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Angela Wren
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Merle: A French Murder Mystery (A Jacques Forêt Mystery Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Angela Wren (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 470 ratings
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Jacques Forêt, a former gendarme turned investigator, delves into the murky world of commercial sabotage – a place where people lie and misrepresent, and where information is traded and used as a threat.

The Vaux organisation is losing contracts and money, and Jacques is asked to undertake an internal investigation. As he works through the complexity of all the evidence, he finds more than he bargained for, and his own life is threatened.

When a body of a woman is found, it appears to be suicide. But as the investigation takes another turn, Jacques suspects there is more to it.

Who is behind it all…and why? Will Jacques find the answer before another person ends up dead?

Merle – #2 in a new French crime series featuring investigator, Jacques Forêt.


Read the complete Jaques Forêt Mystery series:

Messandrierre (#1)
Merle (#2)
Montbel (#3)
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 6
    A Jacques Forêt Mystery
  2. Print length
    209 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 5, 2017
  6. File size
    375 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Another amazing book by author Angela Wren" *****

One particular reviewer said that Britsh TV had supplied "a wide selection of tv detective dramas" and "the career of Jacques Foret would make a great addition to them. Producers please take note!" *****

"There was a lot to love about this book, including strong characters, location and good plot twists" *****

"The French setting is well described and the characters are neatly drawn..." *****

"Merle is a thrilling read about authority, corruption, and the power of secrets..." ***

From the Author

Thank you to all readers everywhere for choosing my book and thank you to reviewers for taking the time to let me know what you thought.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0728BMD96
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ darkstroke (July 5, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 5, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 375 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 209 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 470 ratings

About the author

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Angela Wren

Angela Wren

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I’m an actor and director at a small theatre a few miles from where I live in the county of Yorkshire in the UK. I did work as a project and business change manager – very pressured and very demanding – but I managed to escape and now I write books.

I’ve always loved stories and story telling so it seemed a natural progression, to me, to try my hand at writing and I started with short stories. My first published story was included in an anthology, which was put together by the magazine ‘Ireland’s Own’ in 2011. I also contribute to the Miss Moonshine anthologies of feel-good stories.

I particularly enjoy the challenge of plotting and planning different genres of work. My short stories vary between contemporary romance, memoir, mystery and historical. I also write comic flash-fiction and have drafted two one-act plays that have been recorded for local radio.

My full-length stories are set in France where I like to spend as much time as possible each year. Currently, I'm working on the follow-up stories in my Jacques Forêt series of novels and I continue to write my blog every week where you can find lots of info about France, books, book reviews and author interviews.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
470 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ingdur
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, just like the former.
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
I will definitely buy the third installment. Very well written, and even though I knew where this was heading, I did not see these last twists come ! Great, excellent novel.
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FrenchVillageDiaries
4.0 out of 5 stars I loved the strong characters and plot twists
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2017
This is the second book in Angela Wren’s Jacques Forêt mystery series and I have to admit to developing quite a soft spot for him in book one, so was looking forward to returning.

In this book, work takes Jacques away from village life in Messandrierre and into the dark world of corporate espionage and yet again Angela Wren makes her readers think. There is a lot going on, both at work and in the village, with many characters and sub plots to raise my suspicions and for Jacques to keep track of. Sensibly he always has his notebook with him and I wished I’d done the same thing as at times I felt I’d missed something. Jacques neatly ties up all loose ends at the Vaux organisation, but with lots going on in the village, alongside the main plot, some things seemed to me to be left unfinished. Hopefully this was intentional as I’m certainly looking forward to reading more about Jacques Forêt from Angela Wren in the future.

There was a lot to love about this book, including strong characters, location and good plot twists, and happily I’m still a big fan of Jacques, despite him being so caught up in his investigations there seemed to be little time to focus on Beth and the possibility of a life together. Although as an independent woman, trying her best to set up her photography business in France, I think she was strong enough to cope with that.

I was sent a copy of this book by the author.
One person found this helpful
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APalmer
3.0 out of 5 stars It is good though, and worth reading if you like mysteries
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2017
This one started out slow for me. It's not often I say that about mystery novels, but it did. I'm not sure why; perhaps my mind wasn't in quite the right set. And it had been so long since I'd read the previous novel, Messandrierre. But, it did pick up, and by halfway I was intrigued. Who was behind the sabotage? There are so many possibilities, so many people with motive and desire. As with the first book, I did not entirely expect the result (though one or two characters tweaked my interest there). So in that way it was satisfying.

