“Murder in the South of France” by Roy Lewis

The Morpeth Department of Antiquities and Museums in northern England faces a daunting challenge. An archaeological excavation team needs time to do its job properly, but the landowner had bulldozers, road builders, and construction crews ready to roll. The department needs more people and funding for the project, so Arnold Landon and his boss Karen Stannard head to a conference in southern France where they just might find the funding. 

The local police back in Morpeth have their hands full. A child’s torso placed in a plastic bag has washed up; a raid has netted several pedophiles but not the kingpin, someone called “The Doctor;” and the new assistant commissioner is more than anxious to nail a local luxury car owner, suspected of leading a car theft ring.

 

In Murder in the South of France, British author Roy Lewis has woven all of these disparate threads into a fine tapestry of a story, the 18^th in the Arnold Landon series. The only trouble is that Arnold Landon is once again something of a secondary character, at least as far as the police investigation goes, and the murder doesn’t happen in the south of France. (The book’s original title was Headhunter, which is less misleading but still a bit off.) There’s also less emphasis on the specific archaeology, which gave the earlier books so much of their character and feel and usually tied into the murder in some way. 

 

Roy Lewis

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Despite the difference from the earlier books in the series, Lewis still tells a cracking good story. And Murder in the South of France is a cracking good story. I have four left in the series to read, and I’ll miss Arnold Landon and his colleagues when I finish No. 22.

 

Related:

Murder in the Cottage by Roy Lewis.

Murder Under the Bridge by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

Murder by the Quay by Roy Lewis.

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at the Folly by Roy Lewis.

Murder in the Field by Roy Lewis.

Murder at Haggburn Hall by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Golf Course by Roy Lewis.

Murder on the Dawn Princess by Roy Lewis.

Murder in Wolfcleuf Woods by Roy Lewis. 

Murder at Abbey Head by Roy Lewis.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Murders for January – Jeremy Black at The Critic Magazine.

 

When All Your Stories Get Scrambled – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review on Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa.

 

The pseudoscience behind Britain’s open borders – Rob Bates at The Critic Magazine.

 

Orwell Saw This Coming – Charles Labe at The Free Press.