Product Description

Art historian Jennifer Bowen has been hired to keep an eye on spoiled nineteen-year-old heiress Maddie while Maddie studies in the south of France. Jennifer welcomes the free trip--and she'll be glad to get Maddie away from the influence of Boy, Maddie's lover and a violent ex-con. But Jennifer never imagines the lengths Maddie will go to to get what she wants. And what she wants is Boy. Boy is also in France, and he weaves the willing Maddie into a web of evil as he seizes his chance to get closer to his beautiful heiress. And Jennifer soon finds herself fighting for her life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1995079 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 391 pages

Amazon.com Review
Norman Bogner's first thriller in 15 years is the grisly, noir side of Peter Mayle's sweet books about Provence (A Year in Provence, Chasing Cezanne, Hotel Pastis). Bogner offers a spooky evocation of the horror that can live alongside all that great food and scenery. We first find top copper Michel Danton recovering from shotgun wounds while working in his father's restaurant in Aix, where "fresh strings of Arles sausage and legs of jambon de Bayonne slyly waltzed on their hooks in the window." Michel's father is a tyrant, and his latest lady friend has just dumped him, so he's ready for a new case. Enter Darrell Vernon Boynton, a charming young psychopath called Boy by the women he conquers and the wealthy tourists he murders. Boy is a true descendant of Hannibal Lecter, and the only reason he hasn't eaten any of his victims is that the other food in Provence is too tempting. But be warned: not many other atrocities are beyond his imagination. As Bogner has proven in such previous blockbusters as Seventh Avenue and California Dreamers, he has the imagination to create nightmare landscapes in all manner of settings--and the writing skills to quickly make us a part of them. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
Commander Michel Danton, descendant of bickering restaurateurs and the detective-hero of Seventh Avenue author Bogner's welcome return to fiction after a long hiatus, resides in a Provence that Peter Mayle would have trouble recognizing. Amid the well-documented bucolic splendor and pastis, there are laptops and lattes as well as a serial killer on the loose. It falls to Danton?newly broken up with his crime reporter girlfriend and under departmental suspension?to nose out the killer, who has just murdered two Americans in particularly grisly fashion. The villain is identified early to the reader as Boy, a native Oklahoman and former child porn star who's left a trail of misery wherever he's lived. Helping the forces of evil is Boy's girlfriend, dumb, vulnerable Maddie Gold, daughter of an entertainment mogul. Among the novel's standout strengths are a richly detailed setting, psychologically accurate character portrayals and an attractive and engaging hero?and there's enough stomach-churning carnage to satisfy even the most sanguinary tastes. True, whenever Maddie talks, Yogi Berra might advise readers to put blinders on their ears, but the other female?Danton's hot-tempered American love interest?makes up for it. Agent, Susan Crawford; editor, Natalia Aponte. (Sept.) FYI: Before he turned his hand to writing fiction, in the 1960s, Bogner was editorial manager at Jonathan Cape.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
California art history professor Jennifer Bowen is hired by college student Maddie Gold's mega-wealthy Hollywood industry parents to "baby-sit" their immoral, spoiled daughter while she studies French for the summer in Aix-en-Provence. Part of Jennifer's duties consist of keeping Maddie away from her love interest, baby-faced blond Darrell "Boy" Boynton who, unknown to all, is a psychotic, sadistic killer. Maddie lies to Jennifer and secretly brings Boy to Provence, where he begins to torture and slaughter innocent victims. Police commander Michel Danton, recovering from severe job-related injuries, is drawn back to his work, convinced that behind these killings is an experienced murderer. Boy's character is well delineated albeit repugnant, and his violent forays with Maddie as his accomplice are believable, fitting well into the story line. However, Michel's passionate affair with Jennifer amid the carnage is a distraction. Andrew Vachss's fans will love To Die in Provence. For larger collections.
-?Alice DiNizo, Raritan P. L., NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

WOW! SENSATIONAL SOJOURN IN PROVENCE!
this is a phenomenal thriller! incredible characters......gorgeous locale....intelligent writing.... fantastic plot and the ultimate sociopath! PLEASE DISREGARD previous review as she obviously hasn't read this book! mr. bogner gives us the benefit of his years in provence and we graciously thank him for it....you can smell the delicious aromas of provence through these pages....i devoured this book and am thrilled to know that a sequel is in the works! i must end this with....please write faster, mr. bogner....we need more of these evil adventures in provence!

HANNIBAL LECTER'S SON VACATIONING IN PROVENCE?
yes, the character of BOY would certainly make dr. lecter most proud!!! just about the perfect sociopath ever and wow!! what a setting......provence! bogner captured the true essence and flavors of this marvelous area perfectly and added dashes of such amazing characters....this would make an awesome tv mini-series...many juicy roles and colorful locales....I LOVED IT!!! cannot wait to read a sequel with the incredible local cop!!! will there be one soooooon???????

Disgusted and disappointed
I started this book because the inside cover sounded interesting. After I started reading To Die in Provence I soon became horrified. I thought that several of the scenes were unnecessary and crude. Did the author really need to explain in graphic detail how Boy and Maddie went about killing Louise? I thought the last few chapters of the book were great. The ending left me feeling very satisfied and the book had a suspensful atmosphere to it that kept me reading even if I found some of the scenes offensive. Over all I think this book was for the type of reader who enjoys reading horror/thriller novels. This book is not a mild murder mystery for the inquisitive reader.