Customer Reviews

French Fried (Wheeler Cozy Mystery)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yes, food critic Carolyn Blue and her academic husband Jason are in France for a chemical conference (how exciting!). Their hosts (more academics) are determined to make the conference a pleasant and educational experience for them both and see to it that Carolyn is entertained while Jason is presenting papers. Nothing, however, can keep Carolyn from forgetting her welcome to her hotel room--a dead man sprawled across her bed. Turns out, said man had succumbed to poisoned pate left (obviously) for Carolyn and her husband. Who could want the couple dead? Carolyn decides to investigate--between sampling local cuisine, staying out of the hospital, keeping her husband out of the clutches of a flirtatious graduate student, and avoiding being attached by various pet pooches. There's a lot to like in this book, and a lot of humor--primarily from Carolyn's various accidents which land her in French hospitals unable to express her needs to non-English speaking nurses. The ending seems a little tacked on, just to accomplish the title, but it didn't prevent me from enjoying Carolyn's adventure.

Patricia Rockwell
author--"Sounds of Murder"

This is, if I'm not mistaken, the 9th mystery featuring culinary writer Carolyn Blue. I've read 4 others. I'll recap my objections to the series as a whole: 1) I really don't like mysteries with gimmicks. These seem like the story is secondary to the recipes. 2) More than one first-person voice (in this case, three of them), and they all sound identical.

This time, Carolyn and her husband Jason are in France so he can attend a chemistry conference. When they arrive, Jason heads off to the university while Carolyn checks into their room, only to find a man dying on their bed after eating a gift of pate that had been left for them.

A series of near-misses occur, and it becomes obvious to Carolyn, at least, that someone is trying to kill her or Jason or both of them. The mystery worked fairly well, with enough clues so that the solution didn't come out of left field, but not so many that it was obvious from the beginning.

However, the Blues, Carolyn in particular, got on my last nerve. Part of that might be attributed to the inaccuracy of French details.

At one point, for example, Carolyn exchanges dollars for French franc at the hotel. This book was released in 2006. They've been using the Euro in France since 2000.

And Carolyn cannot figure out the traffic lights, so she jaywalks. Traffic lights are pretty well universal. The pedestrian light looks exactly the same in France as it does in the U.S. It made Carolyn look like a moron.

Mostly, though, she's a caricature of the obnoxious American tourist, complaining about everything that's not identical to her hometown--something that I admit is one of my personal hot buttons.

While French Fried has its moments (and if you love animals, you will enjoy those moments), I found Ms. Blue to be an annoying, often whiny, little twit who sees a different suspect around every corner. As a matter of fact, most of the characters are annoying. Her husband is dense, and except for one or two acquaintances, the rest are supercilious. The included recipes are very French and I'm sure, if one had the time to prepare them, very delicious.

Finally a mystery which doesn't contain unneccessary foul language and is a good mystery to boot! This is my first Culinary Mystery and I am ready for another. Definitely recommend it....it contained interesting recipes, and historical and cultural facts regarding France which really made it a great combination for a mystery. I felt I was learning something while indulging in a good mystery!

A boring American professor and his nasty wife, boring French professors and their chatty wifes, two dreadful dogs named Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill. A French paté alledgedly poisoned with tetrodotoxin of the Japanese Fugu fish and so on and on. A waste of time and money.

Toxin expert Professor Jason Blue and his wife food columnist Carolyn are in Lyons to meet with members of the university who will be attending a science conference in Avigon sponsored by the Chemistry Department. While Jason heads to the university, Carolyn returns to their hotel room to nap, but is shocked to find a man on her bed making a funny noise. An ambulance takes him to the hospital where he is pronounced dead. Carolyn believes he was a poison victim and plans to prove it.

Neither Jason nor Carolyn can think of anyone who would want them dead as they assume they were the intended victims. The next day while Jason is running, a black car ties to hit him; his reflexes save his life. At about the same Carolyn is thrown down a flight of stairs and left battered with a concussion. At the conference, some shoots Jason's graduate student. Carolyn, still recuperating, vows to uncover the identity of the assailant trying to kill them before he or she succeeds.

In spite of the serious undertone of the plot, there is much humor in FRENCH FRIED, a terrific amateur sleuth mystery starring a heroine who marches to her own drummer. Some of the situations she marches into are amusing, but her astute mind enables her to see the bigger picture as she ponders who has a grudge so large that innocents are hurt. Nancy Fairbanks's delectable who-done-it is a one sitting treat.

Harriet Klausner