Death in Paris

by Emilia Bernhard Narrated by Robin Eller

Overview

When French financier Edgar Bowen drowns in a bowl of soup, his former girlfriend, American Rachel Levis, is alarmed by the unnatural death. Who dies eating a nice vichyssoise? But when she overhears a mourner at his funeral describing the circumstances of his death, something sounds even stranger: a bottle of rosé was on the dining table when he died. The only problem: Edgar loathed rosé. If he wasn't drinking it, who was? After the police rule the death accidental, Rachel knows it's up to her and her best friend Magda to investigate. As the two Americans immerse themselves in Edgar's upper-class world, the list of suspects grows: Could it have been his son, who inherited his money and lavish apartment? His icy ex-wife? His greedy new girlfriend? His impoverished personal assistant? But when the suspects start dropping like flies, Rachel and Magda realize the murderer is tying up loose ends. It'll be up to two amateur sleuths to solve their first case before the murderer decides they're next...

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

08/13/2018
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.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Death in Paris:
“[A] très charmant debut...Though set in the present, the book has a timeless quality...Fans of cozies and the City of Lights, or drawn to the theme of female friendship, will eagerly await an encore. Pair this with Cara Black’s beloved Aimée Leduc series.”
—Booklist, starred review

"Those who enjoy contemporary cozy mysteries with amateur sleuths will gobble it up."
—Library Journal

"[A] delightful debut and series launch...Bernhard fills the novel with entertaining characters, conjures up an authentic Paris, and gives the reader intelligent, if frothy, fun."
—Publishers Weekly

"Francophiles in particular will enjoy and be familiar with the descriptions of Parisian food, clothes, fashions, hairstyles, boulevards, streets, shops, cafes, language, and culture."
—NY Journal of Books

“A vivid picture of the delights and day-to-day of Paris living...Rachel and Magda are a wonderful sleuthing duo and I enjoyed them hashing out the information about the suspects, in true Parisian fashion.”
—Night Owl Reviews

"A fun romp through Paris’s chicest districts alongside two delightful amateur sleuths."
—M. L. Longworth, author of the Provençal Mystery series

“With a dreamy location, plenty of sensory details, a passel of suspects, and a dash of suspense, Death in Paris is as luscious as a pain au chocolat served at a sidewalk cafe. Bernhard’s debut promises a wonderful new series set in the most beautiful city in the world."
—Juliet Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Key

"Bernhard has crafted a delightfully atmospheric mystery, a pièce de résistance filled with the flavor of Paris, France."
—Allyson K. Abbott, author of Murder on the Rocks

"A captivating cozy murder mystery with a bonus tour of everyone’s favorite city."
—John Pearce, author of Treasure of Saint-Lazare

Kirkus Reviews

2018-07-31

A pair of middle-aged Parisian expatriates investigate a death everyone thinks is accidental.

Ever since coming to Paris as a dewy-eyed 20-something, Rachel Levis has loved everything about the city. So she's decided never to leave. Her first lover, wealthy American banker Edgar Bowen, taught her how to navigate the city like a Parisian. Now that she's married to a slightly less wealthy banker, Alan Field, she spends her days pleasantly at the Jardin du Luxembourg rather than the more touristy Jardin des Tuileries and enjoys oeufs en cocotte at Le Chant de Voyelles, her local bistro. But hearing that Edgar died suddenly, and even worse, that he drowned at his own table in a bowl of vichyssoise, rocks her comfortable world. Sophisticated Edgar would never have submitted to such an indignity. And when she learns that on the table where he died was a bottle of rosé, ca suffit! Never, never would Edgar have allowed such an abomination at his dinner table. Rachel shares her suspicions with fellow American Magda Stevens, who agrees that they must investigate. Like Holmes and Watson, like Brunetti and Vianello, like Nick and Nora Charles, they will not rest until justice is done. And Rachel's appointment in Edgar's will as cataloger of his vast library gives her the perfect opportunity to snoop—starting with Edgar's other beneficiaries.

With a tepid mystery, no real clues, and only a superficial stab at local color, Bernhard's Paris debut is more Carolyn Keene than Cara Black.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176005479
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Series:	A Death in Paris Mystery , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged

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