Le French Book Announces Summer Reading Picks

There is still time to read this summer and books not to miss. Mystery and thriller publisher Le French Book has published its summer reading selection, ranging from gentle wine-country mysteries to continent-spanning conspiracies and espionnage, with quite of bit of Paris in the mix. The publisher is dedicated to choosing and translating top European mysteries and thrillers. Its catalogue offers something for everyone, with suspense and adventure set in foreign climes and escape reading with a French flair.

See the full reading selection here.

Armchair Travel
For readers who like journeys, France, food and wine, the Winemaker Detective series by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen offers a real tour de France, with eleven titles already in English. The series follows the adventures of wine expert Benjamin Cooker and his assistant Virgile as they gumshoe through French wine country. These books pay hommage to the different regions and winemakers through entertaining mysteries. Readers visit Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cognac, Armagnac, Paris, Alsace, the Loire Valley, and Beaujolais. There is even an outing to the Tokaji region of Hungary. These are delicious and delightful beach reads.

In an entirely different part of the world and another end of the genre spectrum is White Leopard by Laurent Guillaume, hard-boiled African noir set in Mali. Craig Johnson (of Longmire fame) called this "the real deal." Not to be missed for insight into another part of the world and good, old-fashioned private eye fiction.

Adrenaline Shots
For readers who want non-stop action and adventure, rollercoaster rides and modern-day thrillers that mix in historical drama, the publisher suggests two series.

• The Consortium thrillers by David Khara dip into the history of World War II, then race through a modern-day loop-to-loop of action and humor. What impact could the folly of World War II-death camps, medical manipulation and chemical warfare-still have today?
• The Antoine Marcas Freemason thrillers by Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne are an internationally bestselling series with a strong debut in English. Le French Book recommends starting with Shadow Ritual, an electrifying thriller about about the rise of extremism. The Lafayette Sword explores unsettling truths about gold and its power to fascinate and corrupt.

Thoughtful Chills
Readers looking for smart, modern spy thrillers will enjoy the Larivière espionage series by former top-level French intelligence officer and award-winning thriller writer Bernard Besson. A team of freelance operatives navigates in today's complex world of espionage and global economic warfare while trying to lead normal lives in Paris. They struggle to maintain their independence where the loyalties of official agencies are not so clear and corruption and political machinations are everywhere. These thrillers are "intelligent and literate," with storytelling reminiscent of Clive Cussler. Two titles are available in English: The Greenland Breach and The Rare Earth Exchange.

Sophisticated Settings
Or rather, one setting, as sophisticated as it gets-Paris. To experience Paris in many ways a reader would never expect, the publisher recommends:

• The Collector by Anne-Laure Thièblemont, which explores the merciless microcosm of Paris art auctions and galleries, with its sharks, schemes, fences, traps, scams, and attacks-a world where people will kill for a love of beauty.
• The Paris Homicide series, about a one man and his team standing against darkness in the City of Light. This award-winning police procedural series set in the French capital follows an elite team of crimefighters with cases ranging from gruesome murders to cultural cold cases.

About Le French Book
Founded in 2011, Le French Book is an independent book publisher focused on selecting and translating top mysteries and thrillers from Europe and making them available to new readers across the English-speaking world. For more information, please visit: http://www.lefrenchbook.com.

©2016 Le French Book, Inc. All rights reserved. Information is subject to change without notice.

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