I think the main reason why it took so long to get into is that the characters did not seem as vivid as Messandrierre's. The townsfolk in that book seemed to have stronger personalities and were more memorable. I had a hard time remembering names in the first bit of this novel.

It is good though, and worth reading if you like mysteries, particularly the corporate espionage types.
2 people found this helpful
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Scenictahoe
5.0 out of 5 stars A very different series
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020
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I have enjoyed the first two books in the series and will be reading the next. It is a small town but has intriguing people
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Allan Hudson
4.0 out of 5 stars The suspense continues.
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020
I've been following the capers of Foret and I enjoyed Montbel as much as the previous two. I like the tension and suspense used by Angela Wren to pull me along in the story. I like her writing style, I like the characters, the setting in France, the clever plot and the teaser of more to come. I started this novel on a Saturday and finished it the next day. A delightful tale.
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Nigel Cronshaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyed the first book
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2017
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The sequel to Angela Wren's Jacques Foret's rise in altitude from Paris is a cracker.
Thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Messandrie, and this is at the same level. Great.
One person found this helpful
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PIA
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2017
Another amazing book by author Angela Wren.

Second in the Jacques Forêt series, it's as good as the first and worth the almost two year wait.

Forêt is now working as an investigator in a company full of problems. Owned by two brothers, they've been hacked, are losing clients and can't see eye to eye how to solve them.

When one of the workers in the company is murdered, the case goes from a simple commercial problem to one much more darker. Even though Forêt is no longer a gendarme, he takes an active part in the investigation, part because of his background and part because of his working in the same company as the victim.

The narrative goes to and fro, from the day after the murder to several weeks before, and then after.

We are reunited from some of the characters from the previous book "Messandrierre" and the atmosphere of a small French town is amazingly detailed. And there's also Beth, Forêt's love. All the characters in the book are extremely well described, including some very nasty ones, like Forêt's ex girlfriend who works in the same company as him.

All in all, a great book. Looking forward to #3.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
One person found this helpful
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nanjar
5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of characters and lots of twists!
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Merle, Book 2 of the Jacques Foret series. Messandrierre (Book 1) introduced the main characters of Jacques Foret and Beth but it also introduced many of the secondary characters who appear again in Book 2. For that reason I was very glad to have already read Book 1.
The French setting is well described and the characters are neatly drawn, making it so easy to love Jacques. Beth grew on me a lot more in Book 2 than Book 1!
It’s interesting to read how Jacques has branched out on his own as a private detective but still maintains contact with the French police force, especially useful when he needs to use their ‘facilities’. Following the plots and developments within Vaux Enterprises was a nice challenge though there were a couple of situations that threw me off a bit– one near the end which I won’t mention since it would be a spoiler. It did make me wonder about Book 3 of the series…
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

BrianC
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
A marked improvement in the fluency of the writing compared with the first Laforet book, the characters are more established and the plotlines more satisfyingly complex. However I was quite surprised by the abrupt ending which left a number of questions unanswered. I have bought the third book in the hopes that outstanding questions will be resolved therein (perhaps that was the idea!)
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous
Reviewed in Australia on February 22, 2018
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I loved Messandrier : Murder in rural France and so it stood to reason Merle would be in same bracket. How right I was. Loved this book. Excellent storyline. Felt like I knew all the characters and could “feel the village”. Roll on number 3.
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Ignite
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and satisfying read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
Jacques Foret is no longer a police officer, and has been asked to investigate potential commercial sabotage. The group he now works for has been losing contracts and the suspicion is that an insider is passing information to a rival. Jacques puts himself in danger by his persistent questioning. I really enjoyed this book. The story is quite different from the first but no less interesting, and a little hangover from his previous investigation pops up. His personal life takes an upturn too. An altogether satisfying read.
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barbara
3.0 out of 5 stars like the first
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
I felt that there was a lack of growth and development in the characters and the story-line struggled to hold my attention. The second volume, like the first, took a while to get going and the final explanation was a bit of a let-down. At least there were fewer typographical errors in this volume.
One person found this helpful
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Bern
4.0 out of 5 stars A reasonable set of characters and some convincing writing. ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2018
Verified Purchase
A reasonable set of characters and some convincing writing. Throw in commercial intrigue, conflict at work, a bit of romance and some long hidden village secrets and you have an interesting and enjoyable detective novel. The only downside is I spent ages trying to find the places on Google maps.
One person found this helpful
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