Death in Bordeaux

Superintendent Lannes #1

by Allan Massie

In the spring of 1940, the mutilated body of a homosexual is discovered in a street near the Bordeaux railway station. It looks like a straight-forward sex crime, but when Superintendent Lannes is warned off the investigation, his suspicion that there is a political motive for the murder seems justified. In defiance of authority, he continues working on the case. And then another body is found...

Meanwhile, the Superintendent has other troubles. His eldest son, Dominique, is at the Front, his wife, Marguerite, is depressed, and when the Battle of France breaks out, Bordeaux is filled with refugees fleeing the war. Suddenly civilian crime seems of little importance compared to the chaos that ensues.

As Bordeaux becomes an occupied city, Lannes’ chief suspect is untouchable, protected by a relative in the Vichy government. Lannes himself is threatened with blackmail on account of his Jewish friends and Dominique is taken prisoner. Common sense should make Lannes abandon the investigation, but honour and a natural obstinacy lead him to pursue it. However, as events turn increasingly bleak, Lannes begins to doubt it can ever be solved...

Death in Bordeaux is the first in a trilogy which will take Lannes through the war and up to the grisly, but inevitable purge of those found guilty of German collaboration. However, Death in Bordeaux is also a novel that explores the moral complexity of France’s time of trial, the horrors which afflicted France between 1940 and 1945, and the reasons why it has taken the French people so long to emerge from the shadow of war.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, France, World War II, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery

286 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

About the author

Allan Massie is a Scottish journalist, sports writer and novelist. Massie is one of Scotland's most prolific and well-known journalists, writing regular columns for The Scotsman, The Sunday Times (Scotland) and the Scottish Daily Mail. He is also the author of nearly 30 books, including 20 novels. He is notable for writing about the distant past.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3* of five

The Book Description: In the spring of 1940, the mutilated body of a homosexual is discovered in a street near the Bordeaux railway station. It looks like a straight-forward sex crime, but when Superintendent Lannes is warned off the investigation, his suspicion that there is a political motive for the murder seems justified. In defiance of authority, he continues working on the case. And then another body is found...Meanwhile, the Superintendent has other troubles. His eldest son, Dominique, is at the Front, his wife, Marguerite, is depressed, and when the Battle of France breaks out, Bordeaux is filled with refugees fleeing the war. Suddenly civilian crime seems of little importance compared to the chaos that ensues. As Bordeaux becomes an occupied city, Lannes' chief suspect is untouchable, protected by a relative in the Vichy government. Lannes himself is threatened with blackmail on account of his Jewish friends and Dominique is taken prisoner. Common sense should make Lannes abandon the investigation, but honour and a natural obstinacy lead him to pursue it. However, as events turn increasingly bleak, Lannes begins to doubt it can ever be solved...


My Review: What exactly is this book supposed to be? Is it a murder mystery? Is it a novel of Fallen France? I've read it now, and I don't really know. I suspect Massie doesn't either, and therein my issue with the book. I don't think it's right to market as a mystery a novel in which the mystery isn't mysterious. I don't think it's right to market a novel of the fall of France in the framework of a mystery unless you deliver on your promise.

So after close to 300pp in the company of Jean Lannes of the Police Justiciare, his friends Henri and Gaston, et alii, I am left with one certainty: Not one of these characters has done more than form wispily before my mind's eye. Marguerite, Jean's wife and mother of his three kids, is as wet as a tear-sodden hankie. She cries and glooms her way through the novel, almost driving Jean into adultery, and the funny thing is that I was wishing to goodness that he'd go on and do it. Poor bastard has awful, Babbitty superiors, collaborators one and all; men under him who need to be doing more than they're allowed to in the story; victims galore of one sociopathic, Nietzsche-spouting slimebucket. If anyone needs a good roll in the hay, it's this guy.

And then there's the writing. “He felt ashamed.” Uhhhmmm...that is the classic example of telling, not showing, and it's repeated ad nauseam with reference to Jean. Similar bald statements are made of other characters' inner lives. The descriptions of meals are simply lists of dishes; it's a little bit like reading pieces of the index to Mastering the Art of French Cooking. “It was good,” reports the writer.

Andrea Camilleri has no need to look over his shoulder for fear Montalbano's reign as sleuth/gourmand is challenged.

So why give the book, which was so evidently only modestly satisfactory, three stars? Because the situation, the Fall of France, is intriguing, and the author's choice to explore it through the lens of police work and public order, however mediocrely executed, is very interesting. I won't say you should seek it out and gobble it down, but should it present itself to you in some free way, and if you're interested in WWII France, it won't bore you to sleep.

A note on the book itself: I read the British publisher Quarto's edition. I know the English have a bizarrely proprietary attitude towards our American tongue, and even think of themselves as privileged to punctuate the language in odd and un-American ways with impunity. This is obviously complete bosh, so we needn't discuss it; but the copyeditor of this book needs a swift kick. The number of places there are no close quotes quite boggled my mind. The oddest thing, though, is the prevalence of this:
“Henry, “he said, “There...”

EEEEEEEEEE! Horrible! (Of course, for my example, I have used the self-evidently superior American system of double-quotes, unlike the silly Quarto people.) The capital letter beginning the rest of the sentence alone would cause me pain, but the misplaced quotation marks! Oooh owwww

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Death in Bordeaux' is volume one of Allan Massie's brilliant quartet of novels set in Bordeaux France during WWII and it returns to themes that he has explored again and again in different ways in his historical novels - how does a good man deal with or cope with the compromises that a imperfect world forces on him - but most recognisably in his previous novel dealing with the Vichy period in France 'A Question of Loyalties'. The 'Bordeaux' quartet is finer than that earlier novel but also has a protagonist much easier to sympathise with.

I can't really review this, or any of the four Bordeaux novels, as individual novels, though they all can be read as stand alone works. When I read the quartet previously I did not review the novels at the time so I am reading them again. That there is no diminution in the power of the novel or the pleasure I derived reading it again says everything you need to know about the quality of Mr. Massie's prose and story telling abilities. He is a master of period whether it be ancient Rome or dark age Britain or Europe. He wears his learning lightly, but it is there, and while clearly believing that there is much to learn from the past the people in his historical fiction are not people of today in fancy dress.

Finally I must point out that although a story that begins with a crime this is not a 'crime' novel. Crime, like history, is only a form, not an end in itself. Anyone who has read George Simeon will know what I mean.

[Deity World · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read of a Second World War murder based in Bordeaux where I used to live actually came across this series randomly and hope the rest are a good read

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this detective novel which is set in Bordeaux. It begins in early 1940, during the several months when France had declared war due to the Nazi invasion of Poland but before Hitler had unleashed his blitzkrieg westwards. The depiction of Superintendant Lannes - a World War One veteran - and the France of this period is excellently done.

The novel starts with the brutal murder of a gay man and there are several murders thereafter, but the novel always moves at a gentle pace and that is no bad thing as the author in addition to carefully crafting a criminal investigation, is also able to draw out the personality traits of his main characters, as well as the political divisions in French society at that time that eventually led to the collaboration of the Vichy government. The novel is rife with French anti-Semitism and the attitude of virtually all the characters including Lannes towards homosexuality is appalling by today's standards, but utterly credible. Lannes has to investigate with no clear hope of success due to the political contacts of his suspects that make his task difficult enough pre invasion, but totally tie his hands once the Germans conquer France, as everyone feels even more threatened and has to go into personal survival mode. Lannes and his team just keep going however and at great personal risk they gently tease out the connections and answers.

My one caveat within this praise and the reason I only gave 3 stars rather than 4, is that this trilogy should only be read as such - this first one ends abruptly with a rather unsatisfying clunk, with perhaps the central mystery still unresolved. I felt a bit cheated at the end and though it may well work as a marketing device to get me to buy parts 2 and 3, I much prefer my series, even one as short as a three parter, to be full of lots of ongoing strands that can be taken forward and further developed but notwithstanding that can also be read as satisfying stand alone novels.

[Gerald Sinstadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death in Bordeaux plays out in the spring of 1940. Superintendent Jean Lannes and two of his staff are confronted with a series of murders which may, or may not, be connected. Their investigations are hindered by pressures applied from above by those with "connections."

A fraught situation is complicated by Hitler's Germany as it moves through Europe and into France. Petain negotiates what he claims to be "an honourable" deal. The streets of Bordeaux come under the control of Nazi officers. While Lannes tries to pursue his duties as a policeman, he has to wrestle with matters of conscience: his eldest son is a prisoner-of-war, the younger twins are unsure how to react to the seemingly normal Germans they encounter.

The story's intertwined themes inevitably impose a leisurely pace which may not suit readers looking for a straightforward crime yarn. But Massie is dealing in moral issues that need the space.

One's admiration is tempered by a very poorly prepared Kindle version which consistently, and confusingly, fails to indicate passage breaks and transitions. Massie loses a star for that and can feel badly served by Amazon

[Jack Deighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part One; Bordeaux, Spring 1940. A body is discovered and Superintendent Jean Lannes is called to investigate. He is acquainted with the deceased, Gaston Chambolley, whose penis has been cut off and placed in his mouth as if this were a crime committed because of Chambolley’s homosexuality. The body has been moved, though, and Lannes soon supects the motive was political rather than due to prejudice, disgust, or a sexual encounter gone wrong. Chambolley had been looking into the death of his brother Henri’s wife Pilar, a Spaniard active in the Republican movement.

The times hang over proceedings like a pall. Bordeaux’s mayor is a fascist and the city rife with prejudice against Spanish refugees, Reds and Jews. For the first half of the novel the Phoney War pervades the background, a threat merely delayed. Lannes’s son Dominique is in the army manning the Maginot line and his wife, Marguerite, sick with worry. Lannes’s brother-in-law, high up in local government, spouts the ruling party line. The supervising magistrate is keen to shut the inquiry down but Lannes and his colleagues do not like unsolved cases.

When Lannes is sent to the Comte de Grimaud who requests him to track down the source of poison pen letters about the Comte’s (fourth) wife, Miriam, he has been receiving, the murder case takes on a twist. Chambolley was an associate of the Comte’s grandson, Maurice, who seeks out Lannes to tell him he witnessed the possible murderers entering the ground floor of Chambolley’s apartment block the night he was killed. Further complications ensue when one of Chambolley’s contacts with the Spanish, Javier Cortazar, is also found murdered, again mutilated. This seems to lead only to another dead end, though.

The Comte’s heir, Edmond, another with fascist leanings - but national government contacts - continually warns Lannes off “disturbing” the family even after the Comte is found dead after a fall down the stairs. The de Grimaud housekeeper (in the long ago another of the Comte’s many sexual conquests, one of whom may even have been his own daughter, and the Comte the father of her illegitimate child) suspects that child, known variously as Marcel or Sigi to be the perpetrator. On leaving a restaurant where he had been meeting Edmond, Lannes gets shot and it is possible that Edmond may have engineered this.

In Part Two the chapters do not have the date headings that Part One’s did, but we are several months down the line, Lannes is back on duty, his wounded son is in a POW camp and Bordeaux under German occupation. The justiciaire, however, will be left to its own sphere except in so far as crime is political and impinges on Germans or the occupation. Lannes’s other children, Clothilde and Alain, do not quite know how to interact with the German soldier billeted in the flat above theirs, but Marguerite now has to worry whether Alain will be drawn into something foolish.

Under the occasional disapproval of his new boss, an Alsatian called Schnyder (who privately laments to Lannes that many of his young countrymen will now be drafted into the Wehrmacht,) and of the supervising magistrate, Lannes still plugs away at the Chambolley/Cortazar case. A trip to Vichy, that deluded spa town, to interview Edmond confirms his powerlessness in the face of the new order.

Massie is a Scot but when out of the blue one character uses the Scots word blethers, it seemed a little odd in the mouth of a Frenchwoman. Then again, why not? The novel wasn’t written in French. Considering Massie's previous work it seems something of a diversion for Massie to take on the crime novel as a form, though he has previously interrogated the French experience during the Second World War.

If it is the duty of the detective story to set the world to rights this one fails in that regard, at least in this volume. By its end things are worse than at the start, with the Germans in charge and little place for honest policemen, unless they can keep their heads well down, and the lives of the general populace circumscribed and compromised.

