Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am excited to share my thoughts on Death by Baguette by Jennifer S. Alderson today!
Death By Baguette: A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
by Jennifer S. Alderson
About Death By Baguette:
A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris
Death By Baguette: A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – France
Publisher: Traveling Life Press (February 7, 2020)
Print Length: 178 Pages
Digital ASIN: B0819YNSJL
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.
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
What could be better than Valentine’s Day in Paris?
Lana Hansen has guided a few tours since New Year’s Day in Hungary. She is also dating again but Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours has scheduled her to take a group of five married couples to Paris for Valentine’s Day and train a new guide. Boyfriend Chad also has to be out of town on business anyway. She is thrilled that her friend Willow will be on the tour. Willow surprised her partner, Jane by booking them on the trip.
After the long flight, Lana can’t wait to see the sights. She is shocked though to see Chad in the hotel lobby . . . with his wife . . . and they are one of the couples on HER tour!
Cursing the online dating app she decides to let the other guide handle Chad but finds it is impossible to steer clear of him with such a small group. She also learns he is a restaurant critic, not a website developer as he had led her to believe, and has left a lot of women in his wake. He also quickly rubs many in the group the wrong way with his critiques and pronouncements.
Soon after the tour group sits down for a picnic near the Eiffel Tower, Chad keels over dead, poisoned. Texts on his phone reveal his relationship with Lana and land her at the lop of the suspect list. She is joined by a few other members of the group.
Until they try to lock her up, the tour must go on. While visiting some breathtaking museums and gardens Lana is on high alert to find the real killer . . . but the killer has her in their sights. Can she survive this trip to the city of lights or will this be her final Wanderlust tour?
____
Just like in the first book of this series the author takes her readers on a wonderful literary vacay with a great mystery to solve. She creates such imagery with her words. I have never been to Paris but I could easily visualize every step the characters took and every place they visited. Imagining the food was so easy too.
Lana is a terrific amateur sleuth, she is savvy and smart and has mastered the art of eavesdropping very well. She also doesn’t give up. Because she was an investigative reporter she has friends in the right places and the skills needed to ferret out a killer. She also has the trust of her boss to do the right thing, Dotty also has the right connections when trouble arises for her employees and guests.
Ms. Alderson also knows how to serve up a terrific story in less than 200 pages. Because the murder takes place later in the story we have time to get to know her characters. They are very well-developed for a novel of this length. Sadly all the couples were dealing with something and had come on the trip for a chance to set things right. I really liked the way Lana tuned into each couple to make the experience special for each of them, especially after the murder with a killer in their midst.
Death By Baguette
The third book in the series, Death by Windmill
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
You can read my review of Death on the Danube
About Jennifer S. Alderson
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.
Author Links
Website – Goodreads –Facebook – Twitter –LinkedIn – BookBub
Purchase Link – Amazon
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Praise for Death By Baguette: A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
by Jennifer S. Alderson
This was such a great read and one I can see becoming cozy mystery movies.
~TBR Book Blog
Death By Baguette by Jennifer S. Alderson is a magnificent mystery. Ms. Alderson continually surprises me with motives and means of murder.
~Baroness’ Book Trove
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
What a wonderful series for an armchair traveler like me!
I love books set in France! I’m super excited to learn of this series. I have been thinking about doing a world travel reading challenge.
Ouch! Watch out for those dating sites.
Thank you for your review on “Death By Baguette” by Jennifer S. Alderson.
I think I’ll pack my bag and go with you. However, first I hope to have the opportunity to read this one – which is on my TBR list. Can’t wait to read it!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
There’s a lot going on in that book! Wondering how Chad could have decided to tour Paris/France when he knew Lana was doing the tour!
He didn’t know, they both lied about their jobs.
Dear Lori, I am blown away by your incredible review!!! Thank you SO much for posting it, and for organizing a fabulous tour, to boot! I’m quite grateful. Take care!