Death in Paris: A Death in Paris Mystery

Bernhard’s delightful debut and series launch, an often witty comedy of manners, gives a view of the highs and lows of contemporary Parisian society through the eyes of Rachel Levis, an American who has lived in the city for some 20 years and is now married to a successful banker. Rachel is stunned one morning to open the newspaper and discover that financier Edgar Bowen has died while dining alone at his home—drowned in his vichyssoise after suffering an apparent heart attack. Edgar was her lover in her early days in France; “he had helped her to stop being young and start being interesting—and, even more important, to start being interested.” When, at his funeral, she hears that a bottle of rosé was on the table when he died, she’s sure that he must have been murdered: “Edgar hated rosé. He said it was a good white spoiled.” With her friend Magda by her side, she decides to investigate his death. Bernhard fills the novel with entertaining characters, conjures up an authentic Paris, and gives the reader intelligent, if frothy, fun. Agent: Laura McDougall, United Agents (U.K.). (Oct.)