Book Review: A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber

It’s always been Mimi Rousseau’s dream to open her own bistro, but it seems beyond her grasp since she’s been chased back home to Nouvelle Vie in Napa Valley by her late husband’s tremendous debt. Until her best friend Jorianne James introduces her to entrepreneur Bryan Baker who invests in promising prospects. Now, working the bistro and inn until she’s able to pay it off and call it her own, Mimi is throwing the inn’s first wedding ever.

The wedding will be the talk of the town, as famous talk show host Angelica Edmonton, daughter of Bryan’s half-brother, Edison, has chosen the inn as her perfect venue. Anxious, Mimi is sure things are going to turn south, especially when Edison gets drunk and rowdy at the out-of-towners’ dinner, but by the evening, things begin to look up again. That is until six AM rolls around, and Bryan is found dead at the bistro with an éclair stuffed in his mouth. And the fingers point at Mimi, whose entire loan is forgiven in Bryan’s will.

Now it’s up to Mimi to clear her name and get to the bottom of things before the killer turns up the heat again in A Deadly Éclair, the scrumptious series debut by Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber.

SERIES: A French Bistro Mystery #1
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Crooked Lane Books
RELEASE DATE: November 7, 2017
PAGES: 320

The first book in Gerber’s delicious new cozy mystery series is sweet and savory and offers up a well-rounded menu for a variety of tastes!

Mimi Rousseau makes for a heroine you’ll want as a friend, and in fact her friendships within the book are equally delightful. The bistro’s chef, the staff, Mimi’s best friend, her mom, and a bevy of friends and acquaintances from high school give the story flair and dimension. Additionally, her brewing romance with Nash adds just the right amount of sweet spice, and it promises to be an enjoyable facet of Mimi’s character as the series progresses.

The fictional setting of Nouvelle Vie, including the inn and bistro, will have you seriously considering a vacation to Napa Valley, and the food mentioned throughout the novel will leave your mouth watering! Helpfully, several of these recipes are included in the back of the book with notes from the characters to extend their delightful fictional world just that much longer. And within the actual body of the novel, Gerber achieves an ideal balance of including delectable dishes without stopping the story for a cooking lesson.

Bottom Line: A Deadly Eclair by Daryl Wood Gerber is clean, fun, and well written. The characters are well defined without being caricature, and the recipes tempt even me to try my hand at a few. As far as the mystery, I had suspicions but I changed my mind several times about who I thought ‘done it’. The ending took me by surprise – which I always love – and I look forward to reading Gerber’s backlist while I wait for the next book in this series.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / Love it!

Agatha Award-winning and nationally bestselling author DARYL WOOD GERBER writes the bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries, set in the fictional seaside town Crystal Cove, California. As AVERY AAMES, she pens the bestselling Cheese Shop Mysteries, set in the quaint town of Providence, Ohio. In addition, Daryl has ventured into the world of suspense with a gripping debut novel, GIRL ON THE RUN. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” Daryl loves to cook, read, and take walks with her frisky Goldendoodle, Sparky.

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