Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.
The Body by the Sea is an English translation of a French popular mystery series by Jean-Luc Bannalec. There may even be a German translation thrown in there, it's confusing to me. The setting for all the books is Brittany which is a huge peninsula to the far west of France. The sea plays a huge role in anything concerniing Brittany. Bretons consider themselves different than the French and often say there is Brittany and there is France. Bannalec often refers to this status although not so often in this book. Each mystery takes place in a different part of Brittany and this book is set in the hometown of Commissaire Dupin: Concarneau, a beautiful harbor town on the south coast of Brittany. Also, since the last book, his little police force has expanded by two more policewomen.

The story starts out with the death of a well-known doctor who has been discovered by the wife. The wife is not forth-coming at all, most unhelpful. The first half of the book is about Dupin and his team trying to sort out who is who, what happened, and who else might be involved with the doctor. It is slow reading and one wonders how much of this is the translation. There is much reference to the book Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon who wrote his mystery while staying in Concarneau. The acknowledgments thank Simenon's son for help with the book.

The last third of the book picks up the pace dramatically as Dupin has many lightbulb moments and races from end to end of Concarneau. The ending is actually quite satisfying.

I live part-time in France and my French friends say to read Bannalec only for the sightseeing of Brittany. There are so many really good, well-written mysteries coming out of France these days. It is probably better to read these books in the original language. Having said that, if you want a fun romp through Brittany and can put up with mediocre writing (my opinion, of course), these books may be for you. I will certainly read the next one as I love Brittany and appreciate reading about it.