Many supects were created from characters that were not very likeable in this fantastic, atmospheric mystery. I loved the setting and the era.
Many thanks to Level Best Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I definitely have some mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, the mystery itself was pretty good, other than the abrupt and awful ending. I mean, it's nowhere near the best mystery I've ever read, but it was fairly suspenseful and the plot was original. None of the characters were really likable, but they were unlikable in an amusing way. The setting was wonderful, and I now have a whole list of French cities that I need to see someday.

With that said, however, the ending was terrible. It was abrupt, the main character/sleuth wasn't even responsible for the big reveal, and there was no drama or emotion whatsoever. I also kind of got the feeling that the author just randomly drew a character's name out of a hat to choose the villain – any of the characters could have been named at the end and it would have changed nothing about the story.

Another gripe is that the characters made lots of weird and inexplicable decisions. Someone trying to murder you? Better call your lawyer and wait three days for him to get there instead of calling the police! Threatening notes show up in your hotel room? I know, let's tell the concierge! Find out that one of your friends is exploiting your secrets for monetary gain? Oh, well, that's very financially savvy of them! One character coerces another character into something in a particularly despicable manner? Let's console the character who did the coercing! Sigh.

Finally, I think there were parts of the narrative that could've used some editing. In particular, there were several spots where the author worded things confusingly and/or unclearly and I had to go back and reread previous pages to figure out what was being referred to.

TL;DR summary: Decent plot, great setting. Unlikable characters did strange things. Had some flaws in execution.

Final rating: 2.5 stars, rounded up. I really wanted to rate this higher but there were just too many little things that bugged me about the text.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

The novel was semi- interesting, I did not enjoy the novel as much as I thought I would though.

A group of friends on tour, one who is wealthy, the novel was predictable. I hoped the events would differ from what I anticipated but the ending somewhat disappointing.

The beginning of the novel intrigued me at first, but I became a little bored whilst reading on.

I won't say the novel was boring but it was not as captivating as one would have hope for.

I won't highly recommend to mystery lovers, but I won't discourage persons from choosing this novel.

Olive Wallace has invited friends and family to join her on a trip of Europe. Everyone in the tour group caters to her every whim because Olive is very wealthy and constantly updating her will. She delights in her sense of control until a string of accidents makes it appear that someone wants the money now, before she can change her mind yet again.

This was an absolutely charming read and I loved the chance to vicariously travel with the characters.. The book was written before the author's death in 1971, then edited by the author's goddaughter before publication.

I recently discovered Eunice Mays Boyd and I thoroughly enjoy her story as I'm a huge fan of Golden Age mystery.
This is a well plotted mystery, a closed circle of people and a whodunit that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This one caught my attention for its backstory. It is much better told in the note from the author, but the long story short is that this book was written “a quattro mani” by Elizabeth Reed Aden her godmother, Eunice Mays Boyd: the manuscript was found among the papers of Eunice Mays Boyd (an award winning author who wrote contemporary to Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers) after she passed away, and Elizabeth Reed Aden helped finishing and publishing it. What a nice way to connect with those you love!

The plot follows a group of (mostly) Americans who are touring France in a bus, in what seemed to me the early Seventies. All the expenses for the tour are paid by Olive, who is an extremely wealthy woman. All participants to the tour except from the narrator (who joined as Olive’s assistant) expect to inherit some of her assets, should she pass away. She knows it, and keeps updating her will by adding or removing people depending on her mood. Suddenly, accidents starts happening.

I really like the set up, the characters, and the tone, which reminded me a lot of some of the early Hercule Poirots. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t do it for me (in Italy we would say “didn’t finish me”, does this exist in English?). I found it a bit rushed. I would have changed the victim, the murdered, and the motive, personally (if you DM me I’ll tell you how). But still a very enjoyable read!

I would recommend my teachers to read this book on their own if: they are looking for a breezy and relaxing escape; or they want your next fix of Golden Age Mysteries.

Read this book with their students if: they want to discuss early globalisation and tourism or the Seventies; or are looking for breath-taking descriptions of Marseilles, Carcassonne, Avignon, and Paris. Maybe in preparation for a school trip?

Written decades ago, this book only saw the light of day recently when the author’s granddaughter got hold of the manuscript, and boy am I glad that happened. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to enjoy this gem.

