DEATH BY BAGUETTE
SERIES: Travel Can Be Murder #2
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Traveling Life Press
RELEASE DATE: February 7, 2020
PAGES: 200
Paris—the city of love, lights … and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger…
Lana Hansen’s future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and even a boyfriend. Regrettably she won’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her new beau, Chad. Instead, she will be leading a lovers-only tour in France. Luckily for Lana, her best friend, Willow, and her partner, Jane, will be joining her.
Things go downhill when Lana’s new boyfriend shows up in Paris for her tour—with his wife. Chad is not the website developer he claimed to be, but a famous restaurant critic whose love of women rivals his passion for food.
After Chad drops dead during a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, a persistent French detective becomes convinced that he was poisoned. And the inspector’s sights are set on several members of the tour—including Lana!
While escorting her group through the cobblestone streets of Montmartre, the grand gardens of Versailles, and the historic Marché des Enfants Rouges market, Lana must figure out who really killed Chad before she has to say bonjour to prison and adieu to her freedom.
Other Books In This Series
Jennifer Alderson is an excellent storyteller, and you’ll quickly find yourself caught up in her latest cozy mystery – Death By Baguette! The Paris setting and the couples tour convey a lovely, romantic mood … in theory. However, as the tour begins to fall apart in true cozy mystery fashion, those symbols instead stand in sharp contrast to how everything is actually playing out. Poor Lana lol.
Lana herself is an engaging character, and you’ll find yourself rooting for her right away. (There is a fairly significant continuity error, though, regarding Lana’s age increasing by 9 years over a 6 week time period lol.) The fact that each novel takes place mostly in an international tourist destination adds several layers to the plot, too, and allows us to travel to Budapest and Paris – and soon, Amsterdam – without having to fuss with passports or actual travel. A win-win for those of us who prefer only to travel to places we can reach by car.
Much of the way the story progressed in Death By Baguette was laying a foundation as to who would be murdered and, of course, whodunnit. The actual murder takes place a lot later in the story than I’m used to, but I didn’t mind it because a) the story is entertaining all on its own and b) it kept my clue-gathering mind buzzing throughout.
Bottom Line: Alderson has once again treated readers to a vicarious international tour, complete with vivid settings, delectable food, intriguing & quirky characters… and murder. Poor Lana just can’t catch a break when it comes to the tours she’s leading, and while you’ll love Lana as a character you probably won’t want to book a tour she’s in charge of or work alongside her! haha! This Valentine’s cozy mystery is a bit slow to get to the murder, but you won’t mind – thanks to the easy writing style and smooth voice. A fun new cozy series to book for your next reading adventure!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)
My Rating: 4 stars / loved it!
Reviewer’s Note: Readers may want to be aware that a same sex couple is featured as prominent secondary characters.
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Also available to read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.
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What about you? What interests you most about Death By Baguette?
I think it sounds like a fun book and series! I like that it takes place in Paris.
it was fun to ‘see the sights’ through the pages 🙂
I like the Paris setting on Valentine’s Day. Looking forward to reading the book.
cute cover
What an incredible review!! Thank you so much, Carrie! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the trip and mystery. Thanks, too, for taking part in the tour. I hope you have a wonderful week.
(Huge thanks for mentioning the continuity error – I’ll fix it straight away!!)