About the Book

Brittany, France. A remote coastal region. A community where everyone knows one another and keeps their distance.

When Parisian police commissioner Georges Dupin is abruptly transferred to the Breton coast, he expects professional exile and little more. Instead, he is pulled into his first local case when the ninety-year-old owner of the Central Hotel is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The death shocks the seaside village of Pont-Aven, a place known for its artistic heritage, quiet routines, and closely guarded traditions.

As Dupin begins his investigation, he encounters a tight-knit community reluctant to share its secrets and wary of outside authority. Beneath the village’s picturesque surface lie old rivalries, unspoken histories, and a collective silence that complicates the search for truth. Death in Brittany combines classic detective structure with a strong sense of place, using food, landscape, and local culture to shape both the mystery and its resolution.

Join us to discuss inspector-led detection, small-town secrecy, and how setting and culture influence the investigation of crime.

About the Author

Jean-Luc Bannalec is the pen name of a German publisher and editor who has lived part-time in Brittany. His Brittany Mysteries series draws heavily on the region’s geography, cuisine, and history, blending traditional police procedural elements with travel writing and cultural observation.

Death in Brittany is the first novel in the internationally bestselling Brittany Mysteries series, which has been translated into multiple languages and praised for its atmospheric settings and classic detective style.