~Book Review~
Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge:

This book was the epitome of cozy mystery vibes. We’re following Tabitha, an American in Paris who also happens to be Julia Child’s neighbor and best friend, as she gets caught up in a series of murders. Although the stakes were pretty high this book was still relaxing and wholesome most the time. I thought the writing was pretty good and despite the strong “I’m not like the other girls” feel of our main character, I really enjoyed this. It was a short and easy read and I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a cozy mystery.

rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book comes out April 25th, 2023!🤍

historical-novel, historical-figures, Paris, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, culinary, cultural-differences, new-series, atmospheric, family, famous-persons, friendship, relatives, 1949, ex-pat, pet-dog*****

Tabitha Knight is from Detroit, Michigan, has French grandparents, is living with French relatives and has been taken under the wing of Julia Child. Tabitha is the one to find the woman's body, but it is Julia's knife that did the deed. That pitted Tabitha as amateur sleuth against the steely-eyed police detective. Witty and totally entertaining mystery with characters that certainly are, interesting plot twists, and mystifying red herrings. And the setting is so well described!
No recipe section at the end, but there are so many hints and tips that are so well added that I could smell the deliciousness.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely read any others as they come along!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Tabitha Knight and her friend Julia Child are out to solve a murder! When a body is found with Julia’s cooking knife as the murder weapon Julia convinces Tabitha to investigate. This story follows Tabitha around Paris and some delicious food courtesy of Julia of course! The characters are delightful and have a wonderful sense of humor. I also appreciated the message of woman making their own way as well and the gentlemen who encourage them. I will be keeping up with this new series!

Paris….a city known for fabulous food, romance and….murder?

Tabitha Knight, product of the marriage between an American man and a French woman, was raised in the States. While she speaks French like a native, courtesy of her Parisian mother and grandmother, she doesn’t know how to cook at all. During the war, while her then=fiancé was off fighting, she summoned the courage to work in a factory a la Rosie the Riveter. Her mother didn’t approve, but she loved the experience. The war has ended, and so has her engagement to Henry. Feeling unfulfilled and at loose ends, she has jumped at the chance to move to Paris and live with her grandfather and his friend, “Oncle” Rafe (her ‘messieurs’). One of her new neighbors is none other than Julia Child, living in Paris while her husband Paul is stationed there for the Department of State. Julia is determined to teach Tabitha to cook well, and with the help of her circle of friends to find her a boyfriend too.

The book opens the night after a party chez Child (at which Julia’s sister Dort, who works at a local theater and is living with her sister and brother-in-law, has set Tabitha up on a blind date). Julia and Tabitha are shopping for dinner ingredients at the local market, and exchanging gossip with the stall owners, but when they return home they find a neighbor’s maid in distress…she has just found the dead body of a young woman. Worse still, the woman was at the Childs’ party the previous night, and had ridden down in the elevator at the end of the night with Tabitha . The murder weapon? One of Julia’ Child’s own knives! The French police, in the person of Inspecteur Merveille, are of course suspicious of the two American women. Therese, the dead woman, had worked at the theater with Dort and several of the other party guests, so Tabitha and Julia decide that they need to do some sleuthing of their own to clear their names.

The real life Julia Child is most known for bringing the wonders of French cooking to the homes of average Americans in the 1960’s. During the war, however, she worked for the precursor of the CIA, the OSS, so its not hard to imagine her wanting to investigate a murder close to home. Colleen Cambridge captures the charm of everyday Parisian life as the city regains its footing after the war. The reader meets characters from all walks of life: the ex-pat community of Americans, the theater crowd, market vendors like Madame Marie and Fidelia, maids Clarice and Mathilde…and of course Tabitha’s messieurs, Grand-Pere and Oncle Rafe, who may not approve of Tabitha’s investigations but prove helpful to her nonetheless. As Tabitha pokes around, we get to know an expanding cast of suspects. Why was Therese killed and who could have done it? To quote Julia Child, “Drama is very important in life: you have to come on with a bang.” This first in what I hope will be a series certainly does just that. For lovers of Paris, of cooking, of Julia Child, or of mysteries featuring a well-known person of character, this will definitely appeal. I was hoping to find some of Julia’s recipes in the book, but that’s a small omission and one easily rectified with a quick search on Google or your cookbook shelf. Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy!

Tabitha Knight's grandfather offers her a free place to stay in Paris. And, she's made a new friend in Julia Child, who lives across the street. After a party at Julia's one night, with Julia's sister, Dort, one of the members of Dort's theater group, Therese Lognon, is found dead, stabbed with one of Julia's kitchen knives. Tabitha is determined to discover the killer before Inspector Etienne Merveille, pins the murder on Julia, who never seems worried about it. One of the people who attended the party with Tabitha must be the murderer. The descriptions of Paris and food make this an enticing cozy mystery.

*Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for a review*

I LOVED this book! Not only am I a huge cozy mystery lover, but I am also a big fan of Julia Child! (And even though this is historical fiction, I think Colleen Cambridge did an excellent job at brining Julia' s personality to the page.) I loved following Tabitha through this story. I think she is such a strong female character and an even better amateur sleuth. The mystery was intriguing and the characters were well developed. I hope there will be more in this series!

