Review: A Few Characters with Possibilities, but Not Much of a Mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
Clémence Damour has just arrived back home in Paris after spending two years touring the world. She's come back just in time for her apartment building's gardienne or caretaker to be murdered. She becomes suspect number one to the detective assigned to the case thus throwing Clémence into helping to find the killer in order to clear herself.Most readers of cozy mysteries will find this a rather simple and bland case of murder. There are very few clues given to the reader as the story unfolds, so if you're one of those who enjoys trying to solve the case along with or even before the main character, you'll be disappointed.There are a few characters with possibilities, including Clémence herself, an English lodger Ben, plus the beginnings of a couple of interesting characters at the bakery, a brother and sister act. Since this is the first installment in a series, I hope that these will be fleshed out more in future installments. These characters are what would make me try another story in the series to see how they are developed in the future, and whether the new mysteries become more complex or at least more of the solve-along type.There are several recipes included for the macaron flavors that are mentioned as being "under development" at the fictional bakery during the story.Moderately recommended as a quick, undemanding story and to understand the characters' background to build upon for other books in the series.