The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne

The fifth entry in this acclaimed series finds Verlaque and Bonnet investigating a murder and the provenance of a mysterious painting

Like Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri, M. L. Longworth’s enchanting mystery series blends clever whodunits with gustatory delights and the timeless appeal of Provence.The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne adds a new twist by immersing Antoine and Marine in a clever double narrative that costars Provence’s greatest artist.

A friend in his cigar club asks Antoine to visit Rene Rouquet, a retired postal worker who has found a rolled-up canvas in his apartment. As the apartment once belonged to Cezanne, Rouquet is convinced he’s discovered a treasure. But when Antoine arrives at the apartment, he finds Rene dead, the canvas missing, and a mysterious art history professor standing over the body.

When the painting is finally recovered, the mystery only deepens. The brushwork and color all point to Cezanne. But who is the smiling woman in the painting? She is definitely not the dour Madame Cezanne. Who killed Rene? Who stole the painting? And what will they do to get it back?

M. L. Longworth has lived in Aix-en-Provence since 1997. She has written about the region for theWashington Post, the Times (London), the Independent (London), andBon Appetit. She is the author of a bilingual collection of essays, Une Americaine en Provence. She currently divides her time between Aix and Paris, where she teaches writing at NYU’s Paris campus.