It is only the first in a quartet though. The other three are on my shelves.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it took multiple starts on this book, but I finally finished it. Part of the problem was the poor publication values. I have never seen a book in regular publication that was produced so poorly. It’s like a vanity publication in that way. This is a pretty well written detective story set in France at the beginning of WW2. The story is a bit too complex, and of course the detective is mostly a saint. All in all it provides an educational window into the early Vichy time and what it was like to be occupied. This is the first of 4 related novels. I assume it gets even more dark

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-done — a cliffhanger though. Things will get worse before they get better...if they ever get better.
Massie was clever to have Lannes sum up the case in a written list about 3/4 of the way through — a help to readers who might be losing track of the different parts of the plot.

Terrible proofreading — typos everywhere!

[Richard Jespers · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was in elementary school, I read mysteries until they oozed out of my ears, but, as an adult, mysteries are only an occasional indulgence. I’m not sure why. I find them engaging. I love trying to guess whodunit. Yet I never seem to. I just go along for the ride to see what happens—like a roller coaster ride or full night of joy riding in somebody’s dad’s fancy car (it’s still 1965 in my head sometimes).

Set in 1940, before the full onset of World War II, the novel unfolds in Bordeaux. A mid-forties detective is with la police judiciaire (forever after PJ in the text)—the branch of police attempting to solve very serious crimes. In this case, it happens to be murder (voilà). The detective, Lannes, is in the morgue and views the very dead body, a rather white, dumpy, middle-aged man whose penis has been cut off and stuffed into the victim’s mouth.

It turns out that the murdered is what we now say gay and a twin of another male, who, of course, is distraught. Lannes is told to drop the case by his superiors because the PJ have more important matters to attend to. Yet Lannes continues, without being obvious, to search out the answers—after all, the murdered man and brother have been friends of his. During the next year the Germans begin to occupy France. It is a period of stultified politeness in which the French are “friendly” to the German soldiers, and the soldiers are likewise kind toward the locals. Many of them are young and lonely away from home for the first time.

At any rate, Lannes does figure out who has murdered his friend, but he can’t prove it. In part because those in charge possess the power to keep Lannes in check. It is an interesting ending to a whodunit, because usually, there is a short period (denouement) at the end of a mystery where the detective gathers all involved and explains how the mystery has been solved. In a way, this ending is more realistic. Except for Lannes, the sordid event shall remain a mystery to those who still wonder about it.

[Andrew Deakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prolific Scottish novelist and journalist Allan Massie's 2010 novel Death in Bordeaux mixes murder mystery with perceptive observations of the beginning of the German occupation of France in 1940. Central character Superintendent Lannes investigates the chilling murder of a man of known homosexual interests, uncovering mysterious links with anti fascist elements in the Spanish Civil War.

The mystery remains unsolved, partly due to political pressures from officials in France's collaborative Vichy government. Details of the German occupation increase during the course of the novel as the murder investigation stalls and finally ends unresolved.

Increasing instances of anti-semitism and overt distaste for homosexual practices among both German soldiers and French citizens provide ominous hints of the barbarism that the reader knows will eventuate as the war intensifies, and suggest underlying weaknesses in a French society unable to resist the German advance.

Death in Bordeaux is a very convincing recreation of the early months of the occupation of France, with the failed murder investigation mirroring the general decline and compromise of French life during this dark period.

Massie wrote three further novels with the same central character of Lannes, taking the reader to the end of the occupation and the war - Dark Summer, Cold Winter, and End Games in Bordeaux. It is a morose period in recent history that many may have forgotten or ignored. Massie has helped restore our collective memory of an instructively miserable time in wartime French life.

[Helen Ennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lannes, a world weary detective in 1930s Bordeaux comes across the body of a friend brutally murdered and mutilated. He is then called to the house of a local count and begins to see the ties as his own family and friends become involved when war is declared and the Nazis take over the town. The story harks back to the Spanish Civil War too and who was on which side.
Allan Massie doesn't shy from dealing with homosexual themes and the various sexual urges people have. This appears to be the first of a trilogy so I will have to seek out the others to see where the stories go. Unfortunately the edition I read was not very well edited so there were sometimes things like missing punctuation marks which made reading on more difficult.

[Murnatjo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the plus column, I really liked Lannes, the world weary lead, and many of the other principal characters were well drawn. Many others were straight from the school of what, for example, a thug looks and sound like.
Massie is obviously, per his other writing, a master of Vichy France, but I felt that Bordeaux was merely pencilled in, mainly by reeling off street names.
Less said about the ending, or the thought list that Lannes provides near the end.
Not sure what the proofreader was doing, but it wasn't proofing this novel. Typos abound, and some of the use of the comma as punctuation, is, shall we say, original.

