Book Review: The Killing Tide, A Brittany Mystery

There is never a bad time to dive into a good mystery, whether it’s cosying up by the fire in winter or lounging on the beach during your summer holiday. But right now, as the world practices “social distancing” during the coronavirus pandemic, many readers are asking for good reads that can transport them to France as we are confined to our homes.

One such transportative book is The Killing Tide, A Brittany Mystery by Jean-Luc Bannalec. This is the fifth novel in the internationally bestselling Commissaire Dupin series, featuring the cantankerous French detective, and it came out in February.

What makes this such a satisfying mystery isn’t just the plot that will keep you guessing (and turning the pages for clues), but also the book’s deep sense of place. The Killing Tide is set on the islands of Molène and Ouessant, and Bannalec beautiful conjures the Bay of Douarnenez and the enthralling light and landscapes that are so distinctive to Finistère in Brittany. And the descriptions of food are enough to make your mouth water. Brittany’s rich culinary heritage is on full display.

What’s more, The Killing Tide is peppered with Breton proverbs, legends, and history, further immersing the reader in this unique part of the world. “Bannalec’s Brittany Mystery series, which does for Brittany what Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police, mysteries do for Dordogne—namely, make the reader ache to visit them,” wrote Booklist on the Missing Corpse. Brittany is described as carefully as a character in The Killing Tide; the region takes pride of place in a story that follows a puzzling case involving a young fisherwoman found with her throat cut in a fishing container on the Ile de Sein. In the pursuit of the murderer, Dupin trails deep sea fishers, dolphin researchers, and smugglers…

Purchase this book at your local independent bookstore or on Amazon below: