I’ve read all of the books in this series now as I think they are amazing. I enjoyed Richard Osman’s books, but thought these were better. More humour and more weight to the plot. A really enjoyable light read.

I’ve been enjoying Ian’s Death and Croissants as they’ve come out each year. They’re fun, slightly quirky, cosy murder mysteries. And my dad always enjoys them after me.

The third in a series is always a tricky book to get right and in this case I think Ian succeeded - it’s possibility my favourite of the series!

We have family friends who own a large ex B&B in France so I always reminisce about visits as I’m reading (hoping one book I can tally up with a visit there, for photographic purposes you see..) and I adored Richard’s B&B being taken over by a film company and Richard and Valarie offering their security services with their very discreet walkie-talkies. The couple have a fabulous dynamic and as someone very sarcastic I enjoyed Richards purposeful use of sarcasm battling with language barriers and cultural norms.

Always a fun read and perfect for snuggling up a with a cup of tea, glass of Bordeaux or even a croissant!

A quick, easy, charming and very funny read that had me laughing out loud. I would highly recommend reading this if you like cosy crime

Death at the Chateau by Ian Moore is completely entertaining and engrossing cozy mystery. Set in picturesque regions of France, this marvelous mystery is peppered with quirky characters and humor, and a whole lot of sleuthing and side stories.

I loved the plot: a film production company shooting a film based on Napolean, cranky and egotistical actors, actresses being stalked, romance and two-timings, and of course, deaths under suspicious circumstances.

Coming to the mystery behind the suspicious deaths and Lionel receiving threatening letters - both these mysteries kept me guessing till the end. Both mysteries had an interesting ending, and I cannot choose a favorite - unique and unexpected endings, you see.

If you love mysteries set in France, and if you love quirky mysteries, you have to give Death at the Chateau by Ian Moore a try.

I enjoyed this one immensely. Very well written and presented. It kept me reading well into the night. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I didn't get a chance to download this on NetGalley, but still had the pleasure of reading this book. I quite enjoyed the eas read. It was warm and easy to follow. I liked that the story wasn't too complicated, yet still quite entertaining.

Quite a cozy funny enjoyable read. Well written and very lighthearted. I had read another book by this author and it does make you wonder whether life in France could be this good.

Now at the third (proper) instalment of the Follet Valley series, we are starting to see the characters as old friends, and that is precisely what you might expect and certainly want from this type of fiction. Not truly ‘cosy mystery’ (thankfully!), 'Death and the Chateau' is light, wry and frequently, laugh (not just smile) out loud funny but just as importantly, a genuine crime fiction puzzle.

But this time, the characters feel more defined and their interactions more natural. Also, the plotting is tighter, the red herrings more plentiful and the jokes funnier. This is without doubt the best Follet Valley novel yet.
To be honest, there is little else I would rather read at this time of year – you can almost feel the warmth of a languid late summer French afternoon radiating off the pages.
If Ian Moore keeps writing this series, I’m going to keep reading!

Death at the Chateau is another enjoyable read in Ian Moore's cosy mystery series featuring British ex-pat Richard Ainsworth, the proprietor of a chambre d'hôte (B&B) in the (fictional) Follet Valley - a "quiet corner" of the popular Loire Valley region in France.

In this instalment, Richard and his associate, glamorous Valérie d'Orçay - "a professional bounty hunter and possible assassin of international repute" - are engaged as security consultants for the shooting of an historical film at nearby Chateau de Valençay. But nothing is ever plain-sailing for our detecting duo, and it's not long before an extra on the film, an elderly local hero of the Resistance expires dramatically on set. But did Régis Corbeau die of natural causes at an inopportune moment, or was he murdered?

Egos collide and suspects abound as Richard and Valérie, aided by Richard's redoubtable and resourceful femme de ménage (domestic help) Madame Tablier, set about investigating the crime. Further dramatic deaths amongst the film's cast and crew muddy the waters as Richard and Valérie hurtle towards a deadly nightime confrontation with the killer. Along the way, Richard tries to conceal his growing attraction to Valérie, is reluctantly co-opted to act as the film company's media liaison and discovers that his affinity with chickens does not extend to all poultry, as he's relentlessly bullied by a resident peacock named Clovis.

Death at the Chateau is a rip-roaring read, with a great balance of British-style humour, character hi-jinks and intriguing plot twists. Richard and Valérie lead an engaging cast of characters and the setting of a Renaissance chateau with real-life Napoleonic connections is well integrated with the mystery plot.

I'd recommend Death at the Chateau to any reader who enjoys humorous, action-packed "cosy" mysteries, especially those who enjoy European settings and plenty of cinematic references.

My thanks to the author, Ian Moore, publisher Farrago Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this entertaining title.

This is one of a brilliant series of books set in France involving Richard, an English expat B&B owner and Valerie, who seems to be an ex policewoman, assassin and international woman of mystery - at least to Richard. Ex wives and husbands pop up along with the slightly dodgy fellow B&B owners. Can't wait for the next one.

Richard’s ‘posh bed and breakfast’ has been taken over by the cast and crew of a big Hollywood movie being filmed at a nearby chateau, and he and Valerie’s new security firm have been hired to keep an eye on things. However things quickly start to unravel as the bodies start to pile up!

