Customer Reviews

Crime Brulee (Culinary Food Writer)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

"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.

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.

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.

Carolyn Blue now has an empty nest. Her husband, a chemistry professor in El Paso, is going to a conference in New Orleans. Carolyn who just landed a contract to write about food figures New Orleans is the perfect place to start. She and her husband begin by giving a dinner for their friends on their first night. However, Julienne (Carolyn's best friend) and Nils quarrel and Julienne disappears.

The rest of the book is how Carolyn tries to find her friend but no one else takes Julienne's disappearance seriously. Not even Nils (Julienne's husband). Carolyn learns that she can't report a missing person to the police only the husband can and not for 48 hours. Thus begins the adventure. Carolyn gets mugged several times, eats lots of wonderful food, makes daily trips to the police station making the aquaintance of a very handsome officer. But no one takes her seriously because no one sees the muggings and the police think she's faking for attention.

The receipes throughout make your mouth water. The atmosphere of New Orleans makes me want to visit. However, I guessed the murder about half way thorough the book. Enjoy the background and characters and the descriptions of food. The mystery is a bit light but it's still a fun read.

I agree with the reviewer who said the first few pages indicated that this book was a chore rather than a pleasure. I stayed with it, although toward the end I skimmed faster and faster, and gleaned no satisfaction for the efforts. Skip this one and you'll be glad you saved the time for a more enjoyable tome.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of some of the sights to see in New Orleans and I enjoyed reading about all of the restaurants and food. However, The mystery was very weak. There were few viable suspects. I am never able to figure out who committed the crime when I read murder mysteries before it is revealed in the story. In this book, I figured out who committed the crime long before the end of the book. The main character is very pleasant, but seems not to be too bright.

With such a catchy title, I couldn't wait to read this one. I thought the beginning so tedious and smug, however, that I put it away and didn't read it until I was desperate a few months later. I should have never gone back. It is a very strange and stagnant,erratic book. The heroine is so prim and stuffy about other people, yet continues to try to let the audience know how wonderful, mature, and faultless she and her husband are. It goes ON and ON and ON about this missing friend and how the friend's hubby is rude, curt, uncaring,etc., and when she finally gets assistance from the police, even the detective has to end up with a faulty character. It is difficult to warm to the main character enough to want to hear more of her adventures. Normally, it is fun to read this type of book, but it was such a letdown that I'll get a cookbook next time instead. The book does have its "moments" but not enough. If this is the author's first book, perhaps she will accrue some honest tips from those in her circle before embarking on another beignet foray.

This book has all the 'hooks' to make a good read, but it isn't. The repetitive self-questioning done by the main character, Carolyn Blue, seems unending. The food part was fun, but the plot was obvious and the end no suprise. The so-called 'adventure' seemed more like a plodding through plotting effort. The occasional vulgar word seemed planted for effect, and the acting-as-if-she-were-insulted main character had no ring of truth whatever. Save your money.

After the first few pages I knew this book was going to be a chore to read. As I continued I found not only did I not care what happened to the victim, but I wished somehow Nancy Fairbanks would figure out how to write all of these unlikable characters out of the "plot." This book seemed forced and contrived. As if the elements of a culinary mystery were being plugged into a formula. Usually, I love the pure entertainment and humor of these types of books. Nancy Fairbanks' Crime Brulee did not fit the bill. The one star is generous.

Confession: I am a mystery novel junkie, and have been one for years. I read everything from Christie and Sayers to Braun and Evanovich. So, light and funny or darker and dangerous, I don't think I'm really picky when it comes to my mystery fix. I picked this book because it married my two loves: mysteries and cooking. I expected a light-hearted book with some fun and humor.

Sad to say I found neither. The main character alternates between condescending to her friends (who seem to exist only to make Carolyn and her two-dimensional husband look good) to playing the uptight tourist who cries "Police!" and "Sue!" every three seconds. I felt like I was listening to a full-grown Chicken Little. All of the "friends" really do hate each other; not until the end of the book are we treated to a dinner scene where the diners actually have fun! It was too little, too late for me.

The plot was distressingly slow, especially when the mystery is so apparent from very early on. Instead of just getting down to business, we're forced to watch Carolyn be offended by just about everything in New Orleans. I wonder if the author had a similarly bad experience when she went and was trying to get back at the city in her book as Carolyn herself threatened to do. But I did appreciate Carolyn's "swamp experience", even if she acted like a spoiled brat afterwards. I'd have pushed her back myself!

I'm so glad someone else mentioned the swearing issue. I'm not talking about whether it's appropriate or not; I just hate how it was handled. If you feel the need to justify your use of obscenities, you probably shouldn't place a large paragraph of ranting in the MIDDLE of an important conversation!

Last note: the use of "would have" is normal when discussing a hypothetical situation. It is in NO way an indication that the speaker does not expect the subject to ever return. I think I died a little inside when I read that particular gem (please, tell me you know what I'm talking about).

I haven't tried the recipes, but I'm not sure I'd appreciate them since the book left such a bad taste in my mouth!