Mistral by Robert Cole
Adam’s wife, Maryanne, vanished without trace whilst on holiday in southern France, more than two years ago.
Unexpectedly, he receives an enigmatic message.
It prompts him to return to the scene of her disappearance. His efforts to piece together what happened force him to reexamine their relationship, coupled with his feelings of guilt.
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Retracing events that led to that fateful day, he soon learns that his return has not gone unnoticed, and his efforts to find Maryanne are far from welcome.
Adam is joined in his search by Abigail, Maryanne’s daughter from a previous marriage. It is February. The mistral is battering the streets and dark corners of the ancient towns across this area of France.
As more of Maryanne’s past is revealed, the search, enmeshed in a world of intrigue and deceit, with its past rooted in antiquity, becomes increasingly dangerous.
They discover that some will do anything to stop them from uncovering the final, terrifying truth.
My Review
I used to read a lot of books like this some years ago – thrillers with religious undertones – but it’s been quite a while. The Cathars, the Knights Templar and Mary Magdalene (think The Da Vinci Code). There are so many myths and legends that surround these things and I was always fascinated. In fact I did quite a bit of reading around the subject.
Adam had a relationship with Maryanne straight after university, where they were both reading law. But Maryanne ended the relationship and they both moved on. Then some fifteen or so years later, they meet again. This time they get married, but one day she disappears. No trace of her is found until Adam receives a message and returns to the last place they were together before she vanished.
He is joined by her daughter Abigail from a previous marriage and their quest takes them all over France, mainly to various locations known for their religious devotees and tourists.
The synopsis talks about Adam’s feelings of guilt, but I’m not sure what he feels so guilty about. We never really find out what was wrong with Maryanne, but her detachment from reality, her devotion to the cult (not a cult in the traditional sense, but still a cult) she becomes involved with, and her treatment of Abigail, all point to a mental illness of some sort.
However, I didn’t expect the story to become so dark and dangerous as Adam and Abigail (aided by Caroline who did not like Maryanne and who can blame her), try to find out what happened to her in those intervening years. But there are some who will do anything to stop them. And all set against a backdrop of the mistral, a strong, cold, dry wind that blows across parts of France.
An intriguing and well-written book which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the Author
Robert Cole trained as a clinical psychologist but spent most of his career within the corporate business world, both in the UK and overseas. He has held senior positions in Human Resources within a number of large global companies.
Mistral is his second novel and is a powerful and sweeping drama set amongst the vineyards and picturesque towns and villages of the Languedoc and Provence areas of the South of France.
His well-received first novel, A Breeze Across the Aegean published in 2020, draws on his affinity with Greece and its diverse islands.
He is currently working on a sequel. In addition to the UK he has lived in Singapore, Cyprus, the Netherlands and South Africa. Currently he divides his time between Surrey and Uzes in France.
Book Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230398001-mistral
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/mistral-zbt
