Tag: #JuliaChild

Book Review: Mastering the Art of French Murder #JuliaChild #CozyMysteries

BonnieReadsAndWrites6 Comments

Tabitha, a former “Rosie the Riveter” in Detroit, moves to Paris to stay with her wealthy “Grandpere” after she loses her job to men returning from war. She is fortunate to be living next door to Paul and Julia Child. Paul is a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy and Julia is taking classes at the famous cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu. When a woman is murdered behind their building, the murder weapon is found to be Julia’s own chef’s knife. Knowing that someone at a party in Julia’s apartment during the night of the murder had to be the killer, Tabitha begins to investigate.

I just adored this through and through. The lively personality of Julia Child draws the reader in right away. Julia is not directly involved in the investigation, but she is behind the scenes, making suggestions about the investigation, teaching the culinary-challenged Tabitha how to cook, and trying to line up eligible men for the quite single Rosie the Riveter. We also meet Julia’s sister “Dort,” who is staying with her at the time and partying the night away after working at the Théâtre Monceau. When Tabitha realizes the murdered woman worked at the same theater, she slowly begins to put the pieces together. The mystery is captivating and has plenty of red herrings. Also woven into the story are trips to the market with Julia and “Tabs” for fresh herbs, eggs, poultry, and gossip, plus Tabitha’s quest to fix her Grandpere and her “Oncle” Rafe something tolerable to eat.

Julia is also trying to solve a smaller mystery which she lets the whole market in on. She suddenly cannot produce a successful mayonnaise. As I read this clever mystery, I also learned how to best make an omelet and roast a chicken. And I think I figured out why my homemade mayo never works.

I tried making the omelet using Julia’s instructions to Tabitha in the book, and it’s by far the best one I ever made. This is not a book with recipes, but Julia’s instructions to Tabitha can be followed as recipes.

I received a free copy of this book from Kensington Books. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Mastering the Art of French Murder is Book 1 in the “An American in Paris Mystery” series. It will be released April 25, 2023.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Colleen Cambridge is the pen name for an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From a young age, Colleen has loved reading mysteries and now she couldn’t be happier that she is able to write them.

TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

BUY LINKS

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google

Sunday Post: Crazy Days and a Lazy Day

BonnieReadsAndWrites23 Comments

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Mem

This has been a crazy week. My work has been very busy, with only a few hours to rest in the evenings and do our Netflix bingeing. We just finished The Blacklist and started on The Practice, which is a late 90s/early 2000s legal drama. I also want to try Virgin River.

Yesterday there was not much time for rest. After a trip with Doug (my husband) to the wholesale store and one of our favorite antique stores (I also collect vintage glassware), I confronted the large pile of banana peppers and turned them into six pint jars of banana pepper rings, adding some jalapenos to create a medium heat, as banana peppers are quite mild. All of my jars sealed and the pile of peppers is gone for now, so I’m very happy. I might use the same method to pickle some spears of squash.

An example of some of the vintage glass similar to what I collect. I love Jadeite, but I collect a lot of other glass too. I would have taken a picture of my own glass, but the house is really messy today.

Today I was going to go to the store and then create a tomato tart, but Doug saw how wiped out I was and suggested just eating leftovers and canning the remaining tomatoes that I have in a small batch before they go bad. We have some tomatoes gifted by my Aunt Bonnie, from whom I get my name. Our tomatoes are just now beginning to ripen, but we’ll have a bunch in the next couple of weeks. I’m also excited about some habaneros that are ripening right now. I have nine watermelons (nine!) ripening on the vine. Doug went out and pinched all the remaining flowers off of the vine because nine is more than enough for the two of us. The idea I have so far for preserving the excess watermelon is to puree it and freeze it in ice cubes trays to use in watermelon slushies later. I’ve also seen recipes for watermelon fruit leather.

Our crazy watermelon patch that has grown out of the garden and into the backyard.

So I’m sitting on my couch watching the Escape to the Chateau series on Peacock in its entirety. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a British couple who buy a 19th Century French chateau (Chateau De La Motte Husson) and completely restores it, going from rubble and holes in the roof to glorious over several years. It’s not only about home restoration and crafts projects, but they also show clips from the weddings they host there and the food they prepare. It’s wonderful and is literally an escape. It reminds me how much I loved France the two times I’ve gone there.

My weight loss is still going well. I’m at 18.5 pounds down with a weigh-in coming up on Tuesday. I haven’t been exercising much, so I’m trying to come up with a realistic plan with baby steps that I can stick to. I need something that won’t burn me out. I tend to take on too much in everything I do.

LAST WEEK ON BONNIE READS AND WRITES

On Monday I did a book review as part of a Bookouture blog tour for The Orphan’s Mother by Marion Kummerow.

On Wednesday I did a book review of The Pilot’s Girl, the second book in the Hanni Winter series by Catherine Hokin.

On Friday I participated in Book Blogger Hop and Friday 56.

NEXT WEEK ON BONNIE READS AND WRITES (schedule subject to change)

On Monday I will do an audiobook review of In the Middle of Hickory Lane.

On Tuesday I will participate in Top Ten Tuesday, if time permits.

On Thursday I will participate in a blog tour for Elodie’s Library of Second Chances

.On Friday I will participate in Book Blogger Hop and Friday 56 if time permits.

On Self-Published Saturday I will promote/review Self-Published/Indie books.

SOME OF MY BOOK HAUL THIS WEEK

Julia Child’s fictional best friend solves murder mysteries in Post World War II Paris. I couldn’t resist!

In 1942, an impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to the European front puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian in small-town Maine. Though she has never been much of a reader, when wartime needs threaten to close the library, she invents a book club to keep its doors open. The women she convinces to attend the first meeting couldn’t be more different–a wealthy spinster determined to aid the war effort, an exhausted mother looking for a fresh start, and a determined young war worker.

Although this is another WWII-themed book, it has a different take–a library on the home front. I also used to live in Maine, so I love to read books set in Maine.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK, EVERYONE!