[Ian Durant · Rating 3 out of 5]

C-19 lockdown reading. Really enjoyed this well written detective genre novel, the first part of a trilogy. My only two reservations were a) that the characterisations of some of the characters were not strong enough to make it easy to follow b) the end was a set up for the second novel in the trilogy, and compromised on the effectiveness of the first. I will probably follow up with the next novel later in the year.

[Robert Hinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow Paced

Although the plot was interesting and had many sub plots I felt the book was slow paced throughout and it took me a while to finish because it did not maintain my interest.

[Maxine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed parts of this book but found my mind wandering at times and struggled to work out who was who.
The references to the Germans occupying France were the best bit, not sure if the murders ever got solved properly or not? They seemed to be not that important ?

[Johanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good interesting setting believable characters and generally a worthwhile addition to the massed ranks of detectives

[AT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this first volume of the trilogy. Read it over 3 nights. Great historical fiction, the characters and the era ring true.

[Snorki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A police story set in Bordeaux at the start of the Second World War. A body has been found but the main character, a regular and seemingly honest policeman, is being told by his superiors not to investigate further. What makes this book interesting is the context - firstly, the time and culture of France in 1940, and secondly, the impact of the war. The French in Bordeaux have to come to terms with being at war, whatever that means, and then with being occupied. This brings particularly challenges for the police who now have a responsibility to keep the Germans involved on particular matters. It is definitely an interesting setting, and a step up from the average detective novel.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Death In Bordeaux" by Allen Massie is a historical mystery which takes place in France at the beginning of WWII. The main character, police superintendent Lannes, investigates the murder of a long time friend. The mystery involves people in high places, who are "untouchable" by the police. The web of politics and justice becomes more intertwined as Germany occupies France. Superintendent Lannes continues to pursue the case until the final page of the novel. The novel presents a look at the lives, ideas, and actions of ordinary people faced with the occupation of the hated foe. How do they navigate the new reality? The characters, including Superindendent Lannes, his police colleagues, family, and friends are facing difficult choices. I intend to read the next novels in the series.

[Cjfielden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death in Bordeaux was a gripping, atmospheric read set during the Second World War during the occupation of France. The story began with the murder of a close friend of the main protagonist, a detective, who is assigned the case only to find that his superiors are soon keen to stop him from solving the crime.

The novel is not only a detective story but also a commentary on corruption during this period of history where the people of Bordeaux were trying to protect their loved ones from the effects of the War.

I enjoyed reading this book although I was slightly disappointed and surprised by the anti-climatic ending. However, it would not stop me from reading another book in the series (this is the first).

[Cerisaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently read all three books in this crime series set in Vichy France and eagerly anticipate the promised fourth (final?) novel. One little niggle would be the cliff hangery endings to each book but don't let that put you off because the writing and period atmosphere are truly first rate.

The books are crime novels but more important than their mystery plots are the well crafted characters and what the crimes tell us in the 21st C what it was like to live through Nazi Occupation, through the experiences of Superintendent Jean Lannes and his colleagues in the Bordeaux Police Department.

Lannes is a middle-aged family man, veteran of the First World War, with three grown up children and a marriage that has gone a bit stale, a dedicated police man forced by circumstances of the French surrender to collaborate with German officials. His immediate superiors are more concerned about saving their own skins than bringing perpetrators to justice, especially when the crimes have political implications.

Facing very difficult circumstances Lannes struggles to maintain decency and honour. How can you do the right thing under scrutiny of the Germans (some of whom are far from supportive of Nazi ideology), threats of reprisal from the Resistance, and informers and collaborators waiting an opportunity to denounce those less than enthusiastic about France's new role as part of the Third Reich?

Lannes is a moral man and a sympathetic character yet sometimes he accepts the necessity to do what he knows to be wrong in order to do his job, protect his family and French citizens from the consequences of the Occupation. Lannes is good at what he does and wants to survive this war as he came through the last one, willing to do what it takes to get through without compromising his integrity overmuch. How can a good police man accept that certain crimes must be buried not resolved? How can he hand over French Jews and homosexuals to certain death? It is all murky and dangerous, the moral complexities fascinating and thought provoking, as you wonder how you would react under similar circumstances?