This is the third book of the series and it’s been lovely to revisit the blundering Richard and mysterious Valerie (not to mention their deviant neighbours) in the French countryside.  I must say it took me a bit longer to get into this one due to the introduction of so many new characters at once, but this really is a hilarious read and perfect for fans of the ‘cosy crime’ genre.

How this has not been snapped up by the BBC to be made into ‘Sunday Night Telly’ is beyond me, he’s even written a Christmas special!

Richard is a middle-aged Englishman running a B & B in the Val de Follet. Due to past investigations, he has now teamed up with exotic Valerie to open a detective agency and had been dragged into their first case as security for a film set at the Chateau de Valencay. Both main characters could not be more opposite with Richard wisecracking to overcome being out of his depth. The mystery is very much a cozy afternoon read with the real point of the book being the lighthearted humour. Perfect for a quirky quick afternoon read.
Thank you NetGalley and (Farrago Books) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Richard and Valerie are back and their company is providing security for a film production company .
As you would expect there is subterfuge and murder a foot .
The film set is full of over the top actors , a stalker and all the over inflated egos which are involved in the production of a film.
Poisoning is the main method of murder here and the pair of amateur sleuths try to get to the bottom of it .
I like Richard and Valerie’s relationship and they work along side each other perfectly.
The book starts slowly but the pace soon picks up and makes a perfect cosy mystery read.
An enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Farrago books.

When I saw this book was going to be published I knew I had to read it because I am enjoying this series.
A lot of fun, surprising twists and turns, a solid mystery.
I can't wait to read other stories in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Film sets can be a hotbed of trouble and that's the case in this fun cozy set in French. Richard and Valerie find themselves first intrigued and then investigating when the crew takes over the Chateau and bad things ensue. This isn't dark, it isn't deep, but it's fun. Just the sort of novel you want to while away a rainy afternoon. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago Books for an advance copy of Death at the Chateau, the third novel in the Follet Valley Mystery series featuring Richard Ainsworth, owner of an upmarket chambre d’hôte and Valérie dOrçay, former spy and perhaps assassin who are now working together in a newly formed security company.

Richard and Valérie are providing security on a film set at the nearby Chateau de Valeçay when one of the actors dies, natural causes according to the police, murder according to a disbelieving Richard and Valérie. They proceed to investigate and discover more intrigue than the film script.

I thoroughly enjoyed Death at the Chateau, which is a lighthearted romp in the Loire region with a good mystery attached. It made me smile, perhaps not laugh out loud, but then I’m not a middle aged Englishman in France, so it’s hard to fully get Richard’s feelings. The novel is told from his point of view, so much of the humour comes from his reactions to the notably more volatile Valérie and his desire to underplay life in general. This is a man who finds solace spending alone time with his hens who, obviously as he is a doctor of film history, are named after the greats, like Joan Crawford.

The plot is suitably silly with more murders, a stalker and over the top actors. Still, it is a puzzle as to what is going on and why. I found myself trying to work it out and failing miserably. I feel slightly cheated as not all the information is available before the denouement to make an educated guess, but the literal unmasking of the perpetrator was fun, being a mixture of skill and ineptitude. No prizes for guessing who was which.

Death at the Chateau is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

I have read all of the Follet Valley books and have enjoyed them all immensely, however if I have one complaint it is that this book was not as laugh out loud funny as the others hence the 4 star only this time. That would not put me off buying this book as a gift or in fact reading any other books by the same author. On the hole this was a very good book that continues with the ongoing saga of life in France for our main protagonist.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Farrago Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest)

This whole series is just unique and lighthearted mysteries, which I love. There were plenty of twists and turns as well as random and quirky plot points. Richard had a great sense of humour and use of sarcasm which works really well with Valerie’s personality. There were a lot of side characters who we get introduced to very quickly which did make it confusing to remember them all. I did love how this book (and the rest in the series) wasn't trying to be a serious, tense mystery novel and instead was just a fun and slightly chaotic/random read.

I previously read Death and Croissants by this author and have to say I enjoyed this one more. A gentle book with farce like qualities mixed with the number of deaths along the lines of Midsomer Murders makes an entertaining light read. Fun quirky characters with a mix of both French and English ex-pats with a good dollop of Hollywood thrown in the mix.

While in the first book Richard was a former cinematography professor who has opened a boutique hotel in France with his wife, which he had been left to run alone (except for his beloved flock of chickens and a grumbling housekeeper), and suddenly he has a new guest who has moved in without his knowledge while ignoring no pets clause, and he also has to find the missing guest and the murderer of his precious chicken ..

Then in this book... Richard still owns a boutique hotel, still loves classic movies, hates IMPD, talks to his beloved flock of chickens, and tries to avoid his "competitors". But on top of that, Valérie, who has now become the permanent lodger in the hotel and Richard's eye candy, has put them to work on the film set, as bodyguards for Valérie's niece ... and the rest of the film crew.

But then an extra, who is 102 years old (a bit lived already) has a heart attack while playing Napoleon in close-ups from behind. And then one of the crew is pushed into a ditch and then … and then ….
If Richard wants to get the money that the film crew has promised him, he must ignore Valérie's ex-husband, his own ex-wife and find out the reason for these strange occurrences.

It's a book in a "Thursday Murder Club" style, but still something totally different, offering both British and French humor.