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Captain Darac #3
Box of Bones
"[A] breezy, entertaining crime novel... an auspicious debut" Publishers Weekly on Impure Blood.It is Carnival time in Nice, and for three weeks the boulevards are alive with dancers, jugglers and musicians. Amidst the colour and pageantry, Captain Paul Darac of the Brigade Criminelle is investigating a series of suspicious deaths. He and his team reopen a closed case that may provide new insights, but their own lives are in danger as they uncover a story of terrifying ambition and betrayal.
438 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 3, 2018
10 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Peter Morfoot
17 books11 followersPeter Morfoot has written a number of plays and sketch shows for BBC radio and TV and is the author of the acclaimed satirical novel, Burksey. He has lectured in film, holds a PhD in Art History, and has spent thirty years exploring the life, art and restaurant tables of the French Riviera, the setting for his series of crime novels featuring Captain Paul Darac of Nice’s Brigade Criminelle. He lives in Cambridge.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 21, 2019
This book is successful on several levels. If you can find a Titan paperback anywhere and this is the only one of the three-book series you can find, go for it. It would be fine as a stand alone. My library just had books 2 & 3, and I am in hopes that this author will give us another book featuring Captain Darac sometime soon. Book 1 was published 2016, then another in 2017 and this one in 2018....so fingers crossed, the pattern will be followed.
The books are not typical police procedurals and really not terribly French since, for example, "wankers" crept out of the mouth of one of the flics. There is plenty of talk about espresso, the varying best machines for making it and occasional references to French dishes along with the emphasis on Jazz, known to be favored by the French. I believe this author lives in Cambridge and writes for BBC now and then. That is what you get - fairly long books- this one 459 pages, lots of characters and plenty of scenic backdrops ready to be filmed. This book could easily be three episodes, all good. So...not any set detective genre or beautifully worded prose, but great plotting, characters and settings ready to be produced. Superior to much of the stuff on offer today.
This outing opens at Nice's Place Masséna, site of festive spring carnivals, where Darac and one of his co-workers are attending the Parade of Lights. Normally Darac avoids the spring carnivals due to the death anniversary of his mother, but in this case he has loaned a valuable Gibson guitar to a young student of his long-time musical friend Marco and he wants to cheer him on.
Several bad things happen, of course, and we are introduced to some of the major characters who will feature in a complex murder investigation.
Running parallel is learning more of Darac's personal life, beliefs and relationship with his father. It is one heck of a scene when Darac brings his traditional yearly tribute of a dozen white roses for his mother's grave, meeting with other family members in the cemetery when a shooter sprays the scene with bullets. There was another mourner close-by, so determination of the real target takes a while.
The major investigation focuses on a bank robbery in the past and uncovering the bad actors who squelched on agreement to sacrifice one of their own to prison as the scapegoat but are now being targeted for hits, one after the other since the prison release of said scapegoat. That agreement had been to provide a large chunk of money to a daughter, now buried at the cemetery where the shooting transpired. Well...crooks will be crooks, some far more evil than others. It makes for a darn good story.
Meanwhile Darac's father thinks he has finally found a woman to marry. Oh my. And you won't believe what happens to Darac's Gibson and how that gets tied up in the tangled web of evil intent.
The books are not typical police procedurals and really not terribly French since, for example, "wankers" crept out of the mouth of one of the flics. There is plenty of talk about espresso, the varying best machines for making it and occasional references to French dishes along with the emphasis on Jazz, known to be favored by the French. I believe this author lives in Cambridge and writes for BBC now and then. That is what you get - fairly long books- this one 459 pages, lots of characters and plenty of scenic backdrops ready to be filmed. This book could easily be three episodes, all good. So...not any set detective genre or beautifully worded prose, but great plotting, characters and settings ready to be produced. Superior to much of the stuff on offer today.
This outing opens at Nice's Place Masséna, site of festive spring carnivals, where Darac and one of his co-workers are attending the Parade of Lights. Normally Darac avoids the spring carnivals due to the death anniversary of his mother, but in this case he has loaned a valuable Gibson guitar to a young student of his long-time musical friend Marco and he wants to cheer him on.
Several bad things happen, of course, and we are introduced to some of the major characters who will feature in a complex murder investigation.
Running parallel is learning more of Darac's personal life, beliefs and relationship with his father. It is one heck of a scene when Darac brings his traditional yearly tribute of a dozen white roses for his mother's grave, meeting with other family members in the cemetery when a shooter sprays the scene with bullets. There was another mourner close-by, so determination of the real target takes a while.
The major investigation focuses on a bank robbery in the past and uncovering the bad actors who squelched on agreement to sacrifice one of their own to prison as the scapegoat but are now being targeted for hits, one after the other since the prison release of said scapegoat. That agreement had been to provide a large chunk of money to a daughter, now buried at the cemetery where the shooting transpired. Well...crooks will be crooks, some far more evil than others. It makes for a darn good story.
Meanwhile Darac's father thinks he has finally found a woman to marry. Oh my. And you won't believe what happens to Darac's Gibson and how that gets tied up in the tangled web of evil intent.
June 6, 2018
The sights and sounds of Nice brought to life
I started reading this book and found it quite difficult to work out all the different characters in my mind. The main character, Captain Paul Darac, came over very well as a hard-working and jazz-loving policeman who is still mourning the death of his mother. However, there were a lot of other characters both in his working environment and the outside world and I did become a little muddled as to who was who.
