Like buses, two come along at once

Fans of Martin O'Brien's Daniel Jacquot series have been patiently waiting since 2005 for a new offering. The first two books, Jacquot and the Waterman and Jacquot and the Angel both came out in 2005 and with a certain symmetry, 2007 brings the next two titles - 'Jacquot and the Master' (Feb) and 'Jacquot and the Fifteen' (July).

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "In a sensual region of France, a crime detective like no other...Chief Inspector Daniel Jacquot of the Cavaillon Regional Crime Squad is called to an artist's retreat in Provence, a luxury hill-top hotel where a young woman, it seems, has been murdered. There are bloodstains, but no body. The mystery deepens as Jacquot begins his investigation. Among the guests are those who have both means and motive, with personal secrets, hidden agendas and their own dangerous liaisons to conceal. Some of these people are very powerful indeed, and none of them take kindly to Jacquot's probing questions. Looming over them all is a celebrated and reclusive artist whose masterworks are priceless, a monster who torments all those who seek to bask in his glory. When a summer storm isolates the hotel, and not one but two bodies are found, passions start to run high!"

Synopsis for Jacquot and the Fifteen: "Marc Dombasle is a successful businessman and multi-millionaire. He was also the captain of the French Rugby team that beat England at Twickenham twenty years earlier. To mark the anniversary of this celebrated victory, Dombasle organises a reunion for the members of the winning team. When Chief Inspector Daniel Jacquot, who scored the winning try, receives his invitation to attend the party he is reluctant to indulge in past victories, but an old friend persuades him and he makes his way to the millionaire`s sumptuous Côte d`Azur home. But petty jealousies and past rivalries soon re-surface and when one of Jacquot`s old team-mates commits suicide in a pool-side cabana, his suspicions are aroused. Of the original fifteen players, only eleven of the team now remain alive. Is someone out for revenge?"

Carla McKay put both of the first two books on her favourite European reads for 2005.