Crime Fraiche
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Très chic Parisian Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier sets off on a hunting holiday that proves deadly for more than just the pheasants. . .
Before Capucine and her husband, distinguished food critic Alexandre de Huguelet, even arrive at her oncle's 16th-century château, a fatal hunting accident has upset their idyllic destination. What's meant to be a peaceful bon voyage to the countryside--rustic picnics, dinners en plein air, and of course, a sip or two of Calvados--quickly sours as more "accidents" befall the guests. But the local gendarmerie lack the investigative finesse to draw any conclusions, let alone suspects, forcing Capucine to puzzle out the crimes herself. And when the bodies lead to a celebrated cattle ranch, the stakes rise beyond small-town grudges to the struggle surrounding France's most beloved gastronomic traditions.
"[A] countryside romp." --Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Alexander Campion's Crime Fraiche and The Grave Gourmet
"This new series offers a uniquely blended mix of ‘hooks' that will appeal to a wide variety of mystery lovers." --Booklist
"A feast of crime with a soupçon of gourmet delight." --RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars, on Crime Fraiche
"Full of amusing characters. . . Readers will want a second helping." --Publishers Weekly on The Grave Gourmet
"An astonishing debut that raises the bar on today's detective novel." --Aram Saroyan on The Grave Gourmet
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Campion's picturesque sequel to The Grave Gourmet (2010) takes Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier, of Paris's judicial police, and her food critic husband, Alexandre de Huguelet, to Normandy, where her aristocratic uncle, Aymerie, asks Capucine to look into two fatal shooting "accidents" that occurred during hunting season. Facing resentment from the inept local police, elderly neighbors disconcerted by her job, as well as city superiors concerned with political issues, Capucine discovers that the two victims are connected to the cattle ranch of her uncle's friend, Lo c Vienneau, and thus all may not be well with Vienneau's highly celebrated beef operation. Placing an officer undercover at the ranch puts both detective and commissaire at risk. The lack of a suitable array of suspects, a distracting subplot with a thief who preys on vulnerable people in the arts that fails to connect with the main narrative, and less than perfect justice may disconcert traditional mystery fans.