Crime Brulee (Culinary Food Writer) [Paperback]

Nancy Fairbanks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Culinary Food Writer | Publication Date: April 10, 2001

Forty-something food writer Carolyn Blue gets a taste of New Orleans cookery and crime. When her friend goes missing, Carolyn turns sleuth to search for answers-a trail that leads right into an alligator swamp.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (April 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425179184
• ISBN-13: 978-0425179185
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fun read, April 9, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crime Brulee (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)

"Crime Brulee" is more of a culinary travelogue with a search for a missing person attached to it than a 'straight' mystery novel. Nonetheless it is one of the most droll and attention -grabbing books that I've read in quite a while.

Now that her children have flown the coop and are attending college, Carolyn Blue has firmly put her days as family cook and housekeeper behind her, especially as she has been fortunate enough to land a contract to write a book of anecdotes about eating in interesting places. And since Carolyn will be be accompanying her her husband to an academic conference in New Orleans, Carolyn decides that her first assignment will be to write about the many culinary delights to be found in that city. Carolyn is also excited as this will be a chance for her to catch up with a few old college friends that she hasn't seen in a while, and with her best friend in particular, Julienne Magnussen. However the reunion does not live up to Carolyn's expectations. To begin with Julienne and her husband, Nils, are on the outs. He suspects her of having an affair, and Julienne is tired of having to justify herself and of his accusations. And at the very first reunion dinner, Julienne and Nils quarrel bitterly, and Julienne leaves the resturant in a huff before Carolyn can stop her. The next morning, Carolyn fully expects to meet up with Julienne but just cannot seem to find her. Nor has anyone else seen her since the night before. Afraid for Julienne's safety, Carolyn goes to the police. But they cannot do anything until Julienne has been missing for more than 48 hours. Frantic and scared, Carolyn tries to find Julienne by herself. Where can Julienne be? And why is no one else, Julienne's husband and her supposed lover for example, interested in finding her? Carlyn eats her way all over New Orleans, meeting all kinds of people, and has all kinds of adventures (falling into the swamp being one of them) in her quest to find her missing friend. But will she find her alive or dead?

"Crime Brulee" is a really fun read. Nancy Fairbanks's humour is droll, and Carolyn's asides and observations about the city and the people she met, made me chuckle. The last few mystery novels I read were a little sad and dour, so that "Crime Brulee was a welcome relief. This novel is a culinary homage to the city of New Orleans, and I enjoyed the bits of historical information that were peppered all over the novel. "Crime Brulee" is a great read, and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the next Carolyn Blue culinary mystery.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful, March 13, 2005

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crime Brulee (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)

Normally I read a book of this type in a day or two. This one took over two weeks because I couldn't get past reading a chapter or two at a time before I had to put it down.

Carolyn Blue may be the most stupid, irritating character to hit the cozy scene in a long time. She's pushy, nosy, condescending and flat out stupid. The whole book consisted of her eating and running around talking to people. The plot and the story never moved forward -- she just happened to show up at the murderer's place one time when he decided to let her in and confess.

Cross this author off your list, and save your money.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Slow Starter, May 14, 2006

By 

alpha_grrl (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Crime Brulee (Culinary Food Writer) (Paperback)

It took me a while to warm up to this one. The main character, Carolyn Blue, comes off as a snob (bordering on bigoted) and a bit unlikeable in the beginning. I know I've read another one of the series and it didn't strike me the same, so as this is the first in the series, I assume she's evolved. The book also reads as though it was written with thesaurus in hand with awkward big words used in context where more "normal" ones would be typically used. I didn't really detect much genuine passion for the food angle of the book either, it is more like the author is just jumping on the bandwagon of "mysteries with recipes". Oh well, I eventually got into it and the ending wasn't bad. I'd try another in the series.