A Vintage End by Darcy Kavanagh



A Vintage End
Paul Burke Mysteries Book 2
D'Arcy Kavanagh

Pages: 398
Genre: Mystery
Published: 08 March 2022
Publisher: BHC Press
Publisher Twitter: @BHCPressBooks


Publisher's Blurb


Almost a year has passed since ex-pro cyclist Paul Burke from Montréal, Canada helped solve several murders, two connected to the world’s most famous bike race, the Tour de France. Recovered from his near-fatal injuries sustained during his efforts investigating the crimes, Burke is back to enjoying life on the French Riviera as a blogger-columnist, and back on his bike in the first of a series of vintage bicycle races celebrating the history of the sport. However, near the end of the inaugural event, participants encounter a macabre scene linking a major sponsor to one of the worst periods of recent French history. The scene is initially reported as a silly prank, but Burke believes more serious intentions are behind the stunt ̶ and he expects similar actions to occur in the next races. Assigned to blog about the competitions as well as ride in them, Burke senses the events have the potential not just to damage the sponsor but to turn violent. And as events prove him right, Burke finds himself in the middle of a mystery with deadly implications.

Review

Ex-professional cyclist Paul Burke, in his new role as a news reporter and blogger, is thrust into an intriguing investigation when two skeletons dressed in Nazi uniform are discovered by the roadside in the first of a series of vintage bike races in rural France

I enjoyed all elements of this second outing for Paul Burke. The characters were distinctive, the plot suitably mysterious and the narrative had a gentle easy-flowing style that made this a joy to read.

Nice descriptions of the featured towns and some interesting historical facts along the way.
The story is self-contained so that you don’t need to be familiar with the previous title in the series

Buy on Amazon

The Author

Twitter: @DArcy_Kavanagh
Facebook: darcy.kavanagh.3


After forty years as a journalist and journalism instructor, D’Arcy Kavanagh turned to writing fiction. He is the author of the Paul Burke novels, a cozy mystery series featuring an ex-pro cyclist/blogger from Montréal, Canada, who lives on the French Riviera. His novels include The Bastard Is Dead and A Vintage End.

To ensure the authenticity of the areas (and the food, wine, and beer) he writes about, D’Arcy and his wife Lynda spend six weeks each year in Europe cycling the areas featured in his work and discussing plot strategies. (Suggestion: Never discuss murdering someone while you’re in a public place.) When he’s not pounding on his keyboard, D’Arcy is a Celtic musician. He lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.



Also by D'Arcy Kavanagh

Book 1 in the Paul Burke Mysteries

Paul Burke is an ex-pro cyclist from Montréal, Canada who has settled down to a quiet, unproductive existence on the French Riviera. He’s managing to pay the bills, but spends most of his time just killing time. Then the Tour de France comes to town and Burke finds himself caught up in one death and then a second. As he tries to sort out what has happened, Burke knows life will never be the same for him‒and those around him.




___________________________________________________________

If you have a book you'd like to be featured on the blog you can submit it by emailing torchwood1968@gmail.com 

or by contacting me on Twitter https://twitter.com/kevin_cannon

Fancy becoming a book reviewer - check out Reedsy Discovery and earn $25 for your first review



_______________________________________________________________________

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wings Unfurled by Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Image
  Wings Unfurled BOOK 2 of the WINGS RISING duology Rebecca Gomez Farrell 5 Stars RELEASE DATE: December 6, 2022 GENRE: Epic Fantasy PUBLISHER: Meerkat Press Blurb The vicious claren that used to plague the reunited countries of Medua and Lansera are long gone. So what are the new dark patches appearing in Lady Serra's second sight? She rushes to King Albrecht to report the danger, only to discover that he's ailing and Vesperi, Prince Janto's wife, has fled far to the north to grieve her disappeared daughter. Vesperi still wields the silver flame, possesses all the authority she's ever wanted, but nothing can heal the wound of a missing child. When the silver moon Esye begins to fade, a gnawing fear preys on her for the first time since she escaped her father's cold rule. Ominous creatures once thought mythical are now rampaging through the countryside. Janto sends Serra to investigate. But without her friendship and Vesperi's love, he fears he cannot slay this ...
Read more

Favourite Books of 2023

Image
With 2024 now nearly a week old, I thought I'd compile a list of my top ten books of 2023. Unfortunately I've not been able to whittle it down to just ten so I tried to make it my favourite ten authors. Once again I failed as there are so many great books I didn't want to leave out. Even so I've had to be harsh and leave out many that would've made last years list (what do you mean I didn't publish a list last year? Yeah, I know, I was too busy reading and writing reviews and I completely forgot) My list is composed of 15 authors and contains 42 books from a variety of genres (it could easily have been 60 books from the 400 I read last year (ok, some of those were quite short and I've not got much else to do) Lets get on with it I hear you yell, so without further ado and in no particular order, these were my favourite reads of 2023 Scratch that. I'm going to list them in alphabetical order by author surname so no further favouritism can be gleaned from ...
Read more

Second To Sin by Murray Bailey

Image
  Second to Sin Blackjack Book 2 Murray Bailey 5 Stars Pages: 352 Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Historical Published: 06 March 2023 Publisher:  Three Daggers an imprint of Heritage Books Publisher's Blurb "It only takes a second to sin," Father Thomas said. He believes in saving souls, but Charles Balcombe is beyond saving. His control over his killer instinct appears to be weakening. BlackJack has killed again and more questions are being asked of Detective Inspector Munro. He is under increasing pressure to solve the murders, especially when he picks up more cases from Kowloon rather than solving his own. As Balcombe battles with his demon, he investigates the death of a young woman. Was it an accident or did she kill herself? At first Balcombe thinks it's straightforward but as he digs, other cases reveal an evil in Hong Kong. One that could consume them all. Set in 1954, this is book 2 of the series. It can be read as a stand-alone but the author recommends boo...
Read more