Death at the Chateau Bremont

In the lovely area just north of Marseilles is Aix-en-Provence lived two brothers descended from a noble family. One was all the good and the other was all the bad in the family. Étienne was the first to die and he met his end by falling out of an attic window of the Bremont estate that was as familiar to him as his childhood. François, his brother was found murdered in a fountain days later.

Charismatic Antoine Verlaque is the Chief Investigating magistrate of Aix and he begins to unravel the lives of these siblings. He calls on an old friend of his, a law professor, Marine Bonnet who knew these boys when they were growing up. As is often the case there was still much to be discovered about the lives of these men, their recent pasts and the reality of who was the good, or bad even ugly.

It seems these days that the influences of the Russian mafia in the Côte d'Azur and the Corsican Mafia in Marseilles have the crime of these areas sewn up and it seems both brothers had fingers getting burnt in dangerous pies.

There is an excellent sense of place and times in this book. The characters are very well drawn and likable although none are presented without flaws. They seemed all the more real because of them. The policing and judicial system in France is complex and Verlaque's job is an example of that. He began as a prosecutor and moved to head district judge in a brief time. He is considered incorruptible and at 41 years old is comparatively young for his position. Examining magistrates are entitled to take a hands-on role in investigations although most don't.

Aix is a gem of a town and the descriptions of it's celebrated main street with its canopy of  branches makes one want to visit and sit at a café along the boulevard. The spires of Sainte-Jean-de-Malte tree are a calming influence on the denizens of the city as well.