Death and Fromage
A Novel
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3.9 • 8 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
2024 Lillian Jackson Braun Edgar Award Nominee
From UK comedian Ian Moore comes another "laugh-out-loud caper" (Shelf Awareness, starred review for Death and Croissants).
Middle-aged B&B owner Richard Ainsworth is enjoying his quiet life in the Val de Follet—that is, until the local cheese supplier is found dead in one of his own pasteurization tanks…
Running a B&B in the Val de Follet means nothing exciting ever happens to Richard, and really that's the way he likes it. Until scandal erupts in the nearby town of Saint-Sauver, when its famous restaurant is downgraded from three Michelin stars to two. The restaurant is shamed, the town is in shock, and the leading goat cheese supplier drowns himself in one of his own pasteurization tanks.
Or does he?
Valérie d'Orçay, who is staying at the B&B while house-hunting in the area, isn't convinced that it's a suicide. Despite his misgivings, Richard is drawn into Valérie's investigation, and finds himself becoming a major player in solving the crime. After all, the French do take their cheese quite seriously and it’s quite clear there’s nothing gouda happening in the close-knit, small village that Richard calls home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Comedian Moore follows up Death and Croissants with another witty cozy featuring hapless former film professor Richard Ainsworth, who now operates a bed and breakfast in France's sleepy Vallée de Follet, and his daring amateur investigator friend, Madame Valérie d'Orçay. At the outset, Richard and Valérie take a trip to a local Michelin-starred restaurant as guests of a lauded food critic. Dissatisfied with the meal, the critic revokes one of the restaurant's stars, leading to local scandal and the suspicious suicide of the restaurant's main supplier of goat cheese. Valérie smells a rat, and she once again ropes Richard into her unsolicited investigation. Suspects include two ego-swollen chefs and a local cheesemaker who is trying to enlarge his market share by producing vegan goat cheese. Added to the mix is the sudden appearance of Richard's estranged wife, who has come to France to haul her wayward husband back home to England. The pacing is brisk, the jokes are plentiful, and the mystery is complex enough to satisfy diehard whodunit fans. It's a generous helping of good fun, with authentic Gallic flavor.
