Murder for Love

Molly Sutton Mysteries #4

by Nell Goddin

When another woman from Castillac is found dead, Molly and the gendarmes are stumped. Complicating matters, Ben is hired to defend Molly’s prime suspect. Uh oh, mixing romance with detective work can be a dangerous business…or at least, it can lead to some unsteady conclusions.

Will Molly figure out where she’s gone wrong in time to nail the killer? Or will her scheme to unmask the murderer at Lawrence’s disco birthday party fall apart?

Genres: Mystery, France, Audiobook, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Crime

262 pages, Paperback

Published April 23, 2016

About the author

She has worked as a radio reporter, SAT tutor, short-order omelet chef, and baker. She tried waitressing but was fired twice.

Nell grew up in Richmond, Virginia and has lived in New England, New York City, and France. Currently she's back in Virginia with teenagers and far too many pets. She has degrees from Dartmouth College and Columbia University.

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 4th Molly Sutton mystery, she's teamed up with former Gendarme Ben to find out who killed Iris, the most beautiful woman in the tiny village of Castillac. The investigation uncovers a tangled web of motive, not without raising a few eyebrows along the way. The author did a great job of capturing the tragedy of the case; almost a tale of lost love and dreams. It left me a little misty in some spots and was a good, solid read. I would've loved to have seen more of Iris before she died, so that's part of the tragedy right there. I also liked how solving the case came down to the tiny details noticed by Molly, it was a real Sherlock Holmes moment. And as always, the villagers lend a colorful background to add richness to the story, I love all of the going-on around the village, it makes me feel like I'm there.

While I first thought that the way Ben and Molly came together in the last book felt disingenuous to me, I now feel like their relationship is developing very realisticly. You know, how in any new relationship, you have that period of feeling each other out, finally seeing each other as they really are so yeah...I'd have to say that it's more true to life than the happily ever after I usually see in books.

I really enjoy this series and look forward to many more adventures in France, but I have to say that all the tasty pastries in this book tempt me into cheating on my diet. *sigh*

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite in thevseries

[Marcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Molly Sutton Mystery

Wow! Another three-day read in this series. I cannot express how much I am enjoying this series. Thank you Nell Goddin for bringing Molly Sutton to my world. Now, please, don't have her become a "no thinking about her own safety thrill seeker." For those of you still not familiar with series . . . Molly is an American who moves to a small village in France to escape the turmoil and crime in America but . . . Does she? Molly develops friendships, learns to appreciate and make French pastry, and finds love again while making Castiliac her home. Highly recommend this series and that the books be read in order to avoid any spoiling hints.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful woman in the village is found dead at the bottom of the stairs by her husband. The former chief of police is positive that the husband could not have been responsible and Molly is positive that he did. Let the due diligence begin and other local intrigues come to light!
Background: Molly took her money from the divorce and went from Massachusetts to a place she thought of as ideal. A village in France where she bought a cottage with a smaller one on the property that she could let out to keep costs in order.
I enjoyed the narration by voice artist Becket Royce who really does a fine job!
#audiobook #MollySuttonMysteries3 #AuthorSales

Molly Sutton Mysteries (#4)

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 4th installment in this series, even though it showed up in my holds list before the 3rd one. Butitreally didn't matter as far as the overall story.

This time, the sleepy village of Castillac in France has to figure out who pushed Iris Gault down the stairs in her own house and killed her. Of course, her husband Pierre, a local respected stone mason is the prime suspect, especially as far as Molly is concerned. But Iris, considered the most beautiful woman in the town, had many admirers and a few secrets.

At the point where the big reveal came, I'd actually lost track of who I thought the murderer might be!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly Sutton's guesthouse business in Castillac, France, is going well. In fact, she is expanding to have room for more guests, when the wife of her masonry worker, Pierre Gault, is found dead. Did she fall down the steps or was she pushed? If pushed, by whom? Molly's, Ben Duford, is hired to look into this problem as a private investigator. Pierre has been Ben's life-long friend. Molly isn't sure of Pierre's innocence, so she and Ben have trouble working together.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly's house in the tiny village of Castillac is taking shape. She has two gites to rent now and has a third one begun in the form of a heavily rebuilt ancient barn. Her romance with Ben Dufort, former chief gendarme, is going well and her best pal Frances has set up house with a local bar tender. But then the wife of her stonemason dies in a suspicious fashion and the village is thrown ito yet another mystery. The glimpses into the life of a village in the Dordogne keep me returning to this series. This particular crime had plenty of misdirection and new characters to suspect, one by one.Will Molly and Ben's relationship survive their differing views of the case? The lovable village characters add spice to the summer days of the story.

