Disaster at the Vendome Theater

Set in Aix-en-Provence with detours to Paris, Longworth's pleasing 10th Provençal mystery (after 2021's The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral) finds the largely amateur cast of the Théâtre Vendôme's upcoming production of Marcel Pagnol's Cigalon all atwitter at the thought of working with real professionals like Liliane Poncet, the once great leading lady of French stage and screen, and Liliane's costar, Gauthier Lesage, TV actor and guest on various game shows. Gauthier's arrogance and condescension toward his fellow thespians, however, creates friction. When he's found strangled in the theater's storeroom, chaos breaks out. Examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque and his heavily pregnant wife, Marine Bonnet, investigate. Will the show go on, with the town butcher stepping into the leading role? What secrets are the ragtag band of actors hiding? The more pressing questions for readers are when will Martine give birth, and will it be a boy or a girl? As usual, people and place matter more than the coincidence-filled plot. Packed with luscious descriptions of food and flashes of cultural history, this is a fine way to relax in the company of old friends. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)

Longworth's 10th Provençal novel (following The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral) is a literary mystery that's more character-driven than suspenseful. A group of professional and amateur actors come together to perform Marcel Pagnol's play Cigalon in a small theater in Aix-en-Provence, France. But then the death of one of the actors, Gauthier, brings the play to a screeching halt and places it on the verge of cancellation. Investigating, the police slowly discover hidden connections between the actors and the play's director. Further questioning reveals that three of the people involved with Cigalon were also in a production of West Side Story 25 years earlier. The mystery intensifies when another cast member is pushed down the stairs at the theater. VERDICT This is a slow-burn mystery with little gore or suspense, but the alternating points of view give readers a unique perspective on the murders. For fans of Miranda James's "Cat in the Stacks" mysteries, which also walk the line between lighthearted fluff and suspense while dispensing with graphic violence.--Victoria Kollar