Nine mysteries that will take you on a journey from Paris to the south of France

Deborah Lawrenson is one half of the team writing as Serena Kent, author of Death in Provence.

At CrimeReads she tagged nine mysteries that will take you on a journey from Paris to the south of France, including:

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

Not so much scenery as seen-and-heard in Frederick Forsyth’s gripping thriller that focuses like the viewfinder of the assassin’s rifle on the turbulent France of the early 1960s. The Jackal is a mercenary hired to kill President Charles De Gaulle by mutinying Foreign Legion paratroopers who have formed a secret army to prevent Algeria’s independence from French colonial rule. Forsyth was a Reuters correspondent in Paris at the time and his first-hand experience of the place and the tensions makes for a compelling read with the tang of authenticity.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Day of the Jackal is among Daniel Palmer's seven best conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s, Jeff Somers's five thrillers that resist easy fixes, Sam Bourne's five favorite classic thrillers, and Christopher Timothy's six best books.

--Marshal Zeringue