Mimi can't believe her good fortune, her best friend introduced her to an entrepreneur who made all her dreams about running an inn and bistro come true. Bryan's made a true difference in her life and not just because of his financial backing, he also believes in her. Of course, the company isn't Mimi's yet; she still has to pay him back. But she couldn't be happier.
She's even happy to host a wedding as a favor to Bryan. His niece is getting married and he wants everything to be perfect. Angelica's fame as a talk show host will bring publicity to the bistro. Three months after the opening, they have steady support from the local community, but this wedding could push other weddings their way.
A pre-wedding dinner is a complete disaster with sharp words and fights culminating in the death of Mimi's backer. He's found the next morning with an Γ©clair, the dessert from the dinner, stuffed in his mouth. Mimi's phone was also found at the scene of the crime. Those two pieces of evidence combined with Bryan's will forgiving Mimi's business loan make her the main suspect.
She's determined to clear her name and not let murder destroy her business. She pulls out a white board and gets to work stating motive, alibis, and opportunity. She's not going down for a crime she didn't commit.
A DEADLY ΓCLAIR is first book in the French Bistro series from Daryl Wood Gerber and it is off to a delicious and promising start. It's not the type of book you want to read when you're hungry, the descriptions of food will make your mouth water. Several suspects arise from the tense dinner party in the opening chapters of the book, leaving the reader turning the pages quickly to learn the guilty party, discovering secrets from others along the way.
Parallel to the murder, romance takes center stage in the book with the love between Angelica and Lyle as well as a new romance blossoming between Mimi and Nash. The romance balances out the darkness of murder.
A DEADLY ΓCLAIR is an engaging read that will leave readers looking forward to the next book in the series, A SOUFFLΓ OS SUSPICION out in July.
* This book includes recipes discussed in the novel
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.
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