Most, if not all of the characters in the book are unlikeable, there’s the rich Olive who dangles her riches and her last will to keep people in line with what she wants, and her extended family who is barely tolerating her in hopes that they will get a sizable amount of her wealth once she dies.

The book is full of people who benefit from Olive’s death and it will keep you guessing if the accidents are really accidents and who is or are behind them. Is it just one single person or is everyone in on the plan of getting rid of Olive?

The chapters are short and engaging enough to keep me entertained and hooked and I couldn’t wait to find out if Olive died and who her killer is.

Fast-paced and full of thrills, this is the perfect book for those who would like to finish a whole story in just one sitting.

An old-fashioned whodunit set in Southern France just after WWII and centered around a very annoying but very wealthy woman who organizes a bus tour with some of her friends. But pretty soon she realizes that one of them might want to see her dead...

Personally I would have pushed Olive under a train from the beginning...Fun to read but really nothing to write home about. A cozy cluefinder reminiscent of the early Agatha Christie...

Many thanks to Level Best and Netgalley for this great ARC

Olive Wallace is domineering, pugnacious, and loaded. She organizes a trip to Europe for a handful of friends and family, all of whom have a vested interest in her finances. They also all seem to be fully aware of Olive’s temperamental habit of changing her will on a whim, based on who’s doing anything she disapproves of. This habit turns deadly after a series of ‘accidents’ in France make it clear someone wants to hurry along Olive’s death before they’re cut out of the will. Only Olive’s oldest friend Allegra, long-suffering to a fault, seems to genuinely care for the difficult woman without having a financial agenda.

I am really glad so many vintage mysteries are being republished. This one definitely had a dated feel — things were ‘groovy’ or ‘swinging’ — but not overly so. The mystery itself really fizzled in the end, however. I was enjoying the story and trying to figure out whodunnit, and the last few pages just hurriedly wrapped things up, disappointingly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Overbearing Olive..
The third in a series of previously unpublished vintage mysteries and another cosy, brightly intelligent tale - this time set in a bus tour post World War Two Europe. The very wealthy and overbearing Olive has taken her friends, also her beneficiaries, on a bus tour to view the wonders of Southern France - but is murder about to follow them there? As strange incidents begin to happen to Olive she becomes increasingly convinced that someone among her party is out to kill her. An enjoyable mystery with a slow build up and entertaining characters.

This is the third unpublished Eunice Mays Boyd title recently brought to light by her goddaughter Elizabeth Reed Aden.

Like "Dune House" it deals with the hold which a woman exerts over friends and relatives through force of personality and the power of money.

Here the wealthy and domineering Olive treats a small party to a private coach holiday amid the delights of Roman and Medieval southern France.
Most of them will be beneficiaries of her considerable estate and so suspicions are roused when she is the victim of a series of accidents.

Two murders feature, but I found the plot disappointingly lacking in tension or psychological insights. Although I feel it would make a good noirish film, there was not a lot of atmosphere or sense of place. The ending is abrupt and a bit of a let down. There were no real clues for the reader-detective and I had imagined several different outcomes.

It is very easy to read, but for me was not quite as good as "Dune House".

3.25 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for the digital review copy.

This book was a cozy murder mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie. What a delight to read a book written years ago and just recently published. It did take me a while to organize the characters, but I did enjoy the story and especially the setting in Carcassonne. A little vacation with a murder.

A new author to me I haven't read any previous book by her. This was was a bit slow to start as all the character's had to be introduced and considering most of them are relative they were a pretty unlikeable lot as was the eventual victim. I have to say that despite the slow start I was gripped and did enjoy this very much. There was lots of twists and turns and I did have my suspicions but hadn't narrowed it down before the answer was revealed. I would be happy to read more by this author. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The extremely wealthy Olive Wallace is paying for several friends and relatives to accompany her on a bus tour through Europe. It’s their chance to make sure they’ll be in her will But as Olive begins to learn more about her traveling companions she decides to make some changes—and makes sure they all know it. And then the accidents start. Is someone close to her out to kill for her money?

An interesting read by an author I’m unfamiliar with (although she wrote during my favorite period—the 1st half of the 20th century). The plot was pretty standard—wealthy potential victim holding her money over a closed circle of suspects. The story was very slow to start, with the 1st five chapters used to introduce a set of unlikeable characters, but never fully fleshing them out. The subsequent chapters are entertaining enough to keep the reader engaged, but then it all ends in a rush.

Not bad, but not as good as I was hoping for.