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balancinghistorybooks's review
3.0
Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines is set in one of my favourite cities, Paris, and Bond certainly builds up the sense of place well. The main way in which he does so is through the medium of food. Monsieur Aristide Pamplemousse – who works for ‘Le Guide’, a ‘gastronomic bible’ in France, and who has a trusty companion in the guise of a dog named Pommes Frites – is given a free ticket to a cookery show, Cuisine de Chavignol. Whilst he is watching the demonstration, Monsieur Chavignol, the host of the show, is poisoned by a cyanide-laden oyster and drops dead. Monsieur Pamplemousse takes it upon himself to solve the crime.
The book is nicely written, but the mystery was not a stunning one, and nor was it particularly intriguing for the mostpart. Monsieur Chavignol was portrayed in such a way that one did not really care, nor even seem surprised, that he was targeted by a killer. Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines is the fourth book in the series (something which I did not know when I purchased it), and I do not think that I got the full benefit from the book’s story by reading it before the others. Parts of it felt a little flat, and at times elements went unexplained, which I can only presume had been outlined in preceding books. It is not a series which I am overly enamoured with the idea of continuing, sadly. It is not a bad novel by any means, but it did not hold much interest for me personally. I did enjoy Bond’s writing, however, so it has received a wholesome three star review.
The book is nicely written, but the mystery was not a stunning one, and nor was it particularly intriguing for the mostpart. Monsieur Chavignol was portrayed in such a way that one did not really care, nor even seem surprised, that he was targeted by a killer. Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines is the fourth book in the series (something which I did not know when I purchased it), and I do not think that I got the full benefit from the book’s story by reading it before the others. Parts of it felt a little flat, and at times elements went unexplained, which I can only presume had been outlined in preceding books. It is not a series which I am overly enamoured with the idea of continuing, sadly. It is not a bad novel by any means, but it did not hold much interest for me personally. I did enjoy Bond’s writing, however, so it has received a wholesome three star review.
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