Bon Bon Voyage (Culinary Food Writer) [Paperback]

Nancy Fairbanks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Culinary Food Writer | Publication Date: August 7, 2007

Even if Carolyn Blue has to share a cabin with her mother-in-law, she'll still enjoy her Mother's Day present: a gourmet European cruise. That is, until both a female passenger and the double chocolate raspberry mousse go missing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

El Paso, Tex., food writer Carolyn Blue takes a gourmet cruise in Fairbanks's lackluster eighth culinary mystery (after 2005's Mozzarella Most Murderous). The pumpkin soup is tasty and the tilapia with black bean and corn relish scrumptious on the cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona, but things turn sour when another passenger, Mrs. Gross, goes missing. Was she accidentally left behind when the cruise ship docked? Or could something more sinister be afoot? Carolyn's determination to get to the bottom of things lands her in hot water. The frequent first-person narrative shifts among Carolyn and various other characters make for a confusing read, but fans will relish the many dessert recipes sprinkled throughout. Previous books in the series were published as mass market originals. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Nancy Fairbanks is a pseudonym for Nancy Herndon, author of the Elena Jarvis mysteries. She has also written historical romances under the name Elizabeth Chadwick. She lives in El Paso, Texas with her husband. She travels widely and frequently with her husband throughout America and Europe, enjoying new places, interesting people, good food, opera, and scientific conferences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425216675
• ISBN-13: 978-0425216675
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,846,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars okay, December 6, 2008

By 

D. K. Stokes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bon Bon Voyage (Culinary Mysteries with Recipes, No. 9) (Paperback)

I really don't like mysteries with gimmicks.

I should also mention that I don't like books with inconsistent characterization: Why would a woman who's a staunch feminist blame another woman when a man makes a pass at her? And why would that same feminist continually tell this other woman (and not in a sarcastic manner) that she shouldn't do something because her husband wouldn't like it? Gah.

Also, the story bounced around between 3 different first-person POV characters, as well as sections written in 3rd person from the POVs of the villains.

And then there were the stereotypical and cliched accents and two-dimensional stock characters.

This wasn't so much a mystery as it was an adventure--we always know whodunit and why and how. The heroine/sleuth is a food writer, taking a free cruise so she can write about the food, and she has her friend (cue stereotypes: hispanic ex-cop) and mother-in-law (the pseudo-feminist) along.

The cruise ship gets hijacked, and she saves the day, with the help of various passengers and members of the crew.

So why three stars? It did get entertaining, particularly toward the end.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Mystery for Cruise Lovers, September 30, 2010

By 

Patricia A. Rockwell "Author of "Sounds o... (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bon Bon Voyage (Culinary Mysteries with Recipes, No. 9) (Paperback)

This was one of my favorite Carolyn Blue mysteries. I have always enjoyed Carolyn's adventures as she travels around the world tasting local cuisine and solving crimes. What's especially delightful about this book is that it takes place on a cruise--and as I spent a wonderful week once with my husband on a cruise to Mexico--I could really imagine all that author Nancy Fairbanks describes as taking place on board. And--it's not just any cruise--it's a gourmet food lover's cruise. Even better. Of course, Carolyn's professor husband is unable to go with her as he must attend a stodgy academic conference so Carolyn is forced to drag along one of her friends and her mother-in-law for company.

All of this is great fun, but the story gets even more entertaining when we discover that a shipboard mutiny is underway--and Carolyn and her traveling companions are caught right in the middle of it. The planned mutiny adds a unique note to the adventure, and Carolyn's life truly does hang in the balance. Will her husband be able to get to the ship and save her before the mutineers do her in? I won't tell. You'll have to read "Bon Bon Voyage" for yourself and have as much fun doing so as I did.

Patricia Rockwell
Author--"Sounds of Murder"

5.0 out of 5 stars Nancy Fairbanks just keeps getting better!, January 7, 2009

By 

L. Pitts "PittsHQ" (Mooresville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bon Bon Voyage (Paperback)

I am a HUGE fan of women sleuths and culinary mysteries, and I just love this series, which keeps getting better with every book! Mrs. Blue just keeps evolving and I love that we're getting to see more of her humorous and adventurous sides!