Saturday, April 5, 2025

Review of "An Island of Suspects: A Brittany Mystery" by Jean-Luc Bannalec




In this 10th book in the 'Brittany Mystery' series, Commissaire Dupin investigates the murder of a wealthy sheep farmer from Belle-Île, an island off the coast of Brittany, France. The book works fine as a standalone.


Brittany is in northwest France


Belle-Île is off the coast of Brittany

*****

Commissaire Georges Dupin, who started his police career in Paris, has been a Breton detective (detective in Brittany) for ten years.



Dupin loves his home on coastal Brittany, and revels in the blue and green sea, where he swims each morning with the gray seal who's befriended him.





One morning the Breton sea contains more than marine creatures. The body of Patric Provost, a native of Belle-Île, is found in the harbor at Doëlan, where Patric was visiting his uncle.



Commissaire Dupin and his team are quickly dispatched to Belle-Île, a gorgeous little island with a riot of colors everywhere the eye can see.





Dupin's squad learns that Provost was a VERY wealthy sheep farmer/landowner/landlord on Belle-Île, and that everyone who knew Patric disliked him.



The residents of the island describe Patric as a skinflint who relished in thwarting people's hopes and dreams. For example, Provost refused to repair his run-down, leaky rental properties; prevented his tenants from expanding their businesses; wouldn't allow other sheep farmers to acquire new breeds, etc.

Now that Provost is dead, there are new opportunities for many people on Belle-Île. Moreover, Provost's last will and testament leaves his entire fortune, millions of Euros, to the island's wind energy project. This scheme is is meant to make Belle-Île self-sufficient with green energy. The wind turbine enterprise, led by the mayor, can now go ahead full steam!!



Since Patric's murder benefits almost everyone on Belle-Île, there are a plethora of suspects. Dupin and his detectives get busy interviewing people, checking their alibis, looking into their finances, and so on, in hopes of identifying the killer.





The mystery at the heart of the novel is intriguing, but it's almost secondary to descriptions of beautiful Belle-Île, and anecdotes about the region and its history. As it happens, a member of Dupin's team, Inspector Riwal, has relatives on Belle-Île, and Riwal is a font of knowledge about the island.



As the investigators go about their business, Riwal is frequently reminded of appropriate stories to relate. For instance, Riwal observes:

"The island is seventeen and half kilometers long, and nine kilometers at its widest point....Belle-Île is much more than an island. It's a realm. Even though it's merely 'a few hectares of land in the ocean' as we islanders say, it's an entire continent in its own right."

"The original Acadians who came to Belle-Île in the late 1700s were inspired by ancient mythical Arcadia, and its utopia of a golden era, the idea of a peaceful, carefree pastoral life in harmony with the island's idyllic nature and beauty."


Mythic Arcadia

"No other island has attracted so many artists: Monet, Rodin, Matisse, Sarah Bernhardt, Jacques Prévert. Gustave Flaubert. The island is surrounded by an aura of liberalism and artistic spirit, of immense freedom and creative anarchy."

And more.


One of Claude Monet's paintings of Belle-Île

There are also descriptions of Belle-Île's spectacular scenery, wandering sheep, tourist attractions, and historic artifacts - like the two menhirs (upright monoliths) called Jean and Jeanne, said to have been a man and a woman.


Menhirs: Jean and Jeanne

The myth goes as follows: Jean was the son of a holy bard and Jeanne was a poor shepherdess. They were in love, but forbidden to have a relationship. So the leader of the druids told witches to turn Jean and Jeanne into stones, far away from each other. Some people believe the monoliths are slowly moving closer together, and their meeting will bring about the end of times.

Author Jean-Luc Bannalec skillfully evokes the atmosphere of Belle-Île, including the scorching summer heat and the kaleidoscopic sights. To illustrate: "The island capital lay on a ria too, you could see the inlet making its way inland. The little town - narrow streets, beautiful old houses in pastel tones: pink, light blue, light green, yellow....It looked like a film set. Cafés, bars, restaurants, shops, a leisurely to and fro without any hurry or haste."



All the major characters in the book are interesting and fun, especially Commissaire Dupin, a coffee addict who's constantly in search of his next great cup of java. Dupin's neverending quest is very entertaining....and he does find the perfect cup of coffee.





The mystery of Patric Provost's death, as well as auxiliary blackmailings and kidnappings, are solved in the end, and Dupin's team returns home to Brittany to celebrate the Commissaire's ten year anniversary as a Breton detective.

This is a charming little mystery, off the beaten track. Recommended for light reading.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jean-Luc Bannalec, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

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