Lannes' family circumstances form an interesting ongoing story, in particular relationships with his two sons who take different paths in response to the fall of France. Lannes reads Dumas for comfort but he is a pragmatist not a romantic, who worries about the consequences of the choices made by his children. The nice German officer billeted in their apartment building might be pleasant company to his daughter and no Nazi sympathiser, but Lannes the concerned parent has the foresight to keep in mind the days of blame and retribution to come after the war.

The best historical fiction makes you forget you know what is going to happen (see Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell novels), which makes for an immersive, exciting reading experience. Very highly recommended.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first thought on finishing Death In Bordeaux is wow, what a fantastic read for atmosphere and reality, but they do come at a price as it is a long, drawn out, inconclusive novel and I think many seasoned crime fiction readers, myself included, may find it a bit frustrating on the crime front.

Jean Lannes is a superintendent in the Bordeaux police in 1940 when the Germans invade France. During this troubled time he is trying to investigate the death of Gaston Chambolley, an old friend, whose body was found mutilated and murdered in an alleyway. Initially it is assumed that Gaston was murdered for his homosexuality, which may have been illegal at the time but was certainly condemned as "depraved" but as Lannes continues to investigate it seems that certain powerful elements wished to silence Gaston and now want to bury the investigation. Lannes continues to investigate secretly but the political climate and powerful elements conspire against him.

Obviously there is murder and investigation in Death In Bordeaux (the clue is in the title) but I don't see them as the focus of the novel or where it is excels, but rather as a fairly interesting storyline to hang a series of excellent observations on. I love the atmosphere of ambivalence, self serving politics and uncertainty which pervades the novel and it made me look at what I thought about the war in a totally new light. You get Lannes who has to compromise his integrity for his job and family, the politicians and their hangers on who embrace collaboration under the guise of rejuvenating France, the young idealists trying to make sense of their new reality, the Jews who don't want to leave their homeland but above all you really get the sense of unease and need to be careful that invades everyday life - it's a horrible way to live and Mr Massie portrays it really well.

Much has been made of the ending with many people calling it disappointing. Yes, it is inconclusive but I think it is perfect as it succinctly sums up the problems of the time and neatly underlines many of the points Mr Massie makes in the course of the novel.

Death In Bordeaux will not be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the rest of the quartet. I Think it is worth trying.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I review books, I always try to give both the pros and cons of the book. I think that allows other readers to be aware of what they are about to read and it starts a great conversation with others!

This mystery novel was a lot of fun! It starts out with a murder of a homosexual, leads you to the murder of the homosexual's brother's wife, and follows up with even more murders! As if Superintendent Lannes doesn't have his hands full, WWII breaks out and his son is put in a POW farm, his wife is extremely upset, and the French are now under the control of the Nazi regime. I had a blast trying to see where the book was going to lead me next! Detective Lannes and his team of rule breakers really intrigued me in the step by step process of illuminating important materials and witnesses throughout the novel. I enjoyed the pace of the novel and how well the chapters were able to flow so delicately together. The character development in the story was top notch (although I would have loved to learn more about Pilar and I thought Alain's character development was a little odd). I loved having the knowledge of Lannes' past and knowing that he was a World War I vet, his family life, his thinking in the case, and also the way that he felt about the new war with Hitler. I was glad to see that he was also protecting two of his friends that happened to be Jews.

I had a few issues with the book. The first issue that I had was with all of the misspellings and grammatical errors in the book. I felt like I was distracting myself from the story. The other issue was at the end of the book, I didn't feel like Massie tied the ending together well and it ended a little to abruptly for my liking. I also didn't feel like this book was an amazing page turner and I stalled in reading it because of the grammatical errors. Overall I gave the book a solid three stars. It was entertaining, just needs better editing and a better ending in my opinion.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch historical literary police procedural, although the proof-reading leaves a lot to be desired. The first in a trilogy, this is set in 1940s Bordeaux, during the fall of France. Superintendent Lannes, a veteran of the Great War and with a son on the front lines of the coming war, investigates the grisly murder of a homosexual. He is urged to close the case quickly, but the victim was known to him and he hangs on, doggedly pursuing the slender lines of inquiry. When Germany invades and France surrenders, he finds himself questioning his priorities and fearing for the future. His chief suspects become powerful and untouchable,his witnesses are in danger and he is vulnerable. In the end, the mystery might be solved and the culprits revealed, but is there any hope of justice being done?

