Events are planned, a huge brocante, street parties and the centrepiece, an exhibition boules tournament between the two towns and a team of international boules all-stars. Everything is going well, the sun shines, the wine flows and the entente is very cordiale.

Until the mayor turns up dead in an antique dresser having apparently been killed twice. Inevitably Richard and Valérie have very different views on the subject and engage in their own battle: who will solve the crime first?

A HEADLESS MAN. A MISSING GIRL. A LIFE RULED BY SECRETS.

When a decapitated body washes up on the banks of the River Loire in the ancient city of Tours, the reluctant  juge d’instruction  Matthieu Lombard is brought in to lead the investigation.

But when Lombard’s young niece appears, the inquiry changes course. Suddenly immersed in another world – one of eco-terrorism, bio-medical research, French aristocracy and the violent forgotten underbelly of society – Lombard begins to make unexpected connections.

Can the brutal murder of a lonely man really be justified by a noble cause? Or are good intentions hiding darker motives, more cynical and more deadly?

The second book in the gripping new crime series from The Times-bestselling author of Death and Croissants

Events are planned, a huge brocante, street parties and the centrepiece, an exhibition boules tournament between the two towns and a team of international boules all-stars. Everything is going well, the sun shines, the wine flows and the entente is very cordiale.

Until the mayor turns up dead in an antique dresser having apparently been killed twice. Inevitably Richard and Valérie have very different views on the subject and engage in their own battle: who will solve the crime first?

After six years in the idyllic Loire Valley, comedian Ian Moore, his family and his ever-expanding menagerie are beginning to feel like they’re on the cusp of the peace and tranquillity they hoped for when they moved from dreary Crawley to la belle France. Their grand project, a writing school called Les Champs Créatifs, is finally complete – only, nobody’s signed up.

Natalie and the boys must contend with the ever-colourful locals, including a Sicilian faith healer, threatening hunters and the “Christmas Pudding Man”, and Ian must test his mod mettle against two new additions to the animal family – a pair of disappearing goats. With stresses, strains and animal poo mounting up, la famille Moore have their work cut out – but they’re determined to give it their best shot!

Then crisis hits his posh B&B when redoubtable housekeeper, Madame Tablier, is accused of murdering a former fiancé. An accusation which the stubborn old woman refuses to deny.

Valérie d’Orçay is having none of it and their investigation leads them to a strange tourist garden village, where backbiting, recriminations and former colleagues provide a deadly scenario more tangled than knotweed.

When an English expat is brutally murdered, his charred corpse left on a Loire Valley hillside, the police turn to juge d’instruction Matthieu Lombard to find the killer.

Instead, Lombard discovers a wealth of secrets, grudges and feuds in the idyllic town of Saint-Genèse-sur-Loire. He begins to suspect that the remaining members of the Comité des Fêtes know more about the death than they are letting on.

But rather than towards an arrest, each clue he uncovers seems to point in one, unexpected direction: Joan of Arc. Is the answer to the murder hiding in the barroom gossip of the Lion d’Or? Or in another century altogether?

The thrilling new crime series from The Times-bestselling author of Death and Croissants

Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough. Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn’t like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space.

Several years later, Ian finds himself up to his neck in bilingual offspring, feral cats, promiscuous horses, dysfunctional spaniels and needy hens; he’s wrestling with electric fences, a foreign language, a mountain of animal waste and a wife who collects livestock like there’s a biblical flood on the horizon, all while trying not to dirty his pristine loafers.

But despite the ups, downs and increasing demands of Ian’s showbiz career, the Moore family persevere in true Brit style to create a unique, colourful and ultimately rewarding life in their new home – à la campagne!

Then crisis hits his posh B&B when redoubtable housekeeper, Madame Tablier, is accused of murder. Even more surprisingly, it’s the murder of a former fiancé, turned brother-in-law. None of which the stubborn old woman denies.

Valérie d’Orçay is having none of it and their investigation leads them to a strange tourist garden village, where backbiting, recriminations and even former colleagues provide a deadly scenario more tangled than knotweed.

Richard Ainsworth is preparing for the Christmas of his dreams: quiet, no guests at his French B&B and his favourite films on the TV. None of which seems on the cards when his rural peace is shattered by the unexpected arrival of a familiar face.

Valérie d’Orçay has hotfooted it from Paris with her chihuahua in tow and an invitation to a Christmas themed murder mystery game. Richard begrudgingly dresses up as Father Christmas, but the costume becomes the least of his worries when he realises this isn’t a game to everyone.

As other guests arrive to join the hunt, can Richard work out who is the victim – and who is murderer?

READERS RALLY FOR FOLLET VALLEY!

‘A very funny page-turner. Fantastique!’ Adam Kay, This is Going to Hurt

‘Bloody and funny. In fact, bloody funny!‘ Alan Carr

‘A writer of immense wit and charm‘ Paul Sinha

‘One of my favourite writers? hilarious and a great mystery too‘ Janey Godley

‘Like going on a joyous romp through the Loire valley with Agatha Christie, PG Woodhouse and Mc Beaton. A delight‘ K. McDonnell

‘Moore’s French whodunnit is an engaging caper through the Loire Valley with an expat reluctant hero mixed up with a Maigret-like rural cast, a glamorous heroine and a couple of Mafia killers. It is finely paced, truly funny and written with a wry detachment that conjures up a gentler age of murder mystery‘ The Times