Murder on the Mediterranean

This zesty stew of a mystery, the fifth in Campion’s culinary series (after 2013’s Death of a Chef), takes police detective Capucine Le Tellier and her restaurant critic husband, Alexandre, on a Mediterranean pleasure cruise aboard a luxury sailboat. Except that it’s not really a pleasure, since their shipmates include Inès Maistre, a judge obsessed with bringing down a corrupt banking family at any cost; the shrill Angélique Bethier and her lecherous husband, Dominique; and Capucine’s lascivious cousin, Jacques. When the brooding and wanton Nathalie Martin, the “boat slave” hired to help with the cooking, cleaning, and sailing, is lost at sea, Capucine becomes the chief suspect in what turns out to be a murder case. After going ashore, she and Alexandre decide to hang out at a friend’s rural estate rather than return home to Paris. While Capucine investigates from afar, Alexandre continues to discover, or make, drool-worthy meals. A resolution that suggests justice has not been served, however, may leave a bad taste. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Miller Agency. (July)