In the Spirit of French Murder Review: Cozy Paris Mystery with Julia Child Charm

Read time: 4 minutes

🎧 Listened in audio
📢 Narrated by Polly Lee
⏱ Duration: 10 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Book Blurb:

After moving to postwar Paris, Tabitha Knight befriends fellow expat Julia Child, whose culinary adventures add flavor to her new life. But things turn ominous when a mysterious medium delivers a chilling warning about Tabitha’s beloved grandfather and uncle. Soon after, members of their old Resistance group begin dying under suspicious circumstances, each death marked by a missing bluet flower. As fear mounts, Tabitha teams up with Inspecteur Merveille to uncover the truth. Their investigation pulls them into the darker corners of Paris, where secrets linger and danger closes in. With time running out, Tabitha must act before the killer strikes again.

Let’s Talk … murder!!!

I cannot get over the fact that we have Julia Child casually dropping into a murder mystery series like she’s borrowing sugar. The sheer brilliance of Colleen Cambridge weaving her into this world adds this foodie, almost magical layer to the whole vibe. And Tabitha Knight is the kind of amateur sleuth I want to grab coffee with. Her slow-burn thing with Inspector Merveille is chef’s kiss. Every scene between the crackles with tension. I keep screaming “just kiss already!” at my audiobook app, but then she goes and dates that vet and I want to shake her. But I get it. Cambridge is playing the long game with their chemistry, and honestly, I am here for the torturous wait.

This installment puts Tabitha’s messieurs front and center, and I absolutely loved it. These octogenarian Resistance fighters are sharp, witty, and fearless. They’re not background characters waiting to be rescued. They’re in the thick of it, driving the plot forward with their wartime secrets and stubborn heroism. The way Cambridge layers the mystery with their past, the symbolism of the bluet flowers, the eerie medium’s warning, it all screams classic Cambridge mystery with that unmistakable Parisian flair. Polly Lee’s narration brought every cobblestoned street and tense confrontation to life. The pacing never let up, the stakes felt real, and that final twist was so out of the blue(et). I’m already impatient for book five.

Would I recommend it?

This book is perfect for historical cozy lovers looking for richly drawn characters, atmospheric postwar Paris settings, murders that weave through wartime secrets. Tabitha and Merveille’s chemistry alone is worth the listen, but add in Julia Child cameos, clever octogenarian sleuths, and a killer who leaves flowers as calling cards, and this book becomes absolutely irresistible. This series just keeps getting better.

Read Next: If You Loved This, Try These:

• Mastering the Art of French Murder (Tabitha Knight #1) by Colleen Cambridge – Start from the beginning if you haven’t already—Tabitha’s first case is just as delicious.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• Murder in the Marais (Aimée Leduc #1) by Cara Black – Another atmospheric Parisian mystery with a fiercely independent sleuth navigating danger in the City of Light.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley – Twisty, secrets-in-every-corner thriller set in a crumbling Parisian apartment building with dark wartime history.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Chef’s Secret by Crystal King – Food, art, and murder in Renaissance Italy—historical mystery lovers and foodies will devour this.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
• The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton – WWII Resistance networks, brave women, and life-or-death stakes in occupied Paris.
  Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy

Paris, Poison & Plot Twists: What Do You Think?

Are you here for the mystery, the food, or the slow-burn romance that refuses to behave? And more importantly… are you team Merveille or still tolerating the vet?

Book Links

Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org
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