Death in Avignon

by Serena Kent

Overview

An Englishwoman in the South of France navigates new love, nosey neighbors, and coldblooded murder in this delightfully breezy mystery.
After a tumultuous summer, Penelope Kite has settled into the rhythm of her new life in Provence. Lavender-scented evenings, long lunches with new friends—and a budding romance with the gorgeous mayor of St Merlot. But beneath the veneer of glamour, scandal is brewing. Shockwaves ripple through the Avignon art world when a controversial painter, Roland Doncaster, chokes on an almond-stuffed olive.
A tragic accident? Or a ruthless poisoning? Embroiled once more in a murder investigation, Penelope discovers an impressive gallery of jealous lovers and scheming rivals who could have done the deed. And with dashing art dealers to charm, patisseries to resist, and her own friends under suspicion, Penelope will need all her sleuthing talents to unveil the truth . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062869906
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Series:	Penelope Kite , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	351
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Serena Kent is the nom de plume of Deborah Lawrenson and her husband Robert Rees. They met at Cambridge University and pursued completely different careers, she in journalism and fiction; he in banking and music. They live in a house full of books in England, and an old hamlet in Provence which is also in dire need of more bookshelves.

Editorial Reviews

Outstanding. … [Kent] creates an appealing community for this winning stranger in a strange land…. Armchair travelers will be well satisfied.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

From the Publisher

2019-11-24
An English expatriate in France continues her affinity for murder.

As winter approaches, Penelope Kite is glorying in her new life in Provence. More of Le Chant d'Eau is habitable, with fresh plaster, new wiring, and no further corpses in the pool (Death in Provence, 2019). The owners of the bakery in the village of St. Merlot look forward to her croissant purchases, she's brave enough to host lunch for four of her neighbors, and she's invited to play cello in a musical group in nearby Roussillon. Realtor Clémence Valencourt continues to visit Penny frequently even though their professional relationship is long over. She's invited to dinner by St. Merlot's handsome mayor, Laurent Millais, although no calories had been consumed during either of their earlier rendezvous. And equally dashing Gilles de Bourdan, owner of a small art gallery in nearby Avignon, is so charmed by Penny that he invites her on an overnight trip to visit his larger gallery in Nice. Perhaps the crowning achievement in Penny's francification is her invitation to the opening of Nicholas Versanne's exhibition at de Bourdan's Avignon location. But the death of a fellow exhibitor, retired British barrister Roland Galbraith Doncaster, who keels over during the opening and expires in the hospital several days later, threatens Penelope's place in Provencal society. As her suspicions grow, her new French friends seem to turn against her, and it takes the arrival of her childhood pal Frankie to right the ship. Even after the big reveal that prompts Penelope to unmask the killer, it takes quite a while for all the complications to unravel at a typical, leisurely Luberon Valley pace.

Spending more time in Kent's heroine's company is almost worth all the peregrinations. Almost.

Kirkus Reviews