A retired Englishman is crucified on the banks of the Loire Valley and the peace and quiet of rural France is shattered. Blackmailed into leading the investigation, the recently widowed Juge d’instruction Matthieu Lombard feels shattered too.

An apparently innocuous victim, held in high regard by the French locals, who would target the Englishman? And why like this? Is someone using the 500-year-old legend of Joan of Arc to stir up tension between the French locals and the British expat community? And for what purpose?

Lombard must use all his experience to break down the wall of silence in small-town France and avoid the failure his bosses are hoping for. Will his half-English, half-French background help? Will it give him the freedom to move inside both communities or does it mean he’ll be trusted by neither?

While fighting his own grief and his own team, the case turns up a gut-churning connection with his late wife and lays bare something that he’s known all along; that the River Loire, like the valley itself, has a calm surface hiding a murderous undercurrent.

I received a copy of Playing the Martyr from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I read a lot of crime novels. The majority of these stories are set in the UK or the US. I have a good understanding of their hierarchy of police squads and the respective judicial systems.  Playing The Martyr is set in France – the lead character is Matthieu Lombard, he is Juge d’instruction. I had no idea what that meant but I loved that Playing The Martyr had a “new” feel to it even before the story got going.

What an absolute treat it was to learn more about the position Juge Lombard holds, particularly as Lombard has not enjoyed the best of times of late and is facing a few political challenges to his authority. Overcoming personal tragedy, facing down rivals who would challenge his authority and dwelling too long on past events he cannot possibly change – the reader meets Lombard at an interesting time.

But personal issues aside – Lombard has a murder to solve.  An Englishman has been found crucified in the beautiful Loire Valley.  His murder (and other incidents which take place as the story unfolds) appear to have a connection to Joan of Arc. This does pose something of an issue for Lombard as the town where the murder occurred is desperately trying to establish a connection to the Saint so they can cash in on the tourist opportunities.  Is the murder a grotesque effort to put the town on the map or are the Joan of Arc references an elaborate red herring to put the police off the scent?

From being a bit of a Twitter stalker I know that Ian Moore lives in France and he does a terrific job of depicting this idyllic part of the world in Playing The Martyr.  It is great when authors capture the spirit of their chosen locations – too many books can be cut and paste stories into any random town or city.  Not so here – the sense of place was striking at times and I felt genuine pangs of wanderlust to make a visit to the Loire Valley and soak up some of the atmosphere.

I loved the time I spent with Playing The Martyr.  Lombard was a great lead character and I hope he returns in the not too distant future. Supporting cast were well defined and there were some fun and lighthearted moments to break up the darker twists.  Pleasingly I was nowhere near guessing the secrets to the story and that’s how I like it!

Playing the Martyr is a Pause Publications book and can be purchased in paperback and digital format here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Playing-Martyr-Ian-G-Moore-ebook/dp/B07LG71TGL/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=playing+the+martyr&qid=1555351140&s=gateway&sr=8-1