However, after a few chapters as the plot began to unfold, I really enjoyed the story. The action begins at the carnival in Nice and the atmosphere really came through in the writing. A man is killed almost in front of Darac’s eyes, in what appears to be an accident, but then a shooting occurs when Darac and his family are at his mother’s grave. This is not aimed at Darac but at another man who is standing at a nearby grave but Darac then realises that he also saw this same man at the carnival the day before.
Links are then formed to a robbery that took place many years before and when it turns out that the only person ever caught for this has just been released from jail. It appears that he is now pursuing the members of the original robbery and killing them one by one. Add into the mix a would-be mayor and his dysfunctional daughter and it becomes a very interesting story.
My main problem with this book is that I have not read the previous two Captain Darac stories and although this can be read as a stand-alone, as stated earlier I was confused by the multitude of characters. Had I read the earlier books I am sure it would have been much clearer to me.
I did, however, enjoy this book and hope that this becomes a continuing series as both the characters and the setting is different from most detective novels. If there is a 4th book I would like to read it and if time permits will try and read the first two.
Dexter
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
I started reading this book and found it quite difficult to work out all the different characters in my mind. The main character, Captain Paul Darac, came over very well as a hard-working and jazz-loving policeman who is still mourning the death of his mother. However, there were a lot of other characters both in his working environment and the outside world and I did become a little muddled as to who was who.
However, after a few chapters as the plot began to unfold, I really enjoyed the story. The action begins at the carnival in Nice and the atmosphere really came through in the writing. A man is killed almost in front of Darac’s eyes, in what appears to be an accident, but then a shooting occurs when Darac and his family are at his mother’s grave. This is not aimed at Darac but at another man who is standing at a nearby grave but Darac then realises that he also saw this same man at the carnival the day before.
Links are then formed to a robbery that took place many years before and when it turns out that the only person ever caught for this has just been released from jail. It appears that he is now pursuing the members of the original robbery and killing them one by one. Add into the mix a would-be mayor and his dysfunctional daughter and it becomes a very interesting story.
My main problem with this book is that I have not read the previous two Captain Darac stories and although this can be read as a stand-alone, as stated earlier I was confused by the multitude of characters. Had I read the earlier books I am sure it would have been much clearer to me.
I did, however, enjoy this book and hope that this becomes a continuing series as both the characters and the setting is different from most detective novels. If there is a 4th book I would like to read it and if time permits will try and read the first two.
Dexter
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
January 27, 2023
At the very very first part... I was waiting for it to get good.... but once it got good... it got GOOOOD. Felt like I was watching a TV show that was unpausable.. Loveee❤. Definitely getting the rest of the series
February 1, 2019
It's a very good book, with a nicely different feel due to the French setting. Well worth a read.
August 7, 2024
5/10 5%. Weakest of the trilogy, good characters and a well put together heist story but guessed the likely bad guys about half way through. Still not bad as a holiday read.
July 8, 2018
I love Nice. I had a great time there couple of years ago. That's why I was so delighted to read a mystery set in this beautiful city. Here are my thoughts.
It is the time of the Carnival in Nice, the streets are full of people. There is shooting at the graveyard. A man has been killed. Captain Paul Darac of the Brigade Criminelle is investigating the case. It is not just the shooting suspicious but also the grave where it happens. It belongs to a young woman who dies of a very rare genetic disease. Following the disease, the police are tracking her family. What's more interesting, the father of the woman just comes out of prison, for the robbery of the century. A bank has been robbed couple of years ago and the money was never found. Only one person took the blame and there was a whole team who did it. When another person dies connected with the robbery, it is more than obvious that it is all about the money. But is it the money or revenge? And who is going to die next? In order to solve a murder, Captain Darac and his team reopen a closed case. Can they stop the murders? People are dying. In the same time, Captain's guitar has been stolen and his widowed father is getting married. Problems everywhere.
Box of Bones is my first book of Captain Darac's mystery. It is the third in the series, but it can perfectly stand alone. It has murders, mystery, robbery, humor. And it is set in France. It is something different from the ordinary. I liked it and really enjoyed while reading it. It took me a while to get into the story at the beginning, but I had a great time as the story continued. It is an interesting read. If you are a fan of French mysteries, it is a perfect read for you.
It is the time of the Carnival in Nice, the streets are full of people. There is shooting at the graveyard. A man has been killed. Captain Paul Darac of the Brigade Criminelle is investigating the case. It is not just the shooting suspicious but also the grave where it happens. It belongs to a young woman who dies of a very rare genetic disease. Following the disease, the police are tracking her family. What's more interesting, the father of the woman just comes out of prison, for the robbery of the century. A bank has been robbed couple of years ago and the money was never found. Only one person took the blame and there was a whole team who did it. When another person dies connected with the robbery, it is more than obvious that it is all about the money. But is it the money or revenge? And who is going to die next? In order to solve a murder, Captain Darac and his team reopen a closed case. Can they stop the murders? People are dying. In the same time, Captain's guitar has been stolen and his widowed father is getting married. Problems everywhere.
Box of Bones is my first book of Captain Darac's mystery. It is the third in the series, but it can perfectly stand alone. It has murders, mystery, robbery, humor. And it is set in France. It is something different from the ordinary. I liked it and really enjoyed while reading it. It took me a while to get into the story at the beginning, but I had a great time as the story continued. It is an interesting read. If you are a fan of French mysteries, it is a perfect read for you.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews