Excerpt from Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Dupin fumbled about with the ludicrously small buttons on his car phone. He hated it.

'Where are you, Nolwenn?'

'On my way to the station. Labat called just now so I'm up to speed. I suppose you'll want Doctor Lafond.'

'As quickly as possible.'

There had been a different forensic pathologist in Quimper for the last year and Dupin couldn't stand him. Ewen Savoir was a bumbling young snot-nosed fool. Impressive instruments and gadgets but he was stupid, and terribly long-winded. Admittedly Dupin couldn't exactly claim that he liked grumpy old Dr Lafond; he and Lafond clashed too if things weren't going quickly enough for Dupin, and then Lafond would fly off the handle, but his work was simply excellent.

'Savoir drives me absolutely insane.'

'I'll take care of everything.'

Dupin loved hearing this sentence from Nolwenn's mouth. She had been the secretary to his predecessor and his predecessor's predecessor. She was wonderful. Marvellous, absolutely marvellous.

'Good, I'm at the last roundabout in Concarneau. I'll be there in ten minutes.'

'This sounds like a nasty business, Monsieur le Commissaire. It's unbelievable. I knew old Pennec. My husband did a few jobs for him a few years ago.' For a moment Dupin was about to ask what 'a few jobs' meant, but he let it go. He had more important things to worry about. To this day he didn't quite understand what Nolwenn's husband actually did for a living, he somehow just seemed to pop up everywhere, always doing 'a few jobs' for all sorts of people.

'There's going to be such a fuss. An icon of Finistère. Of Brittany. Of France. Mon Dieu... I'll be in touch.' 'All right. I'm already at the station.'

'Speak to you soon.'

Dupin drove fast; far too fast for these narrow streets. It was hard to believe that old Derrien had chosen this time to go on holiday for the first time in years. He would be away for ten days. His daughter was getting married; the wedding was in Réunion which even Derrien thought was an utterly preposterous idea. The groom came from the same sleepy backwater she did, three kilometres from Pont-Aven.

Dupin fiddled with the car phone again.

'Le Ber?'

'Monsieur le Commissaire?'

'Are you there yet?'

'Yes, I just got here.'

'Where's the body?'

'Downstairs in the restaurant.'

'Have you been in yet?'

'No.'

'Don't let anyone in. Nobody goes in before I get there, including you. Who found Pennec?'

'Francine Lajoux. An employee.'

'What's she saying?'

'I haven't spoken to her yet. I've honestly only just got here.'

'Right. Okay. I'll be there right away.'

Excerpted from Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec. Copyright © 2015 by Jean-Luc Bannalec. Excerpted by permission of Minotaur Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.