The Mysterious Parchment: Death d'Azur and Dolce Vita, Book 1

by Fiona Wilder, Björn Berenz, Linda König

Two worlds rub shoulders on the azure-blue Italian-French Riviera. Meet Giulia Lombardi, an ambitious and analytical detective from lively Ventimiglia, and François Bonnet, a warm-hearted and nonchalant taxi driver from elegant Menton. While Giulia focuses on solving tricky cases, the amiable François dreams of becoming a crime writer.

Their paths cross when his taxi is stolen and found again on the Italian side of the border with a corpse inside. Unexpectedly, the detective and her prime suspect team up. Giulia’s sober approach to procedure collides with François’s casual charm and sharp observation skills – an explosive mix that generates sparkling ideas throughout more than just this case.

A crime story filled with warmth, emotion, humour and Mediterranean flavour, and a mismatched investigative duo proving that opposites not only attract but can actually work exceptionally well together. Just as they should when death ripples through the dolce vita of the Côte d'Azur.

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Art

Audible Audio

Published June 11, 2026

Reviews

[Enja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Falls ihr nach einem Krimi sucht, ist das wahrscheinlich nichts für euch. Falls ihr leichtes Entertainment mit liebenswürdigen Charakteren und italienischem Essen wollt, dann ist das Buch sehr passend!

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy mystery indeed. Excellent acting from the narrators. I couldn’t stop listening! I was charmed by the characters and loved the adventures and the characters’ development! And the ending?!? I NEED MORE! 😍❤️

[Tiina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It surprised me that the book consisted of several short stories. They did share a common story arc, though. Because each mystery was so short, this was not as interesting as a full-length mystery story would have been.

[Pouneh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich habe dieses Buch für eine Challenge gehört. Es erhält 2 Sterne, weil ich die Repräsentation diverser Menschen gut finde. Das war aber auch das Einzige, was ich positiv herausheben kann. Es erhält nicht nur einen Stern, weil es nicht wirklich schlecht ist.
Es handelt sich hier um sechs Kurzgeschichten, die auf einander aufbauen. Soll heißen, jeder Fall ist recht schnell gelöst.

Die Freundschaft der Hauptcharaktere fand ich super. Um so schlimmer fand ich es, dass sie sich zum Ende des ersten Bandes küssen und Francois auf diese Weise seine Frau betrügt. Absolut enttäuschend!

[Maike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book. nice summer book with little bit of everything - some small town crime, some family trouble, some (very little) romance. Good read/listen for the holiday.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overarching story is about a single Italian female detective and an unhappily married French taxi driver who wants to write detective stories who become friends and solve cases together. Then there are several different "cases" which are rather like short stories within the main story. Clever premise but I found it difficult to follow all of the different characters in each of the cases along with the characters in the broader story (other than the main characters of course) , but ironically the short cases seemed obvious to solve. You weren't at all wondering whodunit until the end, you knew. I enjoyed the location, the French and Italian Rivieras, and the cars the our two mains drove, the official Italian detective car was an Alfa Romeo and the French taxi a Citroen called "The Goddess."

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this. I would qualify this as a “beach read” but without the beach or “girl comes back to her hometown” kinda thing. Easy to listen to, not terribly complicated or mysterious really but enjoyable all the same. My copy had 4 or 5 books (Audible included with membership) inside so it was nice to float in the pool and let just go. Set in northern Italy with French and Italian characters. All the books have the underlying mystery of the missing parchment with each book having a separate solved mystery. Much simpler read, not sure I’d have enjoyed it as much if I was reading, instead of listening. Go for it though.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book and it was quite a pleasant "read" on my way to vacation.

The only thing I found increasingly annoying was the utterly failed efforts of the narrators (who were very obviously neither Italian nor French) to imitate the accents when some character was a native Italian or Frenche speaker.

Also, calling someone with a different name is not cute.

[Julia Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and breezy little cozy with a wonderful setting. Reading it was like taking a European vacation and sampling the foods and views of Italy, France, and Monaco.

A cute story, full of intrigue and romance. The plot often goes in unexpected directions, which can be fun, but also annoying.

[Jeniah Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this a week ago and I'm still mad about the ending. That said, as someone who speaks French and is learning Italian, this book was a great ride! I loved going back and forth between the neighboring countries, solving mysteries connected, yet seemingly random. I was a bit shocked to have guessed incorrectly about François's arrest. Oh well. You can't win them all, I suppose

[Kimberley Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great series of stories. I am looking forward to more of them.

[Melissa Gramse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute collection of stories

[Laney D · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun way to kickoff summer and get me out of my finishing slump

[Abby Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these characters. Beautiful setting, well written, entertaining...likely the best free Audible exclusive I've found.

[Aundrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun! It’s nothing earth shattering, but the little cozy mysteries and characters are sweet. It was fun listening while on our vacation to the Côte d’Azur.

[Erin Wolter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Cute and playful.

[Catherine K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very light and fun. The narrators were perfect.

[Indy Bains · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a slow ch.5 Sunday series but in a book. Like the madame blanc mysteries. It is what it is.

[Beate Kiziltan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 🌟

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erfrischend

[Celina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️🎧

[Celine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Einfach nicht mein Genre 😅 war anfangs nett, hat mich aber schnell gelangweilt.

[Christina Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nette, seichte Einschlaflektüre