"Commissaire Georges Dupin, a Parisian-born caffeine junkie recently relocated from the glamour of Paris to the remote (if picturesque) Breton coast, is not happy when he is dragged from his morning croissant and coffee to the scene of a curious murder. The local village of Pont-Aven--a sleepy community by the sea where everyone knows one other and nothing much seems to happen--is in shock. The legendary ninety-one-year-old hotelier Pierre-Louis Pennec,...

"Jean-Luc Bannalec's fourth novel in the Commissaire Dupin series. It's picturesque, suspenseful, and the next best thing to a trip to Brittany. Along the picturesque Belon River, home of the world famous oyster beds, between steep cliffs, ominous forests and the Atlantic Ocean, a stubborn elderly film actress discovers a corpse. By the time Commissaire Dupin arrives at the scene, the body has disappeared. A little while later, he receives a phone...

"Inspector Dupin and Claire are on a two-week vacation, but while Claire seems to enjoy the quiet of the beach, Commissaire Dupin takes every opportunity to leave the beach towel. The fabulous dinners on the hotel patio and the rumors about a stolen statue of a saint are the few interesting moments of his days on vacation. But then a tourist vanishes without trace and there's an attack on a deputy to the local assembly, who is involved in confrontations...

"In all of Commissaire Georges Dupin's time living in Brittany, there has never been a murder on his home turf, until now, in Jean-Luc Bannalec's The Body by the Sea. A town on the sea, Concarneau's nickname is Ville Bleue, or the Blue Town. With three harbors at its center, visitors can see enormous ships, sailors, fishermen, and the industry that goes alongside it. Because of its geographical location, Concarneau has shown it's perfectly positioned...