Monday, April 24, 2023

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

 
First Lines: Paris. December 1949. Julia Child had a mayonnaise problem.
 
After the death of her grandmother, Tabitha Knight finds herself in Paris, living with her French grandfather and uncle. Having been a "Rosie the Riveter" during the war, she's not sure where life is going to take her next. In the meantime, she's giving French lessons to Americans living in Paris and trying her best to learn how to cook from her friend across the street, Julia Child. 
 
Julia's sister, Dorothy, is working in an American theatre, and Tabitha is invited to the party she gives for her fellow actors and theatre employees. Tabitha is one of the people who finds the body of a fellow partygoer in the cellar. To help Dorothy out, Tabitha agrees to fill in for the dead woman in the coat check room until they can find a replacement.
 
Tabitha can't stay out of the investigation, no matter how discouraging Inspector Merveille is. Why? Because all of the inspector's suspects seem to be Tabitha's friends. The dead woman attended a party in the Childs' apartment. The dead woman worked with Julia's sister, and the murder weapon was a knife from Julia's kitchen. She's going to do whatever it takes to prove her friends' innocence even if it puts her own life in danger.
 
~
 
In Mastering the Art of French Murder, author Colleen Cambridge does for Julia Child what she's done for Agatha Christie in her other historical mystery series featuring Christie's housekeeper, Phyllida Bright. As in the Phyllida Bright series, Julia doesn't take center stage in the investigation. She is there to provide Tabitha with a sounding board, a little encouragement, and plenty of cooking tips. For someone like me who is familiar with Child through her television series The French Chef and the movie Julie & Julia, this book brought a smile to my face.

Young Tabitha Knight shows the dilemma many women faced at the end of World War II. She thrived as one of the many Rosie the Riveters, but when the war ended, her job disappeared, and it's almost impossible to find an alternative that feels just as important and just as fulfilling. Although Tabitha is a dab hand with a Swiss Army knife, I did find her to be annoying. Always pushing. Always snooping. Always taking just one more risk. There were times I wished she'd stay in the kitchen with Julia, and that's not normal because I don't like to cook. 

The mystery surrounding the young woman's death is an excellent one, and Julia Child's cameos kept me from paying as much attention to it as I should have. All in all, Mastering the Art of French Murder is a good start to a new series and should appeal to readers who are interested in solving an intriguing mystery vividly set in a Paris still recovering from World War II.

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
eISBN: 9781496739612
Kensington Books © 2023
eBook, 272 pages
 
Historical Mystery, #1 American in Paris mystery
Rating: B
Source: Net Galley

6 comments:

  1. That's a really interesting idea for a premise, Cathy. Like a lot of other people, I grew up with Julia Child, as you might say, and it's interesting to think of that context for a novel, even if she's not a major character in the book. Tabitha sounds interesting, too. Glad you liked this one.

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    1. I just hope Tabitha is a bit less annoying in book two!

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  2. Those Julia Child cameos in this one do sound like fun. :D

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    1. They are-- and-- compared to her behavior on her cooking show-- they are very true to life.

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  3. Quite the first line! I am looking forward to reading this.

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    1. When I wasn't rolling my eyes at something Tabitha was doing, I found this to be a fun read, Julia.

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