
Book Description
Tabitha has enjoyed an entertaining afternoon in Julia’s kitchen, but her return home is a bit jarring. As she arrives at her grandfather’s rue de l’Université mansion, a woman bursts out the door babbling about messages from spirits and a warning Grand-père must heed. Oncle Rafe angrily sends the woman on her way, and neither man will answer Tabitha’s questions.
It’s not the last she sees of the mysterious visitor. While she’s on a date that evening, she’s accosted by her again—and learns that Madame Vierca is a medium who claims to have visions of a dark fate that awaits Grand-père and Oncle Rafe. The very next night, Tabitha’s messieurs host a soiree at their new restaurant, inviting fellow Resistance fighters from the war known as the Nine Bluets. To commemorate the work of the Resistance network, the vase on the dinner table sports nine of the pretty blue flowers.
But shortly after the revelers leave the restaurant, one of Grand-père’s old friends is found dead on the street . . . and one of the nine flowers is missing from the vase. When a second member of the Nine Bluets is found poisoned the next day, and a bluet flower is left with the body, Tabitha cannot ignore Madame Vierca’s frightening predictions about her dear messieurs. She has no choice but to share her suspicions and fears with the enigmatic and unruffled Inspecteur Merveille.
Tabitha soon finds herself caught up in an investigation that takes her and Merveille to the seediest, most dangerous parts of the Left Bank—home of strange, fantastical legends, disquieting events, and unusual people. As she and Merveille desperately try to find a killer, they know they don’t have much time before the rest of the Nine Bluets are targeted . . . including Grand-père and Oncle Rafe.
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
IN THE SPIRIT OF FRENCH MURDER (An American in Paris Book #4) by Colleen Cambridge is another wonderful addition to this entertaining, intriguing, and informative historical mystery series featuring Tabitha Knight, an American in Paris and her best friend and fellow ex-pat, Julia Child. While the main cast of characters continue to evolve in their relationships, each book contains a complete mystery, so these books can be read as standalone books. I have read them all in order and loved every single one.
Tabitha is excited about the opening night party of her Grand-pere and Oncle Rafe’s new restaurant. While she still has questions regarding an old medium, Madame Vierca, who visited the pair yesterday and warned her of danger as she left, she is fascinated by the Resistance group that her Grand-pere and Oncle reunited. Called the Nine Bluets, Tabitha is told tales of the group as they worked against the Nazis.
As the revelers depart the restaurant, one of the group of fighters is found dead on the street with his throat slit. Another is found the next day poisoned in an old home previously used as a safe house by the group. Tabitha is extremely worried about her messieurs as the predictions from the old medium appear to be coming true with a wilted bluet found by each dead body. Once again, she is caught up in a murder investigation with Inspecteur Merveille.
As Tabitha and Merveille investigate the murders, Tabitha is especially frantic when her Grand-pere and Oncle are kidnapped. Can she follow to clues to discover the killer in time to save those she loves?
I always look forward to getting a new book in this series. Tabitha is a wonderful protagonist who just seems to have dead people fall at her feet to the eternal consternation of Inspecteur Merveille. These two follow the clues with plenty of twists and surprises along the way to an always satisfactory resolution. Having Julia Child as Tabitha’s best friend sets the stage for wonderful, mouthwatering descriptions of recipes and cooking, as well as a sounding board for Tabitha’s adventures. The descriptions of Paris and its inhabitants in 1950 demonstrate the author’s obvious research and add to the richness of the story. This time period and location is especially intriguing because while Paris is free and rebuilding, it has only been five years since the war and the atrocities of the Nazi occupation.
I highly recommend this engaging historical mystery and encourage you to try all the books in this series.
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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.
Under several pseudonyms, she has written more than 36 books in a variety of genres and is always plotting her next murder—er, book.
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.colleengleason.com/colleen-cambridge/
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