I admit - I was attracted to this series at first because I had enjoyed Julie and Julia so much. The idea of Julia Child as a literary character appealed to me after that experience, so I tried Mastering the Art of French Murder and I was hooked. With that first book readers enter Julia's world of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school as she teaches her neighbor Tabitha how to cook for her grandfather. In the second book, Tabitha learns more about fine French wines (which no French dinner would be complete without). And in this third installment, readers follow Tabitha into a third area of French mastery - haute couture.
Tabitha is a wonderful protagonist - fresh from the U.S. and enjoying her time with her grandfather in his lovely Parisian home, she soaks up everything about Paris. Her determined attempts to make dinner for her grandfather and uncle are comical and make her a very sympathetic character. How many of us could try to pull off dishes that Julia makes seem so effortless and succeed any better than Tabitha does? And her work as a translator and language tutor lets her meet an interesting cross-section of people living in the city. When she is asked to accompany a wealthy woman to a fashion house in search of a dress for her daughter's wedding, the stage is set for her next adventure.
It seems that along with a talent for the French language, Tabitha also has an uncanny knack for stumbling across dead bodies. The one she finds this time makes number seven and of all people, a friend of the deceased accuses Christian Dior of the crime! Between her paid work, her continued struggles to avert disaster in the kitchen, and acquaintances asking her to solve their own mysteries, Tabby certainly has her hands full. Julia adds to the drama by insisting that the brooding police inspector and Tabitha should date, and then Tabitha actually goes out with a charming veterinarian. Where does she find the time?
If you haven't tried this series yet, I recommend it for anyone show enjoys mysteries in an historical setting. The descriptions of Paris as it recovers from WWII are wonderful in themselves, and the characters are sure to become favorites.
No comments:
Post a Comment