Killer Critique

In chapter one of Campion’s delectable third culinary mystery set in Paris (after 2011’s Crime Fraîche), a camcorder carried by Gautier du Fesnay, “senior food critic for Le Figaro,” records his arrival at Chez Béatrice, an elegant Left Bank restaurant he’s reviewing, and his subsequent demise after swallowing a bite of poisoned lobster ravioli. Later, someone plunges a basting needle into the ear of Jean Monteil, another restaurant critic, at Dans le Noir, where “[a] supposedly blind maître d’ leads you into a completely dark room, and you get to spill mediocre food all over your shirtfront.” Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier has a personal reason to find the killer fast, since her wine and food expert husband, Alexandre de Huguelet, could become the next victim. The action builds to an unexpected conclusion amid fireworks atop the Eiffel Tower. Campion, himself a food critic who lived for years in Paris, offers descriptions of haute cuisine sure to please the most discriminating palates. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management. (July)