Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Gourmet Food and Murder in Lyon, France

Laure Grenadier, editor of a food magazine, and her photographer, Paco Alvarez, are in Lyon, France to do an article on the traditional bistros in the city. Laure is friends with several of the chefs. It’s doubly devastating when first one and then another of her friends is murdered in the same way suggesting the work of a serial killer.

The book does an excellent job showcasing the city and it’s bouchons (restaurants). The food is beautifully described and as an added bonus many on the recipes are included in the text. They were a bit complicated for me, but a better cook might enjoy trying them. We also get an overview of the city as Paco and Laure travel from restaurant to restaurant.

The characters are well done. Laure is a typical French woman, chic and intelligent. Paco is an artist with his camera. He also has a crush on Laure that isn’t reciprocated, although she recognizes his worth. She has desires in a different direction. This isn’t a romance, but the romantic affairs of the main characters make them more real.

This book is much like the Winemaker Detective Series by one of the same authors. Like that series, the focus is on the description of the food and the area. The mystery is interesting and woven into the story well, but it’s not a traditional mystery where the main characters spend their time looking for clues. The solution happens almost incidentally at the end. If you enjoy cozy mysteries with luscious backgrounds, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Le French Book for this review.


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