THE VANISHING MUSEUM ON THE RUE MISTRAL by M. L. Longworth is a puzzling, but gentle mystery. How could the entire contents of a small museum have disappeared? And what does that have to do, if anything, with another recent local robbery? Longworth's mystery will keep readers entertained and guessing as there are several intertwined story lines involving paintings, porcelain, and a soon-to-arrive new baby. Set in beautiful and restful Provence, descriptions of the local cuisine are often featured as the meal breaks are an essential part of the detective work by local magistrate Antoine Verlaque. A relaxing, escapist read.

The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral is another delightful entry in M. L. Longworth's Provençal mystery series starring examining magistrate Antoine Verlaque and his wife, Marine Bonnet, and set in Aix-en-Provence, France.

This time, the mystery centers on the low key Musée de Quentin-Savary. One morning, its director finds the museum emptied of all its contents. How were so many fragile items moved with no-one the wiser? A murder follows.

Though Verlaque does solve this rather convoluted mystery, the series' appeal for me lies more in its characters, setting, and comestibles.

I really enjoy this series, and this 9th book is no exception. Judge Antoine Verlaque and Marine Bonnet are the main characters, Verlaque is an investigator in the Aix police force , and Bonnet is on leave from her teaching position while she writes a book and expects their baby. The setting is Aix-en-Provence, which includes descriptions of the wine and food that will make your mouth water. This mystery occurred when a small local museum’s holdings were stolen after a robbery of similar Sevres ceramics at an apartment. Verlaque and his commissioner, Paulik, investigate the many suspects, including the museum’s Board members. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I recommend this series and this enticing mystery.

This book takes place in Aix in Southern France. There is a lot of color in the book about what they are eating, the beautiful scenery, and the life in Southern France. The Musee Quentin-Savary is a small museum which was endowed by a local family. The first chapter describes a Friday school visit to the museum, where the director, Formentin describes the few paintings, and a lot of pottery, and some lovely Sevre porcelain. One of the students is Lea Paulik, whose father is the Commissioner of Police. On Monday morning Formentin goes to work and finds the museum is empty!

Solving the museum robbery, which could be connected with a robbery of Sevre porcelain from a local wealthy woman a few weeks ago, is in the hands of Antoine Verlaque and Lea's father Bruno Paulik. They and their wives, Marine Bonnet and Helene Paulik are also very good friends who have lovely dinner parties. The last live member of the family starting the museum, Gilbert QuentinSavary lives in an apartment two stories above the museum and is on the board. He does not seem very interested in the museum. There is an apartment between Gilbert and the museum which is rented by a business man who is currently out of the country. One neighbor had seen a white van behind the museum during the weekend, but there were no more details. Another museum director, Lopez, had been trying to get Formentin to join the two museums, but negotiations seem to have ended with the two directors on bad terms.

The big questions are why did the robbers empty the museum rather than just taking the most valuable items? Can Verlaque and Paulik find the culprit or culprits and the items from the museum before they are all sold? This is a well told story with very likeable characters and in a wonderful setting.