On the one hand, the mystery plot was just okay. I wasn't really invested in it until nearly the end of the book, and even then, it was only mild curiosity. The characters were, likewise, just okay. Some of them had some distinctiveness, but none felt deep, rounded, or real. As to the translated prose - despite plenty of vivid description, I felt at one remove from the action happening in the story as I read. I didn’t like the way that the prose breaks what could (should) be multi-clause sentences into short sentences and sentence fragments instead. I was confused by the choice to retain French spelling of certain words, like docteur, and to leave certain entire words and phrases in French, despite this being a translation. There were also not as many natural stopping points as I prefer in a book, and the narrative was broken into days rather than chapters. Judged as a detective novel, it's merely okay.

On the other hand, I did enjoy reading it. I especially enjoyed the vivid descriptive prose. Bannalec paints the setting - and its cuisine - beautifully. I put the book down after finishing with a new desire to visit Brittany and an intense craving for Breton seafood. So while it isn't a great mystery novel, it is a nice tour of Concarneau with a serviceable enough mystery plot to string it together. Viewed that way, it's a pretty good book.

I've decided to split the difference, and rate it 3.5 stars - more than average, less than good. As to whether I reccommend it, that depends on what you're looking for. ( )

Ich bin kein Riesen-Fan der Krimis um Kommissar Dupin, was vielleicht auch daran liegt, dass ich noch nie in der Bretagne war und nichts damit verbinde. Hin und wieder lese ich mal einen, aber ich würde jetzt nicht gezielt die ganze Serie lesen. Grundsätzlich finde ich es eine lustige Entwicklung, dass es zu nahezu jeder europäischen Urlaubsgegend einen deutschen Autor/ eine deutsche Autorin gibt, der/die unter einheimischem Pseudonym dafür „Regionalkrimis“ schreibt (neben Jean-Luc Bannalec fallen mir sofort noch Gil Ribeiro, Pierre Martin und Giulia Conti ein.).
Hier geht es um einen Mord an einem einheimischen „Grosskopferten“, einem Arzt, der aber noch einige andere Geschäfte am Laufen hatte. Erst die Lektüre von „Maigret und der gelbe Hund“, welches auch in Concarneau spielt, bringt den Kommissar auf die entscheidende Lösung.
Ich mag so gemütliche Krimis, in denen man über Täter und Motiv sinniert, lieber als gruselige Thriller. Trotzdem mag ich gern ein wenig miträtseln, was mir hier fast etwas zu kurz kam. Plötzlich war die Idee da und Zack, Fall gelöst.
Aber für einen Nachmittag im Krankenbett war es gut geeignet, man ist gedanklich an einem schönen Ort, das Buch tut nicht weh, lenkt ab und ist vermutlich schnell vergessen. ( )

Not my fave of the series, the plot, while enjoyable, seems a bit contrived. I don't think that the killer was well described and could have been anyone. But the descriptive writing is wonderful as always. ( )

Brittany, law-enforcement, multiple-murder, murder-investigation, rivalry, riveting, relationships, resentment, retribution, revenge, situational-humor, witty, teamwork, coffee-addict, mysteries, procedural, sabotage, red-herrings, revenge-killings, relatives, Maigret, historical-places-events, historical-research, secrets, working-partners, workaholic, series.*****

Commissaire Dupin winds up looking at a murder in his own town and without the people on his team. The first body fell from a height. Things start to look messy, and the members of the team are finding that their vacations are a little boring, so one by one they return and join him. Not a minute too soon as there is another death and also an explosion at the quay. It gets pointed out that the incidents are more than a little similar to the events in the Georges Simenon novel The Yellow Dog with Maigret! The due diligence is exceptional and uncovers a web of deceit and more. Another win for the author and the Commissaire! I absolutely loved it and had more than a few good snickers (we workaholic coffee addicts do, indeed, understand each other).
Great series! But it can stand alone.
Translation to English by Sorcha McDonagh.
I requested and received a free e-Book copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Many thanks! ( )

La llamada de la señora Chaboseau informando de que ha hallado muerto a su marido en el patio de su casa encuentra a Dupin en una comisaría que funciona a medio gas a causa de las reformas en el edificio. Enseguida se confirma que se trata de un caso de asesinato y los sospechosos resultan ser personajes muy conocidos de Concarneau. Muy pronto aparecerá un nuevo cadáver, un ataque intencionado a un astillero se saldará con varios heridos y desaparecerá una persona. Dupin descubrirá que el asesinato del doctor Chaboseau presenta similitudes con El perro canelo, lo que le llevará a bucear en los archivos de la ciudad en busca de la historia que dio pie a la novela de Simenon.

Todos los veranos sin falta, desde hace ocho años, el nuevo caso del comisario Dupin se sitúa en el nº 1 de los libros más vendidos en Alemania. ¿Cuál es el secreto de esta serie policiaca que se ha convertido en un fenómeno de ventas?

Sin duda, la mágica combinación de un detective peculiar y algo huraño que, a lo Hércules Poirot, confía más en su olfato y en los interrogatorios poco ortodoxos que en todos los seminarios sobre técnicas psicológicas avanzadas, y un escenario, la Bretaña, donde todavía se celebra la vida en torno a grandes mesas de madera, con buen vino y mejor conversación, y las ostras se comen por prescripción médica.