France, politicians, suspense, suspicion, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip, cozy-mystery, cultural-differences, murder-investigation, secrets, lies, foodie, relationships, relationship-issues, relatives, audiobook, ex-pat, small-business, small-town, smoke-and-mirrors, friendship, wedding-madness, hospitality-industry, private-investigators, business-partners, situational-humor, witty*****

From voyeur to murder victim. The mayor of Castillac and his housemaid have an interesting work relationship but the girl's mother wants her to do more and bring home more money. There are so many suspects and eventually much more comes to light. Add in the peculiar madness her best friend (the bride) adds to the mix, and there is one fascinating cozy!
I enjoyed the narration by voice artist Becket Royce who really does a fine job!
#audiobook #MollySuttonMysteries7 #AuthorSales ( )

This series just gets better and better. I love the characters and the setting of the village. Ms. Goddin continues to grow as a writer and really brings her characters to life. There's always at least one mystery and usually some little sweet romance. It's always like a visit with friends!

I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
( )

AN OFFICIAL KILLING by Nell Goddin is Book #7 in the Molly Sutton Mystery series.
The mayor of Castillac is murdered in his residence. Can the village police solve the murder? Can Molly and Ben solve the murder?
Of course, Molly is right in the middle of the drama. The residents of Castillac turn to her to solve every mysterious case in the town - from missing dogs to grisly murders. She is joined by her ‘love interest’ and former head of police, Ben. They have joined forces to create a detective agency of sorts. (I say ‘of sorts’ because every detail in a cozy mystery is a bit vague and not always realistic.)
There are some interesting characters and some clever plot arcs. Food and wine at the local cafe. Life in a small town in southwestern France. Running a gite and all the drama that it entails. A nice glossary of French words and expressions. Very colorful, rustic book cover.
But what about closure? One minute Molly is hosting a wedding reception and the next minute a murder is solved and Molly is feted as the next best thing to happen since red wine. Ben is hardly mentioned except as a ‘love interest’. The local police are portrayed as stumbling idiots. Where is the son? What will happen to Malcolm? The bank manager? Will there be a new election for mayor? Where are the Russians? What happened to Josette and Julien and their mother - Madame Barneau? Did the cat eat the spilled beaten eggs?
A somewhat interesting and plausible ‘mystery’ came to a dead halt with so many loose threads that it looked like a rat’s nest. My 3 1/2 stars just fell to 2. ( )