The Corsican Caper

March 3, 2014
Readers who want to engage by proxy in the lives of Europe’s mega-wealthy will best appreciate this frothy bit of fun from bestseller Mayle, his third novel featuring Sam Levitt (after 2012’s The Marseille Caper). Billionaire Francis Reboul owns the Palais du Pharo, which was “originally built for Napoleon III” and is “the biggest private residence in Marseille, and the most glamorous.” Russian businessman Oleg Vronsky, accustomed to getting whatever he desires by fair means or foul, covets the Palais du Pharo, which Reboul has no interest in selling. Vronsky’s machinations and Reboul’s responses, mostly engineered by his American detective friend, Sam Levitt, who is conveniently visiting, provide the slender framework for Mayle to send his characters on outings to a variety of eating establishments around Provence and Corsica. Those who find the excess a bit much may struggle to invest concern in the nominal suspense. Agent: Ernest Chapman, Escargot Productions (U.K.).

This story, set in the South of France, is a quick listen meant for fans of Mayle's mystery series. Newcomers may feel as if they're missing something, as the characters aren't well introduced. When Francis Reboul refuses to sell his Marseille mansion to a Russian tycoon, the Russian arranges a hit on Reboul through the Corsican mafia. Fortunately, Reboul has friends in all the right places, including his American friends Sam and Elena, as well as friends in Corsica. Narrator Erik Davies gives a detached reading of the narrative, while the characters' accents, whether French, Corsican or Russian, sound cumbersome. The distracting and laborious narration combined with a thin plot, long lists of French wines, menus, and stereotyped characters makes for difficult listening. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine