That Dark Spring : A True Story of Death and Desire in 1920s Provence by Susannah Stapleton

A gripping, explosive murder mystery by acclaimed true crime writer Susannah Stapleton. In April 1929, the body of British artist Olive Branson was found submerged in a water tank outside her farmhouse in a picturesque Provence village. Dressed only in a pink shirt and stockings, she had a bullet hole between her eyes and a revolver by her side.

Was it suicide – or murder?The initial investigation concluded suicide, but under pressure from Olive’s family to conduct a murder enquiry, city detective Alexandre Guibbal was brought in to reopen the case. Examining never-before-seen evidence, acclaimed true crime writer Susannah Stapleton builds a vivid and absorbing picture of an unconventional life and a violent death, and an investigation that shines a bright light on a village simmering with resentments and dangerous rivalries .

.‘I couldn’t stop reading it . . .a classic of true crime’ Lissa Evans, author of Small Bomb at Dimperley‘A fascinating true crime case study . . .deeply moving’ The Times

Format:Paperback / softback 400 pages
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Imprint:Picador
ISBN:9781529065589
Published:26 Mar 2026
Classifications:France, c 1918 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), Biography: arts & entertainment, True crime, European history, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000
Weight:272g