Anty Boisjoly travels to the Riviera to finally have that awkward ‘did you murder my father’ conversation with his mother, but instead finds himself in the ticklish position of defending her and an innocent elephant against charges of a murder that no one could have committed.

All Anty Boisjoly mysteries are stand-alone stumpers, but books one through four have hinted heavy-handedly at a lingering sub-arc involving his mother’s involvement in the death of Anty’s father. In Reckoning at the Riviera Royale we finally meet Anty’s mum whose perspective and personality explain a great deal about Anty’s unique take on reality, and that’s only the first of the surprising family revelations.

All that, of course, is in addition to another tale of impossible murder and improbable intrigue, pitting Anty against the executioner’s tight schedule as he races to exonerate an innocent elephant from a crime that no one else could have committed, either.

The plots unfold on a luxurious island in the Riviera and, exceptionally, there’s no Inspector Wittersham this time out but there’s little room for more eccentric characters among the insidious impresarios, ambitious acrobats, suspicious spinsters, cryptic critics, croupiers, con artists, cousins, and killers.

Reckoning at the Riviera Royale is on Amazon Kindle, Unlimited, and Paperback as of November 30th.