I wanted to love this one - sounded like it would be a mystery with a side plot of suspense and romance set in Brittany, France....yes please! The characters are well rounded and believable, I liked the ‘voice’ of Sophie, who was Mila’s much treasured stepsister who had died in an accident and was in Mila’s head, she was the voice of reason on Mila’s shoulder. I don’t know how she does it but Douglas ties together things that one wouldn’t expect and readers just accept it and keep reading; an archaeological dig, teenage angst, French traditions, an orphaned child, a gypsy woman with a secret, a professor with questionable actions, a private investigator and a well-dressed woman with a mistaken identity.

I really struggled to get into this French mystery by Douglas. This is my second read by this author but I certainly did not connect with the narrative like I did previously. I also thought that the cover was quite misleading: it portrays a stormy, brooding narrative, despite the fact this takes place in the height of summer and there are lots of positive references to the warm weather. Definitely a 5 star book. Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book. This was a very slow-burner of a mystery that I found I cared less and less about. I persevered because I wanted to see how Mila’s character would change and, when some action started to happen, was keen to understand the motives driving this. However, it was largely a struggle to read this book and I found it quite disappointing overall. This book starts off as more of a slow-burn but the sense of intrigue and mystery helped me to stay interested. Once the clues had started coming together, I was gripped and couldn't put it down. The plot was interesting and well researched, and I liked the characters that took the story forward.The story starts off quite slowly and I wondered where it was going then it takes an unusual turn. Firstly Mila can smell smoke she goes off to investigate and she finds the traveller woman deceased. Is it suspicious? Mila notices a huge notebook is missing and her phone is missing. The police view it as a straightforward death are they right? After tragic circumstances Mila Shepherd goes to France to support and look after her niece and a female cat called Berthaud (lol) How was he captured later in Amsterdam? Doing this almost as an aside after he escaped on the boat felt a bit like cheating the reader. I like the characters especially Ani and Mila and I love that through Mila we get to hear Sophie’s voice.

However, I think it ended up being none of those things. For me, I think it boils down to the plot and pacing.My first read by this author and a very enjoyable one. Set in the fictional town (but based on Carnac) of Morranez on the coast of Brittany, France I found this quite a slow burn at the start of the book but it certainly moved a lot faster as the book progressed. The author paints a wonderfully descriptive portrait of the countryside in costal Brittany and I could imagine myself sitting in the café’s watching the world go by. Beautifully written and a good plot with some good characters. An intriguing story set in France where the main character is taking care of her orphaned niece with the help of her step mum. They befriend the elderly traveller lady who lives in her wagon in the woods not far from their property when one night there is a fire at her camp. The elderly lady is found dead in her wagon and her notebook with her life’s work is missing and hereby sets off a chain of events. Mila goes looking for Ani one day and finds her with an old woman traveler, Gosia, and when she finds the old woman dead, she is compelled to find the woman's son Tomaz. The police think that Gosia just died but Mila is not happy with that, she intends to investigate when she finds out that Ani tells her of a book that the old woman had, it cannot be found. Inside that book are the clues as to who Gosia was and what she has written in the book may be enough to have had her murdered.