderly widow, Madame Pomford, who is the "kingpin" in the village's social scene. She is a grand dame, descended from Napoleon. Also invited is Adele Bellegarde, who along with her husband, Albert, are owners of the popular tourist attraction, the Chateau de Bellegarde. Betty Lou Holliday, a famous country singer, who with her movie producer husband, J.T.,are working on a recording and a possible tour with Michael to revive his fading career, will make an appearance. Neighbors, Pippa an English Ex-pat, a wannabe Agatha Christie, and Jeannette, 15 year old "Peeping Tom" and motherless thief are invited as well. Jeannette is a favorite of Katherine's. She uses her as a model and is trying to keep the teenager safe from the Holliday son, Penny, a wealthy American from Cincinnati who is having a relationship with Yves, the local book shop owner. Michael refuses to attend.

The luncheon is a disaster. Albert Bellegarde arrives to pick up his wife and argues with Yves, who is an uninvited guest. Albert hits Yves in the head with a dessert dish as the argument intensifies. The next morning Albert is found dead at the bottom of a poorly lit rickety staircase at his chateau. Is it an accident? Murder?

Author, Susan C. Shea loves France. Her delicious descriptions of the culinary delights, especially the cheeses, along with local wines made my mouth water. The site is beautiful, her characters clever, witty, and eccentric. A fairly weak mystery that brought out quirky theories from everyone. Was it the gypsies? The nazis? A tourist? Surely not a local? LOVE & DEATH IN BURGUNDY is a quick and enjoyable read. Merci.

Book Summary

From critically acclaimed author, Susan C. Shea, comes Love & Death in Burgundy, an atmospheric mystery novel filled with good Chablis, french cheese, and, of course, murder.

After three years of living in the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne, all Katherine Goff really wants is to be accepted by her neighbors into their little community. But as an American expat living in the proud region of Burgundy, that’s no easy task.

When the elderly Frenchman who lives in the village chateau is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the town is turned into a hot bed of gossip and suspicion, and Katherine suddenly finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the small town’s secrets. A motherless teenager, a malicious French widow, a brash music producer, and a would-be Agatha Christie are among those caught up in a storm that threatens to turn Katherine’s quiet life upside down. As more and more of the villagers' secrets are brought to light, Katherine must try to figure out who, if anyone, in the town she can trust, and which one of her neighbors just might be a killer.