[David Schwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The local woman who all the men in Castillac are secretly lusting for is found dead, the police sure she was murdered. Her husband a stone mason is the obvious suspect, yet things do not make sense for him to be the murderer. Lots of gossip surrounding the residents of Castillac, and in the end the murderer is revealed.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly Sutton books are fun, light mysteries. The storytelling is well done. Love the quaint French village setting. Was the storybook village of Castillac modeled after the real Grange de Castillac in the French Pyrenees?

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love being in the village. Also loved all the village love for the victim and the psychology behind it. The villain was manageable for me too. Just want to see Molly get over herself and appreciate Ben!!! Have to read the next one for that.

[Carol Eshaghy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun Molly Sutton murder mystery taking place in the French countryside. When the most beautiful woman in Castillac is murdered,Molly teams up with the retired chief of police, Ben, to find the culprit.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good puzzle but Molly was getting on my nerves. Her stubbornness about her suspect was irritating and felt out of character, and it all felt a bit contrived to throw a monkey wrench into her relationship with Ben.

[Polly Steeber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love her books. They’re pretty light reading, but very rich in character development. Her books transport me to where they take place and her Molly Sutton main character is so relatable. I read six in this series and, looking back, it felt like a warm hug🩷

[aprilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoy the characters, will read more....

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I've been enjoying this series but found Molly a little "too much" in this one.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun easy read. Village beauty is murdered

[Ana Stallings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every book. Makes me want to move to “Castillac.”

[Jill Shortt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable small town mystery, colourful characters and lovely setting.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing. Many suspects. Life in a small French village. Village dynamics at its finest.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing getting better but annoyed by random plot lines that never go anywhere. But overall enjoyable.

[Cyndi Berve]

Another in the Castillac series. Lovely French culture, food & fun murder solving!!

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really am enjoying these cozy mysteries in the dark times of January and February! Just fun!

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun to listen to.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite Molly Sutton book, but still a good read

[Lanae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Molly Sutton and I could be friends. She bumbles her way into mysteries like this stuff happens all the time. Nell Goddin is my go to escape read. I love the way the stories unfold.

[Jane Kuhnmuench · Rating 4 out of 5]

light but enjoyed it

An American woman moved to provence. She runs a gite. Trying to make a profit.
She also becomes a private investigator!

[BettyAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

stuck on a series - done for awhile

[Mary Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story

Really love the characters and setting of these books. I do wonder when Molly's new friends will ask her to leave though. There have been an awful lot of murders since she moved to that little village only a little over a year ago. But I do love a good cozy mystery to relax into when things get hectic and this series is just that.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very charming mystery in the village of Castillac in France. Molly is working to get her B&B up and running for spring when her work is interrupted by another murder. Unfortunately Molly had not had an opportunity to get to know Iris, the deceased, but she's pretty sure they would have gotten along like a house on fire. Her current boyfriend, Ben, has quit the gendarmes and is busy hiring himself out as a labourer on the farms but when the husband of the deceased asks him to investigate the murder and clear his name, Ben jumps on it. Meanwhile Molly is jumping on trying to prove that the husband did it. As we know, it takes a village to raise a child, yada yada, it also takes a village to solve a murder apparently. Molly interrogates everyone she meets, often getting in the way of Ben or the gendarmes but continue she does. if she's nothing else, she's single-minded and maybe a bit stubborn.

It was lovely to have another interlude with the people of Castillac and Molly and Ben. Hope their relationship lasts through the turmoil of being on opposing sides.

Enjoyed this book, light and entertaining.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fourth book in the Molly Sutton series, our understanding of some of the townspeople of Castillac deepens, and we are introduced to new citizens as well. Pierre Gault, the talented but staid stonemason who rebuilt Molly’s pigeonnier in a previous book, turns out to be married to a woman of goddess-like beauty and allure, for example. Monsieur Nugent, the odious baker of irresistible croissants seems, perhaps, slightly less odious now that we know him a little better. Molly continues to swoon over his pastries as she works on her bed and breakfast business.

Of course, there is a murder early on. And of course, Molly gets involved investigating it, along with her boyfriend, ex-policeman Ben Dufort. Tangled relationships in a small village make for entertaining discoveries replete with secrets, red herrings, croissants and fine dining. Mystery just seems more fun in France!

I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed both parts of this arrangement.