Capucine Culinary Mysteries

Between haute couture and haute cuisine, Parisian Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier finds murder to be more than the spécialité du jour. . . When the senior food critic for Le Figaro is found face-first in a plate of Ravioles d'homard, there seem to be as many suspects as there are restaurants in the City of Light. Yet Capucine feels she'll solve the case quicker than it takes to find a 3-star rating in the Michelin Guide. Un problem, murders of food critics have become an epidemic. And there are just as many suspects, including a sexy starlet, an award-winning novelist, and a smorgasbord of aggravated chefs. While Capucine struggles to zero in on the murderer's tastes, she is confronted with a false dilemma: file and forget the case, leaving restaurant critics across France vulnerable to a killer's episodic cravings, or use her husband, Alexandre, himself a famous food journalist, as irresistible bait.

Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier and her husband, a renowned restaurant critic, are frequent and privileged guests of Paris's cultured society. Unfortunately, a more refined milieu doesn't keep unsavory behavior like murder off the menu. . . When the body of acclaimed Chef Jean-Louis Brault and a shotgun are discovered in an antique Louis Vuitton portemanteau, the general consensus is suicide. Brault had been understandably distraught, if not quite unhinged, amidst rumors that his restaurant La Mère Denis might lose its rare third Michelin star. But when Capucine investigates the scene of the crime, she doesn't think it's only the boulliabaisse that smells fishy. And when Le Monde suggests that Capucine's investigation is a cover up for the lethal consequences of food critics everywhere--a profession in which her husband takes great pride--she will stop at nothing to solve the case.

Escaping the demands of Paris police work, Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier embarks on a well-deserved Mediterranean cruise. But wherever the renowned inspector goes, murder is sure to be close on the horizon. . . On the azure waters off the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia, what could be more relaxing and rewarding than traipsing around the Mediterranean enjoying the local culinary delights. Among the invited bon vivants are Capucine, her husband, the celebrated restaurant critic, her special agent cousin Jacques, a famed bar owner, and even her boss. To all appearances, the table is set for an affair to remember. In the midst of this pleasure cruise, Natalie, the yacht's cook, is lost overboard. A sudden squall is the assumed cause. But once a bullet hole is discovered in her jacket, suspicions quickly shift and the onboard bonhomie suffers accordingly. When a shell casing is uncovered that matches the gun Capucine is authorized to carry, for the first time in her stellar career, the hardworking detective finds herself the prime suspect. For Capucine, these are clearly not the deep waters she envisioned as part of her holiday. As the motives become murkier, the gifted Commissaire will need to harness all her powers of deduction to get to the bottom of the mystery--before she ends up at the bottom of the sea.