Secrets on the Cote d’Azur by Matthew Costello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Mydworth Mysteries #8
Publication Date: 4/30/21
Period: Interwar – French Riviera
Number of Pages: 133

Yet another delightful entry in the Mydworth Mysteries series and as always, it is well-written and well-plotted. The main characters Sir Harry Mortimer and his lovely wife, the former Kat Reilly of New York City, are on a work/pleasure trip to the French Riviera. Both Harry and Kat have been operatives for their governments and Harry still does occasional jobs for a small, discrete branch of the British government, so it is no surprise that Harry has been asked to travel to France to debrief an agent, Wyndham Groves, who has just returned from an undercover assignment in North Africa. The debriefing should take only a few hours and Harry and Kat intend to spend some time alone enjoying the Cote d’Azur. Ah! The best-laid plans …

Their trip on Le Train Bleu was fun with their meeting of American con artist Roscoe Burns. Kat and Harry had a witty encounter with the man and I hope we’ll see him pop up in future books.

As soon as Harry finished with his debriefing, things started to pop. Harry’s Aunt Lavinia was also spending the season on the French Riviera with some friends and she invited Harry and Kat to attend a huge party. There was, an ulterior motive for the invitation, it seems a friend of Lavinia’s, Percy Porter, is being blackmailed and Lavinia wants Harry and Kat to discover and stop the culprits. When the blackmailer demands more and more money and Harry and Kat discover a seasoned criminal is involved, the task becomes more dangerous. While they don’t think the criminal is the mastermind, they have no clue who is. When the culprit(s) are caught and all is revealed, Harry and Kat are shocked.

You’ll love all of the red-herrings, false trails, and chases nestled in such vivid descriptions of the time and place you’ll feel you are right there with Harry and Kat. I love these books because the mystery is always excellent, but they are also filled with wit, humor, and fun banter between Harry and Kat. You absolutely can’t go wrong with one of these lovely, quick-to-read, fun mysteries. I can hardly wait for the next book, A Distant Voice, to release on 7/30/21 – and it would be really good fun if Roscoe and Wyndham showed up in it.

View all my reviews

The Wrong Man by Matthew Costello
Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Mydworth Mysteries #7
Publication Date: 1/29/21
Period: Interwar
Number of Pages: 125

It is almost Valentine’s day when Kat and Harry are asked to do whatever they can to save Oliver Brown who is set to be hung for murdering his lifelong friend Ben Carter. The thing is, the evidence is overwhelming, and the execution is at dawn in just a couple of days. What can they possibly find to save him in that short time? First, they need to decide whether to believe the evidence or to believe what Oliver says.

Ben’s murder was a vicious one – obviously done by someone who had an issue with Ben. Also obvious was the fact that Ben and Oliver had been in an altercation earlier in the evening – one that would have come to blows had it not been for the police arriving. With no alibi, the murder weapon found at his home, and bloody clothing buried in his garden, Oliver is the only suspect. Even when their other friend Will tries to offer Oliver an alibi, the police quickly discredit it. How in the world will Kat and Harry manage to overcome all of that – in such a short time – after any trails will have long gone cold?

This is an exciting, fast-paced, well-written story that you won’t want to put down. The characters are delightful, the mystery intense, and the solution is unexpected. If you are looking for a great read, this short book is just the thing.