When
I first read the title of this new mystery series, I swear I could hear Julia
Child’s real-life voice. I had no idea that the kitchen magician herself was
going to be a secondary character in this new series. I was so delighted!
Set
in the Paris of 1949, Tabitha Knight has come to the City of Lights from
Detroit to find herself. She’s twenty-nine years old, recently broken her
four-year engagement to Henry and has lost her job at the Willow Run Bomber
Plant where she helped to build B-24 Liberator planes. She was a real Rosie the
Riveter! And on top of all the that, the woman---her grandmother-- who helped
raise her has died. She is lost and decides to go spend some time with her
grandfather, who still lives in Pari with his best friend.
Tabitha
made friends with Julia, who happens to live across the street and down the
block. They became fast friends although Tabitha can barely boil an egg. Julia’s
sister, Dort lives with the Childs’. Dort works for the American Club Theater,
which performs at Theater Monceau. The cast and crew are often at Julia’s
apartment after shows or rehearsals.
After
one such evening, the body of one of the other theater employees, Therese,
turns up brutally murdered----in the basement of the Childs’ apartment building.
Tabitha was the last person to see her alive and is immediately a suspect.
Concerned
that she will be arrested and impatient with police procedures, Tabitha begins
her own investigation. And the bodies begin to pile up. I was surprised by so
many bodies that dot the pages.
This
first book in the series is simultaneously funny and creepy. The opening scene
about the mayonnaise was a delight! I could hear Julia’s real-life voice booming
from the pages. I also liked that she was the sidekick and not the main
character. I did wonder if there were some gay undertones between Tabitha’s
grandfather and his best friend, Oncle Rafe (Tabitha’s honorary uncle), but it
doesn’t matter.
The
descriptions of the food and wine were spot-on…not too much nor too little. I
was salivating through the entire book. However, there is only one thing, no
two things, missing: The recipes for the perfect roasted chicken and
mayonnaise! “Mastering the Art of French Murder” receives 5 out of 5 stars
in Julie’s world.
Publishing date April 2023