Underneath the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and typesetting disasters, this book is superbly written and sympathetically imagined, a portrait of a society about to compromise itself utterly while those within struggle to find ways to live with themselves and their conquerors. One senses that the other jackboots will well and truly drop in the next volume, and horrible choices about resistance and survival will have to be made and that both will come with heavy costs.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allan Massie - better known in Scotland as a journalist - surprised me with this atmospheric detective story set in the early days of World War 2 as the Germans occupy France. The story - two, actually - weaves in with description of how different sections of local society view events as they unfold around them. I like Massie's central character Superintendent Lannes, but I like sidekicks, too, especially the enthusiastic René. By and large, though, all the characters are pretty rounded, and like Philip Kerr Massie even allows for the possibility of the 'acceptable Nazi'.

There's an interesting, measured pace about the novel which is reminiscent of Fred Vargas, and of Siménon before that. I'm not sure if there's something peculiar about the French that lends itself to the quieter style - probably there are hard-boiled French crime novels out there, I just haven't stumbled across them yet.

I was lent this by a friend, who claims there's at least one more. I look forward to it.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a trilogy, this is an intriguing who-done-it set in Bordeaux in spring of 1940. The war adds further complications since resources are even more limited; with men at the front, fewer are available to spend time investigating a barbaric murder with few leads that has landed on Superintendent Lannes' desk. No one is forthcoming in offering any information.
The limited few officers that are available to investigate may be reduced further to provide more patrol officers to ensure the safety of the town's residents. Superintendent Lannes is being pressured to expend no additional resources and to bring his investigation to a conclusion quickly.

In addition, he, his wife and twin children are worried about the eldest son who is serving on the front lines. And, they soon have additional concerns about their younger son who may be forming a friendship with boy that is most likely a bad influence.

[Alison Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A homosexual is found murdered, but inspector Jean Lannes is not entirely convinced that the motive for the killing is not political. Bordeaux in 1940 is living under the Vichy regime, and he soon finds himself being warned off the investigation. There are some people who are "untouchable", either because of their connections to Vichy or to the Germans, but he refuses to stop searching for the truth. He is not completely trusted, as he has Jewish friends. His elder son is fighting with French forces, and later captured. His younger son is rather a hothead, so he worries about what he will get involved with, and his daughter makes friends with various unsuitable young men. The oppressive atmosphere of an occupied city is wonderfully conveyed. Lannes' wife is depressed. This is a fascinating portrait of a society about which I know very little.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of Death in Bordeaux - a cop compromised by circumstance - is an interesting one. Massie manages to keep the uncertainty and concessions working until the last page, but the tension is undermined somewhat by a fairly long-winded narrative, pedestrian pace, and the contrived nature of the plot concerning de Grimaud family. Lannes is an interesting enough cop, dogged and reflective, who worries for the safety of his family, and feels increasingly at sea in the new political terrain, and the characterisation in general is nicely done. And there is a good sense of place and historical contextualisation. However, I never really connected with the story, which felt ponderous and flat. Overall, a run of the mill, historical police procedural.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bordeaux, France, has the feeling of a city with a lot of secrets, which is what led me to seek out this book. I took so long to read it, however, each time I picked it back up, I would have to refresh my memory on the many characters and the complex dynamics at play as Bordeaux fell under German control in the early 40s. I was staying in the city when I started to read the book and felt a great sense of satisfaction (and horror) as I could imagine some of the events happening around me. I was surprised by the not-exactly-satisfying resolution to the "mystery" but it makes sense in the context of occupied France, I guess. I am looking forward to reading additional books in this series because I was really taken with Bordeaux and I also enjoyed Superintendent Lannes very much.

[ErnstG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells two stories (it is also in 2 parts that map loosely). The first is an not-altogether-convincing policier that exposes the plot that provide the drama element and provides the framework for the second. The second, which starts late and then increases until it dominates the book, tells of the moral dilemmas posed by the German occupation of France. It is the latter that makes the book worth reading and might justify the other two volumes of the trilogy. As well as the 4th volume!

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