We are returning to France for another great summer read by Gillian Harvey . The Village Cafe in the Loire was published by Boldwood on July 12th. High-flyer Becky Thorne cannot believe what she’s being told. She doesn’t need to be signed off for burnout! Life has been a bit chaotic lately, that’s all. As if dealing with her enviable job and permanent meddling from her mother aren’t enough, she’s also inherited a café in the Loire from an estranged great-aunt, complete with sitting tenant who refuses to budge. But nobody stands in Becky’s way! Ignoring her best friend Amber’s advice, she decides to storm over to France and sort the tenant out. Then she can finally get the café sold and jump back on the career ladder. What she doesn’t count on is the tenant being Pascale, who is six feet of tall, dark, handsome and extremely grumpy about her plans for change. Not to mention the village and the secrets it holds about her past. Becky’s path to succes...
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Hate Bale by Stephanie Dagg #Review #PublicationDay
On its Publication Day, we return to rural France for Stephanie Dagg's latest novel, Hate Bale which is described as a rural cosy mystery. I'd like to add that it has just a soupcon of romance as well.
Grumbling guests and escaping piglets are precisely what
Martha doesn’t need. She’s already struggling to run a holiday cottage and a
rather large smallholding single-handedly. Since her husband Mark died, three
years ago, her rural property in France, beautiful as it is, has become an
increasingly heavy millstone around her neck.
So whilst she’s horrified to stumble across a corpse at the
local farm supplies shop, it does at least distract her from her own woes. Best
friend Lottie, the cheese to Martha’s chalk, swoops in to offer moral support,
and encourages Martha to join her in some unofficial sleuthing.
Meanwhile,
police officer Philippe Prudhomme, a former fellow chess-player of Mark’s,
undertakes a rather more professional investigation.
However, despite everyone’s efforts the killer remains at
large. And when more bodies (one and a bit, to be precise) come Martha’s way,
it definitely feels like he’s closing in on her…
There’s suspense, humour and excitement in this entertaining
cosy mystery set in the French countryside.
My Thoughts
This is full of fun and humour- just right if you are looking for a read to escape into. Martha and Lottie prove to be entertaining sleuths as they track down the perpetrators of some fairly grisly murders which are all portrayed within this cosy mystery. Martha's approach to life makes you smile, as do the other locals and even the holiday makers who complicate her busy life. The author conjures up life in rural, provincial France which seems to have its own rules, incomprehensible to the city dwellers.
With a menagerie of animals to tend to, Martha is just coming out of the fog of grief she has felt after the death of her husband and she is ready for change. As she stumbles upon one dead body after another, the French police's reaction makes you smile and I loved both the author's wry comments as well as the laugh out loud moments she has created. I am hoping that we can return to see what Martha does next- there is plenty of mileage left in these characters yet.
In short: An entertaining romp through some grisly finds.
About the Author

I'm married to Chris and we have three bilingual TCKs (third
culture kids) who are resilient and resourceful and generally wonderful.
I'm a traditionally-published author of many children's
books, and am now self-publishing too. As well as being an author, I’m also a
part-time editor and, with Chris, manager of three carp fishing lakes. My
hobbies are cycling, geocaching, knitting and sewing.
| Website
Book link: Amazon UK
Thanks to Stephanie Dagg and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
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Thank you for reading and reviewing Hate Bale :-) I really appreciate your time and trouble, and I'm delighted you enjoyed the mystery. Bien amicalement, Stephanie
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