Book Review: Death a L'Orange

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Death a L'Orange     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Nancy Fairbanks
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Culinary
Series: Carolyn Blue # 3
Berkley, June 2002, $5.99, 288 pp.

Who can turn down a journey to France at greatly reduce rates? Certainly not the Blue family, especially Carolyn who is writing a book about New Orleans cooking and hoping to get another book on French cuisine out of this trip. She is also a syndicated food columnist who writes pithy little comments on each day of her trip and faxes them back to her boss in New York City. She can’t wait to see to see Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley to taste the food these places made famous.

When the Blues land at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, their luggage is lost. A prominent medieval historian, Professor Jean Claude Childeric who Carolyn struck up a conversation with, is pushed onto the luggage carrier and is seriously injured. He claims he was pushed but Carolyn and other members of the group think he’s imagining things. They don’t know that someone on the tour has a long-standing grudge against the professor and won’t rest until he’s humiliated, ostracized and hated by the rest of the group.

DEATH A L’ORANGE is a yummy treat for anyone who likes to read a well-written original mystery. Although the stalker manages to ruin the trip for everyone, even turning husbands against wives, the way it is done is very comical and will have readers chuckling out loud. Nancy Fairbanks has created a winning series and this reviewer can’t wait for the next meal.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner