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The Devil's Point: A Murder Mystery In South West France
How do you catch a killer when there are no witnesses, no DNA and no apparent motive?
A young Parisian academic is brutally murdered in the quiet streets of a small town in South West France.
Former police detective Celestine Courbet, fleeing with her partner Jacques Lecoubarry from tragedy and betrayal in Bordeaux, is reluctantly drawn into an increasingly dangerous investigation. The answers appear to lie in an eighty year old coded message left for the victim’s grandfather by a man in imminent peril from the Nazis.
From the ancient cloisters of a 12th Century abbey, to the ruins of a deserted village in the woods, Celestine follows the clues, and places her and Jacques in increasing jeopardy from a powerful and ruthless killer. When a second brutal murder takes place they are forced
to take even greater risks to decipher the code and to solve the murders.
A gripping murder mystery that will enthral the reader and keep them turning the pages to the very end
A young Parisian academic is brutally murdered in the quiet streets of a small town in South West France.
Former police detective Celestine Courbet, fleeing with her partner Jacques Lecoubarry from tragedy and betrayal in Bordeaux, is reluctantly drawn into an increasingly dangerous investigation. The answers appear to lie in an eighty year old coded message left for the victim’s grandfather by a man in imminent peril from the Nazis.
From the ancient cloisters of a 12th Century abbey, to the ruins of a deserted village in the woods, Celestine follows the clues, and places her and Jacques in increasing jeopardy from a powerful and ruthless killer. When a second brutal murder takes place they are forced
to take even greater risks to decipher the code and to solve the murders.
A gripping murder mystery that will enthral the reader and keep them turning the pages to the very end
395 pages, Paperback
Published August 23, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 11, 2025
This was a solid murder mystery book. Tom Becket clearly understands his craft. This murder mystery meticulously unfolds and knows how to shift focus, tempo and between puzzles, action and tension. It is very methodical although not so formulaic that it becomes boring. And the ending is very neatly packed and rewarding.
We find ourselves (in a second book I gather from the author's note, but this was my first) on a boat in a small village in France with Celestine an old police Capitaine and Jacques her partner and captain of a barge. Their arrival coincides with a murder...and then some. Celestine and Jacques start trying to unravel what is going on in the otherwise quiet and insignificant village.
Becket meanwhile does some nice character work and has some very vivid descriptions of the surroundings. A bit too much to my taste, but I think that is rather personal. It is not overly descriptive or anything. If you're a Francophile you'll love it especially.
So, in short really recommend this if you like murder mysteries and even more if you also like France. If, like me, it is one of your palate cleanser genres, this one is also good, but may take you a bit more time than you anticipated ;)
We find ourselves (in a second book I gather from the author's note, but this was my first) on a boat in a small village in France with Celestine an old police Capitaine and Jacques her partner and captain of a barge. Their arrival coincides with a murder...and then some. Celestine and Jacques start trying to unravel what is going on in the otherwise quiet and insignificant village.
Becket meanwhile does some nice character work and has some very vivid descriptions of the surroundings. A bit too much to my taste, but I think that is rather personal. It is not overly descriptive or anything. If you're a Francophile you'll love it especially.
So, in short really recommend this if you like murder mysteries and even more if you also like France. If, like me, it is one of your palate cleanser genres, this one is also good, but may take you a bit more time than you anticipated ;)
September 23, 2023
I loved reading this novel from start to finish. From the first chapter we are thrust into the brutal murder of a young man in the quiet streets of a picturesque French town. Then a second gruesome murder is quite shocking. You get the sense that if the crime isn't solved quickly there will be more murders...a ruthless killer is on the loose. What could the link between the murders be, the answers lie in breaking a code hidden deeply in the cloisters of an abbey . I love complex puzzles but couldn't work this one out until much later on in the book. The pace certainly picks up as you read through and I was sitting on the edge of my seat when Celestine was climbing the cliff face trying to escape the killer's clutches. The final scene is also exhilarating and the outcome most satisfactory.
June 7, 2025
Slow and a bit laborious
Let me start by saying I really liked the first book in this series, it was pacy and interesting. I also like the man characters. The issue was the storyline, if I hadn't read the blurb I think I would have been confused until the last couple of chapters when it finally became obvious. I laboured through this book and I can't say I enjoyed it very much. That said, I will read the next one, in the hope of better things
Let me start by saying I really liked the first book in this series, it was pacy and interesting. I also like the man characters. The issue was the storyline, if I hadn't read the blurb I think I would have been confused until the last couple of chapters when it finally became obvious. I laboured through this book and I can't say I enjoyed it very much. That said, I will read the next one, in the hope of better things
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews