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Have you ever read a book where the setting was as important as the plot? A book that made you want to jump onto a plane (or train or whatever) and go to the place?
The Commissaire Dupin murder mysteries have just that, and—surprise, surprise—the setting is Brittany.

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Commissaire Dupin is a remarkable series for several reasons: First it was written by a German author with a setting in France, second it was written in German but is so wildly popular that it’s been translated into a number of languages, third it’s been adapted for tv and is available in both Germany and France (and maybe even other countries by now?), fourth it’s an excellent murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end, and finally, the Brittany portrayed in the stories is the real Brittany. The author really knows his stuff.

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A quick introduction to the series:
Commissaire Georges Dupin has been transferred from Paris to Brittany as punishment (that alone should tell you enough about how Parisians view Bretons, and the feeling is mutual) for a never specified scandal. Once you get to know him, you can make an educated guess that he cared more for catching a murderer than for political sensibilities.

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In Brittany, the “province”, everyone considers him as an outsider, a “Parisian” in the worst sense of the term. His team of two very different inspectors and his assistant Nolwenn who seems to know everything and everyone in Brittany, are convinced he can become a Breton over time. Together they solve murders all over Brittany and even down to Guérande in the Loire-Atlantique which only historically belongs to Brittany, even though technically they are based in the southern Finistère town of Concarneau. (It’s beautiful, you should go visit.)

Here’s where each of his cases takes Commissaire Dupin:

• Death in Pont-Aven (Book 1) – Pont Aven
• Murder on Brittany Shores (Book 2) – Glénan Islands
• Fleur de Sel Murders (Book 3) – Guérande
• The Missing Corpse (Book 4) – Belon River
• The Killing Tide (Book 5) – Sein Island
• The Granite Coast Murders (Book 6) – PInk Granite Coast
• The King Arthur Case (Book 7) – Brocéliande Forest
• The Body by the Sea (Book 8) – Concarneau
• Death of a Master Chef (Book 9) – Saint Malo
  

The following books don’t seem to have been translated yet, but here are their locations:

• Book 10: Belle-Île Island
• Book 11: L’Aber Wrac’h (new in 2022)
• Book 12: Pornic / Grand Lieu Lake (new in 2023)