Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
A delicious blend of mystery, history, and top-notch cuisine.
Neil Flambé may be fourteen years old, but he’s also a world-renowned chef. Patrons pay top dollar and wait months for reservations at his tiny boutique restaurant. But Neil is more than a fantastic cook—he solves crime too. Ever since he used his kitchen know-how and keen sense of smell to acquit a man of murder, he’s been helping Police Inspector Sean Nakamura crack case after case.
But when some of the best chefs in town turn up dead, the crime scenes turn culinary. Police are stumped, and the only clues are the scents of mysterious spices and a journal that may have belonged to…Marco Polo? Neil must find a way to connect the past with the present and solve the murders—or he could end up as the prime suspect!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sylvester (Gold Medal for Weird) takes readers into the culinary world of Vancouver, Canada, and into the kitchen of Neil Flamb , aka the Nose, a 14-year-old wunderchef wunderbrat with his own restaurant and line of cooking pans. Despite Neil's oversize ego, his highly sensitive nose makes him a valuable tool for the Vancouver police, who ask Neil to help them crack a series of murders targeting the city's famous chefs. Self-centered and arrogant, Neil is amusing if not likable ( I'm just trying to help ignorant slobs like you eat real food, he tells the class bully). The mystery itself, connected to Marco Polo's final journey to Venice in the 14th century, is a tad overcomplicated, and readers may end up wondering if all the pieces ever really fell into place. Still, the antics of Neil's cousin and sous-chef, Larry, are chuckle-worthy, Sylvester's spot art sketches add an exuberant note, and the high-end cuisine will intrigue budding chefs. As pressure mounts for Neil, readers will hope this insufferable young chef is innocent, but mostly they'll wish they could sample his Pommes de terre a la Flamb . Ages 9 12.
