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Poireaut & Di Angeli #1
Till Death Do Us Part
Come on board the Queen of Egypt and discover this new murder mystery full of witty dialogs, funny situations, and blooming love! Already short-listed for the French Gay Book Award 2020! When Auntie Agathe invites Raphaël Poireaut, a young Parisian bartender, on a Nile cruise, he isn’t really thrilled. To stare at old stones together with a bunch of old codgers—why, thanks for the gift. Unsurprisingly the trip starts off badly enough. Not only does Raphaël have an unnerving confrontation with a handsome but standoffish and haughty Italian guy, but he has barely stepped on board the cruise ship when he stumbles upon a tourist… who has been stabbed to death. The young Venetian Stefano di Angeli agrees to spend his vacation in Egypt with his best friend Grazia. He hasn’t had holidays for six years. But his first encounter with a young, angel-faced, curly-haired Frenchie brings back painful memories. Besides, what could be worse to start a Nile cruise than to discover a murder has been committed on board? Cazzo—fate seems to bear him a grudge! While the Egyptian police led by Colonel Al-Qaïb are investigating the murder, Raphaël and Stefano find themselves swept away by the events… and by the blooming feelings that inexorably draw them closer. Will they manage to sort out the truth from the lies and find the murderer? Will they be able to resist this mutual attraction that seems to overwhelm them against their wills? A new, funny and light adventure by the author of “The Stuffed Coffin”, the French version of which has won the French Gay Murder Mystery Award 2019.
296 pages, Paperback
Published June 17, 2020
About the author
Dieter Moitzi
22 books31 followersBorn in the early 70s, I grew up in a little village in Austria. Today, I’m living in Paris, France, with my boyfriend and work as a graphic designer. In my spare time, I write, read, cook fancy recipes, take photos, and travel. All my novels are available in English, French, and German. By the way, the French version of my first murder mystery novel “The Stuffed Coffin” won the prestigious French Gay Murder Mystery Award 2019. You can also find me on Rainbow Book Reviews, where I write book reviews under the pseudonym of ParisDude (for French reviews, have a look at my review site livresgay.fr).
Find more information on my author website http://www.dietermoitzi.com or on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/dietermoitzi
Find more information on my author website http://www.dietermoitzi.com or on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/dietermoitzi
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 26, 2020
I really enjoyed this murder / mystery book written in the style of Agatha Christie, set on a small river cruise boat on the Nile in Egypt, with a series of murders that must have been committed by someone on the boat.
We also get a wonderful travelogue of famous sites on the tour such as Abu Simbel, Aswan, the Temple of Edfu, as well as a slowly developing (non explicit) romance between two gorgeous young men - the Italian blonde curly-haired Raphaël and the dark and handsome Italian Stefano.
There are suspects a-plenty as Colonel Al-Qaïb arrives to investigate, and Raphaël and his auntie, and Stefano and his cabin mate / BFF Grazia begin their own investigation. There is a rather large cast of suspects and I found it difficult to keep everyone apart and remember their background, but as the story progresses, it eventually all comes together in a Hercule Poirot-like final confrontation.
At times the pace drags a bit as Raphaël and Stefano slowly - ever so slowly - explore their attraction to one another and overcome many erronous assumptions about each other ... to the point where I wished they would simple sit down for an honest discussion and USE. THEIR. WORDS. But the author also uses this leisurely pace to give us very evocative descriptions of the historic sites on the tour and does an excellent job of sharing his love of the setting.
As the first book in a series, I also appreciate how we meet the characters and in a sense merely drip our toes into their backgrounds and personalities, but there is a lot here to explore with the characters and their friends, particularly Raphaël's auntie and Grazia.
I look forward to the next book in the series, and can't wait to see what happens next to Raphaël and Stefano. 4 stars!
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review - thanks Dieter!!
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
We also get a wonderful travelogue of famous sites on the tour such as Abu Simbel, Aswan, the Temple of Edfu, as well as a slowly developing (non explicit) romance between two gorgeous young men - the Italian blonde curly-haired Raphaël and the dark and handsome Italian Stefano.
There are suspects a-plenty as Colonel Al-Qaïb arrives to investigate, and Raphaël and his auntie, and Stefano and his cabin mate / BFF Grazia begin their own investigation. There is a rather large cast of suspects and I found it difficult to keep everyone apart and remember their background, but as the story progresses, it eventually all comes together in a Hercule Poirot-like final confrontation.
At times the pace drags a bit as Raphaël and Stefano slowly - ever so slowly - explore their attraction to one another and overcome many erronous assumptions about each other ... to the point where I wished they would simple sit down for an honest discussion and USE. THEIR. WORDS. But the author also uses this leisurely pace to give us very evocative descriptions of the historic sites on the tour and does an excellent job of sharing his love of the setting.
As the first book in a series, I also appreciate how we meet the characters and in a sense merely drip our toes into their backgrounds and personalities, but there is a lot here to explore with the characters and their friends, particularly Raphaël's auntie and Grazia.
I look forward to the next book in the series, and can't wait to see what happens next to Raphaël and Stefano. 4 stars!
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review - thanks Dieter!!
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
June 26, 2020
I enjoyed the story and the characters in this mystery story. I guessed the murderer and the motive (sort of) quite early on.
The relationship is very slow burn but endearing, by the end of the book they had exchanged little more than a couple of kisses.
I believe this was originally written in French and translated to English. It's not the greatest translation, there are some strange word choices, sentence structures, and tense changes.
I also found it strange that one MC was written in 1st person pov and the other was written in 3rd.
But despite these flaws I really enjoyed it and would read another book with these characters.
The relationship is very slow burn but endearing, by the end of the book they had exchanged little more than a couple of kisses.
I believe this was originally written in French and translated to English. It's not the greatest translation, there are some strange word choices, sentence structures, and tense changes.
I also found it strange that one MC was written in 1st person pov and the other was written in 3rd.
But despite these flaws I really enjoyed it and would read another book with these characters.
June 22, 2020
While I thoroughly enjoyed the unique characters in this book, the story had such intense detail that I found it difficult to read at times. This author is very skilled at hiding tiny important clues in a wash of information, keeping the readers in the dark about what's really going on. Unfortunately, for me it was too much detail--I found myself forgetting character names and skimming sections to try to get to the next big reveal. The romance element is very light in this book--yes, the two main characters are gay and attracted to each other, but almost nothing happens between them. So while I found this story beautifully descriptive and well-thought out, I wouldn't put it in my favorites list.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 25, 2020
Two young men, French Raphaël Poireaut and Italian Stefano di Angeli go on a Nile cruise on the Queen of Egypt which changes their lives in a less-than-desirable way. Their acquaintance doesn't start as they would like, although over time it has the opportunity to bloom and turn into something more, special. Unfortunately, they cannot say the same about all the events that take place on the ship. When a murder is committed on board, everyone is suspect as anyone could kill. The investigation is being conducted by the Egyptian police, but when Raphaël and Stefano suddenly become part of a criminal mystery straight from a novel, it is not surprising that they are also getting involved in the whole case.
"Till Death Do Us Part" is the first volume of the series by Dieter Moitzi which has quite an intriguing title, "Poireaut & Di Angeli". However, I must admit that at the beginning I didn't pay that much attention to the title of the series, names or surnames of the characters. It was more like: a mystery, Egypt? Yes, I want to read it! At some point at the beginning of the novel, everything began to fall into place and that's when I noticed that to some extent the author is playing with the reader and doesn't try to hide this fact. Think about it, murder, a small group of suspects, Aunt Agathe and a young man named Poireaut? Does it ring a bell? You know, Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot... What's more, in "Till Death Do Us Part" we can find many direct references to Agatha Christie's novels, so even people who have never been interested in this British author's work at some point have to notice this obvious connection between the books. To be honest, I'm very curious how many references Dieter Moitzi hid in his novel because, personally, I've read only a few stories about Hercule Poirot, so I was only able to find the most obvious ones. However, now I really want to study this topic thoroughly. It's really fascinating!
Another very characteristic thing that shows the connection between "Till Death Do Us Part" and the novels about Hercule Poirot is the style in which Dieter Moitzi tells his story. After all, the very fact that in the novel we can see the clear cluedo motif is very meaningful and takes us back to completely different times. It should be noted that there is a huge difference in style between Agatha Christie's books and contemporary detective/mystery stories. While contemporary authors focus on solving the mystery simultaneously with the readers who become the detectives themselves, reading Christie's novels we are just the observers. What's more, nowadays great emphasis is put on the main characters' private life, their problems, while in the case of the novel about Hercule Poirot, we simply observe the world around us, life, nature, cities and towns, we meet people, we socialize with them. I have the impression that in "Till Death Do Us Part" the author to some extent combines these two styles, which I think is fantastic, although the reader really must get used to it, as the emphasis is put on the style that I personally associate with Agatha Christie. And that makes this novel undoubtedly unique.
As I've mentioned at the very beginning of this review, the fact that the novel takes place in Egypt was one of the reasons I wanted to read "Till Death Do Us Part". However, at the time I thought that the story set in this particular country is all I would get as the main characters would just pass through a city: they would cross this street, look at that place, interrogate someone here and there, chase someone in that alley, etc. However, Dieter Moitzi surprised me, because reading his novel we really have the opportunity to discover Egypt as tourists. We can even say that Egypt is not only the background of this book, but an integral part of the story presented in it. Something between the shape of the background and the main character themselves. I like the fact that the author chose this approach to the country his novel takes place in, because thanks to all that we get to know this place from a different angle than usual used in mystery stories.
As for the characters, I would say that in "Till Death Do Us Part" there are many of them, because in addition to the main two, Raphaël and Stefano, we also meet numerous side characters, some of whom we get to know on a deeper level, while we know others only slightly. This is probably due to the way of building this novel as almost every person has their own story to tell us. As to Raphaël and Stefano, they are undoubtedly charming, lovable, somewhat sweet. The reader really wants to know more about them and follow them during their mystery adventure on the Queen of Egypt. What's interesting, we don't see them in their natural environment, but during a journey, so the circumstances definitely differ from their everyday life. That's why we want to meet them again so that we can learn more about what they are like every day.
To sum up, "Till Death Do Us Part" is quite an interesting novel that resembles a theme park inspired by Agatha Christie's works. Readers who like this author will undoubtedly be delighted with the book written by Dieter Moitzi, while fans of modern detective stories will have the opportunity to discover this totally different, very characteristic and unique way of conducting a story. "Till Death Do Us Part" is absolutely worth reading so that you can see for yourself what the author has to offer.
________________________
Dwóch młodzieńców, Francuz Raphaël Poireaut oraz Włoch Stefano di Angeli wybiera się w rejs po Nilu na Królowej Egiptu, który zmienia ich życie w nie do końca pożądany sposób. Ich znajomość nie zaczyna się bowiem tak, jakby sobie tego życzyli, chociaż z czasem ma okazję rozkwitnąć i przerodzić się w coś wyjątkowego. Niestety nie mogą powiedzieć tego samego o wszystkich wydarzeniach, jakie mają miejsce na statku. Na pokładzie dochodzi bowiem do morderstwa, a to oznacza, że każdy jest podejrzany, każdy mógł zabić. Śledztwo prowadzi egipska policja, jednak kiedy Raphaël i Stefano nagle stają się częścią kryminalnej zagadki rodem z powieści, nie można się dziwić, że również zaczynają angażować się w całą sprawę.
„Till Death Do Us Part” jest pierwszym tomem serii o bardzo intrygującym tytule „Poireaut & Di Angeli” autorstwa Dietera Moitzi. Muszę jednak przyznać, że na początku wcale nie zwróciłam uwagi na tytuł serii, imiona czy nazwiska bohaterów. Działałam na zasadzie: wątek kryminalny, Egipt? Tak, chcę to przeczytać! W pewnym momencie, jeszcze na początku lektury, wszystko zaczęło się jednak układać w całość i wtedy zauważyłam, że autor w pewnym stopniu bawi się z czytelnikiem i wcale tego nie ukrywa. Sami pomyślcie, morderstwo, wąskie grono podejrzanych, ciocia Agathe i młodzian nazwiskiem Poireaut? Kojarzy Wam się to z czymś? Może z Agathą Christie i Herkulesem Poirot? Co więcej, w „Till Death Do Us Part” znajdujemy wiele bezpośrednich nawiązań do powieści Agathy Christie, więc nawet osoby, które nigdy nie interesowały się twórczością tej brytyjskiej autorki w pewnym momencie muszą dostrzec tę wyraźną zależność. Prawdę mówiąc, jestem bardzo ciekawa jak wiele takich perełek Dieter Moitzi ukrył w swojej powieści. Osobiście czytałam tylko kilka historii o Herkulesie Poirot, więc dostrzegłam tylko to, co najbardziej oczywiste. Teraz mam jednak ochotę wnikliwie się tym tematem zająć. To naprawdę fascynujące!
Kolejną rzeczą bardzo charakterystyczną, która zdradza powiązanie „Till Death Do Us Part” z powieściami o Herkulesie Poirot jest styl, w jakim Dieter Moitzi prowadzi swoją historię. Zresztą już sam fakt, iż w powieści pojawia się motyw cluedo jest bardzo wymowny i sprawia, że cofamy się myślami do zupełnie innych czasów. Zauważmy, że między książkami Agathy Christie, a współczesnymi kryminałami istnieje ogromna różnica stylu. Podczas gdy współcześni autorzy skupiają się na rozwikłaniu zagadki kryminalnej wraz z czytelnikiem, który sam staje się detektywem, czytając powieści Christie jesteśmy tylko niewiele wiedzącymi obserwatorami. Co więcej, współcześnie wielką wagę przykłada się do ukazania nam prywatnego życia głównego bohatera, jego problemów, zaś w przypadku chociażby powieści o Herkulesie Poirot po prostu obserwujemy otaczający nas świat, życie, przyrodę, miasta i miasteczka, poznajemy ludzi, udzielamy się towarzysko. Mam wrażenie, że w „Till Death Do Us Part” autor w pewnym stopniu łączy te dwa style, co uważam za fantastyczne, chociaż czytelnik naprawdę musi się przyzwyczaić, jako że nacisk zostaje położony na styl, który ja osobiście kojarzę właśnie z Agathą Christie. I to w tej powieści niewątpliwie jest wyjątkowe.
Jak wspomniałam na samym początku, osadzenie powieści w Egipcie było tym, co w dużej mierze skłoniło mnie to przeczytania „Till Death Do Us Part”. Wtedy sądziłam jednak, że właśnie na osadzeniu historii w tym konkretnym kraju wszystko się skończy i będziemy podziwiać konkretne miasto „przelotem” - tą ulicą przejdziemy, w to miejsce zajrzymy, tam będziemy kogoś przesłuchiwać, a tamtą alejką gonić, itd. Dieter Moitzi zaskoczył mnie jednak, ponieważ czytając jego powieść tak naprawdę mamy okazję pozwiedzać Egipt jako turyści. Możemy nawet powiedzieć, że Egipt nie jest tylko tłem tej książki, ale integralną częścią przedstawionej w niej historii. Czymś pomiędzy kształtem stanowiącym tło, a bohaterem samym w sobie. Spodobało mi się to, że autor zdecydował się na takie właśnie podejście do miejsca, w którym osadził powieść, ponieważ dzięki temu poznajemy kraj od innej strony, niż zazwyczaj w kryminałach.
Jeśli chodzi o bohaterów, powiedziałabym, że w „Till Death Do Us Part” jest ich wielu, ponieważ poza główną dwójką, Raphaëlem i Stefano, poznajemy także licznych bohaterów pobocznych, z których jednych poznajemy dokładniej, innych zaś tylko pobieżnie. Duży wpływ ma na to zapewne sposób budowania powieść, w której niemal każda osoba ma nam do opowiedzenia swoją własną historię. Co się zaś tyczy Raphaëla i Stefano, są oni niewątpliwie bardzo sympatyczni, toteż łatwi do polubienia, w pewnym stopniu słodcy. Czytelnik naprawdę chce wiedzieć o nich więcej i towarzyszyć im podczas ich kryminalnej przygody na Królowej Egiptu. Co interesujące, nie poznajemy ich w ich naturalnym środowisku, ale podczas podróży, która zdecydowanie odbiega od ich codziennego życia. Dlatego też mamy nadzieję spotkać się z nimi ponownie, aby móc dowiedzieć się więcej o tym, jacy są na co dzień.
Podsumowując, „Till Death Do Us Part” to całkiem interesująca powieść, która przypomina trochę park tematyczny inspirowany twórczością Agathy Christie. Czytelnicy, którzy lubią tę autorkę będą niewątpliwie zachwyceni książką Dietera Moitziego, z kolei fani współczesnego kryminału będą mieli okazję odkryć ten inny, charakterystyczny i wyjątkowy sposób prowadzenia powieści. Uważam, że „Till Death Do Us Part” warto przeczytać, aby samemu przekonać się, co ma nam do zaoferowania autor.
"Till Death Do Us Part" is the first volume of the series by Dieter Moitzi which has quite an intriguing title, "Poireaut & Di Angeli". However, I must admit that at the beginning I didn't pay that much attention to the title of the series, names or surnames of the characters. It was more like: a mystery, Egypt? Yes, I want to read it! At some point at the beginning of the novel, everything began to fall into place and that's when I noticed that to some extent the author is playing with the reader and doesn't try to hide this fact. Think about it, murder, a small group of suspects, Aunt Agathe and a young man named Poireaut? Does it ring a bell? You know, Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot... What's more, in "Till Death Do Us Part" we can find many direct references to Agatha Christie's novels, so even people who have never been interested in this British author's work at some point have to notice this obvious connection between the books. To be honest, I'm very curious how many references Dieter Moitzi hid in his novel because, personally, I've read only a few stories about Hercule Poirot, so I was only able to find the most obvious ones. However, now I really want to study this topic thoroughly. It's really fascinating!
Another very characteristic thing that shows the connection between "Till Death Do Us Part" and the novels about Hercule Poirot is the style in which Dieter Moitzi tells his story. After all, the very fact that in the novel we can see the clear cluedo motif is very meaningful and takes us back to completely different times. It should be noted that there is a huge difference in style between Agatha Christie's books and contemporary detective/mystery stories. While contemporary authors focus on solving the mystery simultaneously with the readers who become the detectives themselves, reading Christie's novels we are just the observers. What's more, nowadays great emphasis is put on the main characters' private life, their problems, while in the case of the novel about Hercule Poirot, we simply observe the world around us, life, nature, cities and towns, we meet people, we socialize with them. I have the impression that in "Till Death Do Us Part" the author to some extent combines these two styles, which I think is fantastic, although the reader really must get used to it, as the emphasis is put on the style that I personally associate with Agatha Christie. And that makes this novel undoubtedly unique.
As I've mentioned at the very beginning of this review, the fact that the novel takes place in Egypt was one of the reasons I wanted to read "Till Death Do Us Part". However, at the time I thought that the story set in this particular country is all I would get as the main characters would just pass through a city: they would cross this street, look at that place, interrogate someone here and there, chase someone in that alley, etc. However, Dieter Moitzi surprised me, because reading his novel we really have the opportunity to discover Egypt as tourists. We can even say that Egypt is not only the background of this book, but an integral part of the story presented in it. Something between the shape of the background and the main character themselves. I like the fact that the author chose this approach to the country his novel takes place in, because thanks to all that we get to know this place from a different angle than usual used in mystery stories.
As for the characters, I would say that in "Till Death Do Us Part" there are many of them, because in addition to the main two, Raphaël and Stefano, we also meet numerous side characters, some of whom we get to know on a deeper level, while we know others only slightly. This is probably due to the way of building this novel as almost every person has their own story to tell us. As to Raphaël and Stefano, they are undoubtedly charming, lovable, somewhat sweet. The reader really wants to know more about them and follow them during their mystery adventure on the Queen of Egypt. What's interesting, we don't see them in their natural environment, but during a journey, so the circumstances definitely differ from their everyday life. That's why we want to meet them again so that we can learn more about what they are like every day.
To sum up, "Till Death Do Us Part" is quite an interesting novel that resembles a theme park inspired by Agatha Christie's works. Readers who like this author will undoubtedly be delighted with the book written by Dieter Moitzi, while fans of modern detective stories will have the opportunity to discover this totally different, very characteristic and unique way of conducting a story. "Till Death Do Us Part" is absolutely worth reading so that you can see for yourself what the author has to offer.
________________________
Dwóch młodzieńców, Francuz Raphaël Poireaut oraz Włoch Stefano di Angeli wybiera się w rejs po Nilu na Królowej Egiptu, który zmienia ich życie w nie do końca pożądany sposób. Ich znajomość nie zaczyna się bowiem tak, jakby sobie tego życzyli, chociaż z czasem ma okazję rozkwitnąć i przerodzić się w coś wyjątkowego. Niestety nie mogą powiedzieć tego samego o wszystkich wydarzeniach, jakie mają miejsce na statku. Na pokładzie dochodzi bowiem do morderstwa, a to oznacza, że każdy jest podejrzany, każdy mógł zabić. Śledztwo prowadzi egipska policja, jednak kiedy Raphaël i Stefano nagle stają się częścią kryminalnej zagadki rodem z powieści, nie można się dziwić, że również zaczynają angażować się w całą sprawę.
„Till Death Do Us Part” jest pierwszym tomem serii o bardzo intrygującym tytule „Poireaut & Di Angeli” autorstwa Dietera Moitzi. Muszę jednak przyznać, że na początku wcale nie zwróciłam uwagi na tytuł serii, imiona czy nazwiska bohaterów. Działałam na zasadzie: wątek kryminalny, Egipt? Tak, chcę to przeczytać! W pewnym momencie, jeszcze na początku lektury, wszystko zaczęło się jednak układać w całość i wtedy zauważyłam, że autor w pewnym stopniu bawi się z czytelnikiem i wcale tego nie ukrywa. Sami pomyślcie, morderstwo, wąskie grono podejrzanych, ciocia Agathe i młodzian nazwiskiem Poireaut? Kojarzy Wam się to z czymś? Może z Agathą Christie i Herkulesem Poirot? Co więcej, w „Till Death Do Us Part” znajdujemy wiele bezpośrednich nawiązań do powieści Agathy Christie, więc nawet osoby, które nigdy nie interesowały się twórczością tej brytyjskiej autorki w pewnym momencie muszą dostrzec tę wyraźną zależność. Prawdę mówiąc, jestem bardzo ciekawa jak wiele takich perełek Dieter Moitzi ukrył w swojej powieści. Osobiście czytałam tylko kilka historii o Herkulesie Poirot, więc dostrzegłam tylko to, co najbardziej oczywiste. Teraz mam jednak ochotę wnikliwie się tym tematem zająć. To naprawdę fascynujące!
Kolejną rzeczą bardzo charakterystyczną, która zdradza powiązanie „Till Death Do Us Part” z powieściami o Herkulesie Poirot jest styl, w jakim Dieter Moitzi prowadzi swoją historię. Zresztą już sam fakt, iż w powieści pojawia się motyw cluedo jest bardzo wymowny i sprawia, że cofamy się myślami do zupełnie innych czasów. Zauważmy, że między książkami Agathy Christie, a współczesnymi kryminałami istnieje ogromna różnica stylu. Podczas gdy współcześni autorzy skupiają się na rozwikłaniu zagadki kryminalnej wraz z czytelnikiem, który sam staje się detektywem, czytając powieści Christie jesteśmy tylko niewiele wiedzącymi obserwatorami. Co więcej, współcześnie wielką wagę przykłada się do ukazania nam prywatnego życia głównego bohatera, jego problemów, zaś w przypadku chociażby powieści o Herkulesie Poirot po prostu obserwujemy otaczający nas świat, życie, przyrodę, miasta i miasteczka, poznajemy ludzi, udzielamy się towarzysko. Mam wrażenie, że w „Till Death Do Us Part” autor w pewnym stopniu łączy te dwa style, co uważam za fantastyczne, chociaż czytelnik naprawdę musi się przyzwyczaić, jako że nacisk zostaje położony na styl, który ja osobiście kojarzę właśnie z Agathą Christie. I to w tej powieści niewątpliwie jest wyjątkowe.
Jak wspomniałam na samym początku, osadzenie powieści w Egipcie było tym, co w dużej mierze skłoniło mnie to przeczytania „Till Death Do Us Part”. Wtedy sądziłam jednak, że właśnie na osadzeniu historii w tym konkretnym kraju wszystko się skończy i będziemy podziwiać konkretne miasto „przelotem” - tą ulicą przejdziemy, w to miejsce zajrzymy, tam będziemy kogoś przesłuchiwać, a tamtą alejką gonić, itd. Dieter Moitzi zaskoczył mnie jednak, ponieważ czytając jego powieść tak naprawdę mamy okazję pozwiedzać Egipt jako turyści. Możemy nawet powiedzieć, że Egipt nie jest tylko tłem tej książki, ale integralną częścią przedstawionej w niej historii. Czymś pomiędzy kształtem stanowiącym tło, a bohaterem samym w sobie. Spodobało mi się to, że autor zdecydował się na takie właśnie podejście do miejsca, w którym osadził powieść, ponieważ dzięki temu poznajemy kraj od innej strony, niż zazwyczaj w kryminałach.
Jeśli chodzi o bohaterów, powiedziałabym, że w „Till Death Do Us Part” jest ich wielu, ponieważ poza główną dwójką, Raphaëlem i Stefano, poznajemy także licznych bohaterów pobocznych, z których jednych poznajemy dokładniej, innych zaś tylko pobieżnie. Duży wpływ ma na to zapewne sposób budowania powieść, w której niemal każda osoba ma nam do opowiedzenia swoją własną historię. Co się zaś tyczy Raphaëla i Stefano, są oni niewątpliwie bardzo sympatyczni, toteż łatwi do polubienia, w pewnym stopniu słodcy. Czytelnik naprawdę chce wiedzieć o nich więcej i towarzyszyć im podczas ich kryminalnej przygody na Królowej Egiptu. Co interesujące, nie poznajemy ich w ich naturalnym środowisku, ale podczas podróży, która zdecydowanie odbiega od ich codziennego życia. Dlatego też mamy nadzieję spotkać się z nimi ponownie, aby móc dowiedzieć się więcej o tym, jacy są na co dzień.
Podsumowując, „Till Death Do Us Part” to całkiem interesująca powieść, która przypomina trochę park tematyczny inspirowany twórczością Agathy Christie. Czytelnicy, którzy lubią tę autorkę będą niewątpliwie zachwyceni książką Dietera Moitziego, z kolei fani współczesnego kryminału będą mieli okazję odkryć ten inny, charakterystyczny i wyjątkowy sposób prowadzenia powieści. Uważam, że „Till Death Do Us Part” warto przeczytać, aby samemu przekonać się, co ma nam do zaoferowania autor.
June 12, 2020
I was given a free copy of 'Till death us do part' in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book a lot. Reading about the author, I am not sure if Dieter has written this book in English or had it translated but the flow is slightly different to that of a book written in English by a native speaker. Occasionally, the wrong word is chosen or the the phrase is not quite right but the book is still a really good one and I will be reading more by this author.
'Till Death...' is written in the present tense, something that I am still getting used to, and in the third person. The story is also told from alternating points of view - those of Stefano and Raphael, the two main characters. Throughout the book we are looking at a scene from Raphael's point of view and then the same scene from Stefano's. There are scenes where we only see what is happening with Raphael as Stefano does not appear.
I would describe this book as a cozy mystery and I found that a little of what happens to be implausible but I still liked it. There are no sex scenes and the relationship between Stefano and Raphael is definitely a slow burning one.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I enjoyed this book a lot. Reading about the author, I am not sure if Dieter has written this book in English or had it translated but the flow is slightly different to that of a book written in English by a native speaker. Occasionally, the wrong word is chosen or the the phrase is not quite right but the book is still a really good one and I will be reading more by this author.
'Till Death...' is written in the present tense, something that I am still getting used to, and in the third person. The story is also told from alternating points of view - those of Stefano and Raphael, the two main characters. Throughout the book we are looking at a scene from Raphael's point of view and then the same scene from Stefano's. There are scenes where we only see what is happening with Raphael as Stefano does not appear.
I would describe this book as a cozy mystery and I found that a little of what happens to be implausible but I still liked it. There are no sex scenes and the relationship between Stefano and Raphael is definitely a slow burning one.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
August 7, 2020
A cruise down the Nile, a shock confrontation with a doppelganger, a cabin stabbing murder, a heap of fellow passenger suspects, excursions to thousand year old temples sites, sexy doe-eyed bartenders, homophobic local law-enforcement ... all adding up to a decent whodunnit read from a first time author. It took me a few chapters to get used to the written style as turns of phrase plus foreign references (TG there are footnotes) indicate the writer is not from the UK/USA/Canada/Australia; but once past that, it imbued a certain 'charm' to the reading ... like viewing a Palme d'Or film entry.
I liked MCs sleuth Raphael Poireaut (out and proud gay Frenchman), his Aunt Agathe (very Mame-ish), Stefano di Angeli (not quite closeted export/enterpreneur) and his lesbian bestie Grazia. They are surrounded by fellow travelers hailing from all walks of life, and who all claim to having no prior relationship with the murdered man ... until the coincidences and revelations begin steering the plot into very Agatha Christie-ish territory! I did work out the murderer's identity and motive about three quarter way through but was interested to see how our MCs would collaboratively bring about the denouement without risking even more killing/deaths.
It was not til the day after I finished the book that it struck me there really was not much M-M action - Raphael and Stefano barely managing a few snatched kissing and groping moments thanks to the almost claustrophobic travel/touring conditions on the riverboat and tour buses LOL; this did not affect my enjoyment factor. A good procedural romance deserving of 3.5 stars. I anticipate reading more from this author.
I liked MCs sleuth Raphael Poireaut (out and proud gay Frenchman), his Aunt Agathe (very Mame-ish), Stefano di Angeli (not quite closeted export/enterpreneur) and his lesbian bestie Grazia. They are surrounded by fellow travelers hailing from all walks of life, and who all claim to having no prior relationship with the murdered man ... until the coincidences and revelations begin steering the plot into very Agatha Christie-ish territory! I did work out the murderer's identity and motive about three quarter way through but was interested to see how our MCs would collaboratively bring about the denouement without risking even more killing/deaths.
It was not til the day after I finished the book that it struck me there really was not much M-M action - Raphael and Stefano barely managing a few snatched kissing and groping moments thanks to the almost claustrophobic travel/touring conditions on the riverboat and tour buses LOL; this did not affect my enjoyment factor. A good procedural romance deserving of 3.5 stars. I anticipate reading more from this author.
June 30, 2020
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.25 stars
Raphaël is a young man in his mid-twenties who was cast out of his house and family for being gay. Fortunately, Aunt Agathe took him in and helped him get on his feet. Now, though, after his share of relations and one bad relationship, Raphaël is content with where he is. He likes his job, he likes himself, and he’s pretty sure that everyone worth knowing will like him in return. His chapters are all told in a first person point of view, giving us an up close and personal appreciation of all of his personality traits, as he is far from shy in showing off his own sense of humor or his own observations on the other passengers.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
3.25 stars
Raphaël is a young man in his mid-twenties who was cast out of his house and family for being gay. Fortunately, Aunt Agathe took him in and helped him get on his feet. Now, though, after his share of relations and one bad relationship, Raphaël is content with where he is. He likes his job, he likes himself, and he’s pretty sure that everyone worth knowing will like him in return. His chapters are all told in a first person point of view, giving us an up close and personal appreciation of all of his personality traits, as he is far from shy in showing off his own sense of humor or his own observations on the other passengers.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
October 30, 2020
I learned about Dieter on the Gay Mystery Podcast with Brad Shreve. The author was fascinating. When he described his homage to Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, I was hooked. And I am so happy that I took the journey!
The book is charming in so many ways.
First, the premise of doing a tribute to Agatha takes courage but Dieter pulls if off so perfectly. His character of Raphael Poireaut and Aunt Agathe are so well written and perfectly described. The atmosphere of the Egyptian Nile cruise is extremely well described. Dieter must have enjoyed the research for this book immensely. He offers so much solid information about Egyptian history, yet never bores you in any way.
He describes the characters in such wonderful detail. It doesn't matter who he is talking about, they are so vividly written that I felt I was right there on the cruise deck with them all.
The mystery itself is worthy of Dame Agatha also. Its a complex series of events whereby almost every passenger has the motive so he makes you think this will be Murder on the Orient Express. But in the end, its not at all.
The mystery is just one aspect of this plot. The character of Raphael is an extremely attractive young gay bartender from Paris. He is being taken on this trip by his Aunt Agatha who works for the government in France as well. Raphael is a total charmer in every way. But in spite of his looks, he isn't snobbish or arrogant. He is recently single but not actively seeking a partner.
But of course, he does meet the charming Italian Stefano! Stefano is different in many ways, although he too is absolutely stunning. But he displays that perfect Italian sensibility, reminding me of Brunetti from the Donna Leon novels in some ways.
Dieter describes the meeting and very slow and cautious encounters between the two men. Each chapter is written from one or the others POV. You get inside their heads and truly understand all of the mysteries of the human heart and how we learn to trust and perhaps love a new person.
This is a "cozy" mystery in a couple of ways. First, although there are murders, they are somewhat discreet and not gory. Second, the characters do not have any sex. In fact, there is only one brief kiss at the very end. But let me tell you. Dieter is a master of erotic writing. When he describes the characters physically, you will certainly get a reaction! This isn't smutty in any way. Its pure and erotic and romantic rolled into a wonderful package.
I grabbed a sample from Kindle and could not wait to click the "Buy" button as I reached the end of it! This was a totally engrossing and entertaining novel, that is the first in a series.
I wrote to Dieter and asked for book two (well begged!). He is writing another book is his other series first before a follow-up to this one. I guess now that I have fallen under Dieter's spell I will jump to his other novel to bide me over until Raphael, Stefano, and Agathe return!
This is truly a wonderful book.
The book is charming in so many ways.
First, the premise of doing a tribute to Agatha takes courage but Dieter pulls if off so perfectly. His character of Raphael Poireaut and Aunt Agathe are so well written and perfectly described. The atmosphere of the Egyptian Nile cruise is extremely well described. Dieter must have enjoyed the research for this book immensely. He offers so much solid information about Egyptian history, yet never bores you in any way.
He describes the characters in such wonderful detail. It doesn't matter who he is talking about, they are so vividly written that I felt I was right there on the cruise deck with them all.
The mystery itself is worthy of Dame Agatha also. Its a complex series of events whereby almost every passenger has the motive so he makes you think this will be Murder on the Orient Express. But in the end, its not at all.
The mystery is just one aspect of this plot. The character of Raphael is an extremely attractive young gay bartender from Paris. He is being taken on this trip by his Aunt Agatha who works for the government in France as well. Raphael is a total charmer in every way. But in spite of his looks, he isn't snobbish or arrogant. He is recently single but not actively seeking a partner.
But of course, he does meet the charming Italian Stefano! Stefano is different in many ways, although he too is absolutely stunning. But he displays that perfect Italian sensibility, reminding me of Brunetti from the Donna Leon novels in some ways.
Dieter describes the meeting and very slow and cautious encounters between the two men. Each chapter is written from one or the others POV. You get inside their heads and truly understand all of the mysteries of the human heart and how we learn to trust and perhaps love a new person.
This is a "cozy" mystery in a couple of ways. First, although there are murders, they are somewhat discreet and not gory. Second, the characters do not have any sex. In fact, there is only one brief kiss at the very end. But let me tell you. Dieter is a master of erotic writing. When he describes the characters physically, you will certainly get a reaction! This isn't smutty in any way. Its pure and erotic and romantic rolled into a wonderful package.
I grabbed a sample from Kindle and could not wait to click the "Buy" button as I reached the end of it! This was a totally engrossing and entertaining novel, that is the first in a series.
I wrote to Dieter and asked for book two (well begged!). He is writing another book is his other series first before a follow-up to this one. I guess now that I have fallen under Dieter's spell I will jump to his other novel to bide me over until Raphael, Stefano, and Agathe return!
This is truly a wonderful book.
December 4, 2024
Un retour de lecture pour un bien joli titre romantique, très finement écrit par Dieter Moitzi : « Jusqu’à ce que la mort nous sépare »....
Une histoire... romantique ? Oui ! Sans aucun doute.
Imaginez un beau jeune homme parisien, d’une blondeur solaire, au doux nom de Raphaël, invité par sa tante Agathe quelque peu excentrique, à l’accompagner dans une croisière sur le Nil. Raphaël n’est guère emballé. D’autant moins que peu après le départ du paquebot on retrouve un voisin de cabine proprement trucidé ! Et l’on est d’emblée embarqué dans un roman un peu - mais pas seulement ! - policier, qui n’est pas sans rappeler une autre « Agathe/Agatha », so british. Cette macabre découverte ne contribue pas à mettre notre narrateur de bonne humeur, côtoyant une tante Agathe qui s’amuse à jouer dangereusement les Miss Marple, et par la force de l’espace réduit, cet Italien, beau comme un dieu, Stefano, à qui Raphaël semble déplaire. Enfin... c’est ce qui lui semble. Se lanceront-ils cependant conjointement dans la recherche du (ou de la) coupable ?
Évidemment, j’ai aimé, comme j’aime tous les romans de Dieter Moitzi, qu’ils soient légers ou plus sombres. Ici, un ton, celui du narrateur, qui emporte, amuse souvent, émeut aussi parfois, que l’on suit dans ses réflexions, ses déductions, et son attirance qu’il tente de réfréner pour le bel Italien, qui de son côté...
Bref, si j’ai su vous convaincre, lisez ce roman. Et pourquoi pas les autres aussi !
Un cadeau à faire ou à se faire !
Dieter Moitzi a reçu le Prix du Roman Gay pour son roman « Le cercueil farci ». Il a des titres, Dieter, c’est sûr !
Une histoire... romantique ? Oui ! Sans aucun doute.
Imaginez un beau jeune homme parisien, d’une blondeur solaire, au doux nom de Raphaël, invité par sa tante Agathe quelque peu excentrique, à l’accompagner dans une croisière sur le Nil. Raphaël n’est guère emballé. D’autant moins que peu après le départ du paquebot on retrouve un voisin de cabine proprement trucidé ! Et l’on est d’emblée embarqué dans un roman un peu - mais pas seulement ! - policier, qui n’est pas sans rappeler une autre « Agathe/Agatha », so british. Cette macabre découverte ne contribue pas à mettre notre narrateur de bonne humeur, côtoyant une tante Agathe qui s’amuse à jouer dangereusement les Miss Marple, et par la force de l’espace réduit, cet Italien, beau comme un dieu, Stefano, à qui Raphaël semble déplaire. Enfin... c’est ce qui lui semble. Se lanceront-ils cependant conjointement dans la recherche du (ou de la) coupable ?
Évidemment, j’ai aimé, comme j’aime tous les romans de Dieter Moitzi, qu’ils soient légers ou plus sombres. Ici, un ton, celui du narrateur, qui emporte, amuse souvent, émeut aussi parfois, que l’on suit dans ses réflexions, ses déductions, et son attirance qu’il tente de réfréner pour le bel Italien, qui de son côté...
Bref, si j’ai su vous convaincre, lisez ce roman. Et pourquoi pas les autres aussi !
Un cadeau à faire ou à se faire !
Dieter Moitzi a reçu le Prix du Roman Gay pour son roman « Le cercueil farci ». Il a des titres, Dieter, c’est sûr !
August 29, 2020
‘Till Death do us Part’ feels a lot like a traditional Agatha Christie murder mystery – though never having read one myself, I can only use what I have heard from others and a couple of movies based on her books to come to this conclusion. The setting on The Queen of Egypt (s a fitting name fo a cruise ship on the Nile) the variety of characters, and a gruesome murder in chapter one are all par for the course, yet this story has a style all its own. For one, it is told in present tense and alternating points of view with Raphaël narrating in first person and Stefano in third – which took me a few chapters to get used to. The other difference is the multitude of modern-day characters who populate the cruise ship, some out and some less open about their preferences. So while there are lots of similarities with Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Nile’ (which I have never read, but I admit I checked out the blurb), the storyline, the murder, and the characters are very different, giving this novel a more contemporary feel.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
March 22, 2023
This was so much fun! A great combination of sight-seeing, murder mystery and gentle romance.
I really enjoyed the playful Agatha Christie references to her Belgian detective in Death on the Nile. There was a lovely ironic echo, since this took place on a modern Nile cruise, with various fatalities and an inquisitive Frenchwoman called Agathe making unofficial enquiries, together with her reluctant nephew Raphael, both sharing the surname Poireaut.
The murder mystery was light-hearted and cleverly plotted with glee. The travelogue taking us on a tour of Egypt's ancient sights was simply glorious. The attraction between Raphael and Italian fellow traveller, Stefano was a sweet slow burn as the plot developed and the body count increased.
Witty, well-told and thoroughly enjoyable!
I really enjoyed the playful Agatha Christie references to her Belgian detective in Death on the Nile. There was a lovely ironic echo, since this took place on a modern Nile cruise, with various fatalities and an inquisitive Frenchwoman called Agathe making unofficial enquiries, together with her reluctant nephew Raphael, both sharing the surname Poireaut.
The murder mystery was light-hearted and cleverly plotted with glee. The travelogue taking us on a tour of Egypt's ancient sights was simply glorious. The attraction between Raphael and Italian fellow traveller, Stefano was a sweet slow burn as the plot developed and the body count increased.
Witty, well-told and thoroughly enjoyable!
April 4, 2021
I did enjoy this nod to Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot.
There is a lot of careful detail in this, so at times it is a bit heavy but the prose is well done. I enjoyed the sometimes staccato language as it definitely gave a feeling of hearing non native english speakers speaking english - although I guess most conversations would be in French, and the book probably translated from French.
As in any good AC story, we gradually unravel that almost everyone has a link to the victim and a motive, so it is up to our amateur sleuths - initially Agathe and Raphael, but then Raphael, Stefano and Grazia - to ferret out all those little facts.
The travelogue part is quite interesting, allowing me to go off on my google adventures.
Will be looking for more
There is a lot of careful detail in this, so at times it is a bit heavy but the prose is well done. I enjoyed the sometimes staccato language as it definitely gave a feeling of hearing non native english speakers speaking english - although I guess most conversations would be in French, and the book probably translated from French.
As in any good AC story, we gradually unravel that almost everyone has a link to the victim and a motive, so it is up to our amateur sleuths - initially Agathe and Raphael, but then Raphael, Stefano and Grazia - to ferret out all those little facts.
The travelogue part is quite interesting, allowing me to go off on my google adventures.
Will be looking for more
December 6, 2020
The BEST
One of the best books I have read all year. Great characters, plot was terrific. Please please please write more with these chatacters. If you love Agatha Christie you will love this.
One of the best books I have read all year. Great characters, plot was terrific. Please please please write more with these chatacters. If you love Agatha Christie you will love this.
May 11, 2026
I could not get into the writing at all. It is weirdly stylized and at times feels like a bad translation. I I’m gonna try to avoid this author from here on out.
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