Emerald Coast Murder

by Christophe Villain, Terry Laster (Translator)

Sandrine Perrot's investigation takes her from the picturesque fishing towns to the rural hinterland of Brittany's Emerald Coast.Police Lieutenant Sandrine Perrot is on leave from her post in Paris and has settled in Cancale, the oyster capital of Brittany. She is temporarily assigned to the Saint-Malo police station for this case. The body of an unidentified woman is discovered on the Brittany coast path along the bay of Mont- Saint-Michel.

With her new assistant, Adel Azarou, she takes on the investigation, which leads them to a cold case from Paris, but also deep into the tragic history of a venerable hotelier family.

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2025

Reviews

[Chrissie O'H · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was pleasing but the story didn't grab me.

I was hoping to be sucked into France with murder and intrigue surrounded by beautiful countryside and classic French culture.

However, the characters didn't grab me. At all. I sometimes complain that there is too much character building or that I hate the MC, but here, I just feel 'meh' to them all. I don't like them, hate them, or connect to any aspect of their lives. The back story was weak. The characters had minimal interaction. The big reveal at the end wasn't surprising because I hadn't connected to the murder. I wasn't shocked that it was them because I had no thoughts about any of them.

[John A Broughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent setting and we'll written but too many characters to get to know

Another first in a series! My love of France was certainly a factor in choosing this book and the well described scenery didn't disappoint. A well written murder mystery that establishes lots of characters, a few too many although I' m sure each will develop in future books.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filling in the first in the series which I had missed, although it felt very familiar, no doubt because of the recaps along the way. A well paced narrative , integrity, plausible motivation , worthy characters and supportive setting. Good relaxing read.

[Julie Colman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor translation from French to English. Simple story, easy to solve half way through

[wally walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent beginning but tais off at the end

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two and a half stars.

A reasonable French police procedural set in Brittany. Nothing special though. Quite easy to figure out who and why.

[Judy Scaife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

I found the story quite interesting, the plot twisted and changed throughout. The murderer was not revealed till the end and was not expected. Good read

[Maryanne R. Marcellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this book, the main characters, storyline and area. Kept reading and pushing for the team, new, but good together. It was engrossing with a lot to make you think, what next.

We already ordered book 2 to our list and added this series to our book club reading. Great writing, look forward to reading this series. ❤️👍🏻❤️