Mystery in Marseille: A Bite-Sized Art Heist Mystery (Sophie’s Adventures)
Travel Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Marseille, France
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Foiled Plots Press (October 18, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 168 pages

Synopsis

A holiday in France; an art thief on the run! Art sleuth Sophie must stay a step ahead of a brash criminal . . .

A rare Matisse in Marseille provides a convenient cover for undercover art sleuth Sophie Poisson’s covert romantic plans in the city.

But when the painting is unexpectedly stolen, Sophie finds herself chasing an art thief instead of romance.

With a wily thief one step ahead of her and her undercover partner, Uncle Arthur, out of town, can Sophie devise a strategy to recover the Matisse before it sails out of Marseille, never to be seen again?

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Excerpt

Trouble at the Cantini

An Excerpt From: Mystery in Marseille

Nupur Tustin

The sea breeze carried a strong whiff of fish—all the way from the Quai des Belges where the fish market was set up every morning. Buildings curved around the wide harbor paved with cobblestones, aging and yellow.

Shivering, Sophie drew the silk scarf she was wearing tighter around her throat. At ten in the morning, Marseille was pleasantly chilly. Large fishing boats in vivid shades of blue and red lined the quay, making a picturesque scene against the brilliant turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

It was incredibly beautiful. Sophie was even looking forward to the exhibition at the Musée Cantini. Matisse: His Peers & Influences promised to be a treat to remember. She clutched the program, looking forward to seeing the colorful Cézannes, Matisses, and other Fauvist artists on display. The rest of the tour promised to be quite interesting as well.

Their first stop, in fact, was at the Cantini—and since they were ostensibly here to protect a Matisse, what could be more fortuitous? Sophie stifled a grin, recalling Nicole’s devise to get her out of Calais.

Here they were, having fun, when everyone in Calais and even Madame Perrin in Paris presumed them to be hard at work.

She had to admit she felt a tad guilty about that. . .

The bus made a wide turn from Rue Breteuil onto Rue Grignan. The driver’s voice crackled over the microphone.

“Mesdames et messieurs, we are approaching the Musée Cantini. As you can see, there is no place to park on Rue Grignan. You will, therefore, disembark at the museum. You have three-quarters of an hour to enjoy the Matisse Exhibit. It is on the second floor. At the end of that time, please rejoin the bus at Square du Juge Pierre Michel.”

Sophie and Nicole peered eagerly out the window. In addition to the Cantini, Rue Grignan, a narrow cobblestone street, also boasted a Louis Vuitton. They’d been planning to shop there after looking in on the Matisse exhibit.

But it wasn’t the showroom that caught their eyes as their bus inched along the narrow road behind a large white truck. It was the yellow crime scene tape that blocked off the entrance to the Cantini just across the narrow road. The museum’s wrought iron gates were partially open, but there was no entering its premises.

“My goodness! What can have happened?” Sophie’s eyes widened as she pressed her nose against the window. . .

Join undercover art sleuth Sophie and her friend, Nicole, as they investigate an art theft!

About the Author

A former journalist, Nupur Tustin is the author of the Joseph Haydn Mysteries set in Austria, the Celine Skye Psychic Mysteries, based on the infamous Gardner Museum theft, and the author of Sophie’s Adventures, about a French James Bond who goes on undercover missions to recover stolen art and artifacts.

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