Tabitha is good with her hands and as a Rosie the Riveter back home in Detroit, Michigan. After the war ended, she found herself at loose ends after she had to give up her job to the returning men. After her Grandmother dies, she breaks up with her fiance and goes to Paris to stay with her Grandfather and her "Oncle" Rafe. One of her neighbors is none other than Julia Child who is having a crisis because her mayonnaise recipe is not working! When Julia and Tabitha return from the market one day, Julia's maid is screaming because she found a body when she went to take out the trash. Tabitha recognizes the body and Julia encourages her to find out more information, but the police detective discourages her. Tabitha continues her snooping and finds herself in peril. First when a car almost runs her down on her bicycle and in the end at the theatre where she is filling in for the dead coat check girl. In the end, she solves the mystery.

The story was creative and did not overuse Julia Child as a character. Despite not being a good cook, Tabitha is an entertaining character. I enjoyed the story, but didn't care for the espionage element. I have already recommended the book to a fellow mystery lover.

Mastering the Art of French Murder takes place in an interesting time that a lot of books fail to cover, the period of time right after WWII in France. Colleen Cambridge uses Julia and Paul Child to setup the story of Tabitha Knight who is living with grandfather and uncle in Paris across the street from the Childs. While I loved the story and setting overall, it seemed Julia was forced in a bit in certain places versus it being more organic. The descriptions of all the food that Julia is known for was heavenly! Lots of cooking in the book! The mystery kept me guessing and was slightly locked room. I was surprised and shocked by the ending and enjoyed the wrap-up that Cambridge did. Looking forward to reading more in this series!

Many readers will recognize that the title of this historical mystery refers to Julia Child and her classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And indeed, most happily, Julia, her husband (Paul), and sister (nicknamed Dort) are all found in these pages. There is also a fictional character, Tabitha, who is nowhere near the cook that Julia is but who is a good friend to her.

The story takes place in the late 1940s in Paris so I was immediately inclined to like this book. The opening has Julia trying to figure out what is wrong with her mayonnaise. Soon, she will have much bigger problems. After a party at her apartment, a body is found in the basement area of Julia’s flat. The victim was a guest and the knife used to kill her came from Julia’s kitchen. Therese also was employed at the theater where Dort works.

Tabitha, the book’s amateur sleuth, has a father who was in the police. This makes her wanting to solve the case feel credible. She has come to Paris to spend time with her grandfather and his partner who becomes like an uncle to her. They add color and relationships to the story.

This book was entertaining and fun. I liked the setting, the characters, the food and the story. Kudos to the author. She has also written a series featuring Agatha Christie’s housekeeper showing how versatile she is. I have enjoyed her contributions to the historical mystery and recommend this title. I hope that this is the start of a series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

What a terrific book - and a very strong entry into a new series. . Much as in her Phyllida Bright series, where Agatha Christie is a supporting character, here we have the fun and fascinating Julia Child as a supporting character to our heroine Tabitha Knight. It is a delight to experience Paris in post WWII, through the eyes of an American who feels more at home here than her native Detroit. There is Murder, intrigue, allusions to the French resistance and hints of the repercussions of the encroaching Cold War. And of course, there is a LOT of wonderful food! The mystery was satisfying but it is the wonderful characters (especially Tabitha's grandfather and uncle) that will keep me coming back! Can't wait for the next one!

I loved this book- the characters were so clever and likeable.. This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Paris
December 1949
This is the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it. The story of a girl who finds a dead body and tries to protect her friend from being arrested and a knife is a murder weapon(pretty cover!). The whole book is accompanied by delightful descriptions of what is happening around and food! The author’s writing style is simply marvelous. I think I felt the taste of food and saw all the descriptions around. The action takes place in the 1950s and I felt that I was right there and it was wonderful.

This is the first book in a new series: An American in Paris. I cannot wait to read all of them. The author did an amazing job of making the characters funny and serious, real and emotional. You will feel the atmosphere of post-war Paris and culinary genius while reading this book. It was a quick and fun read and I think this book would be great on audio. Love it!

#MasteringtheArtofFrenchMurder #NetGalley

Very enjoyable cozy mystery. I liked having Julia Childs as a character, and the author seemed to be very true to Ms. Childs' real life personality. The messieurs were just delightful. I thought that the twist at the end was fairly unexpected, and the mystery kept me engaged throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

I LOVED this novel! This was my first Colleen Cambridge read, and now I will be reading more. I can't wait for more in this series. Set in post-WWII Paris, with a fictional Julia Child as the narrator's best friend: two American friends living in Paris trying to solve a murder mystery make for a fun, cozy mystery. The characters were all so alive and fun, the kind of book characters I come to know and love (and then miss when the book ends). The nod to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None works so well. I could go on and on...just read it!

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this gem!

MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH MURDER is recommended for fans of cozy mysteries. I don't know if it's really being marketed as a cozy, but in my opinion, that's the best audience for this one. The mystery itself is fairly tame and somewhat predictable -- but nonetheless hugely entertaining. The author does a great job at conveying a sense of place and time with post-war Paris. It's SUCH a clever and fun premise to have Julia Child as a character and her personality really shines. As other reviewers have noted, there are some spots where the pacing drags because of info dumps. However, this is a charming and entertaining mystery sure to please fans of lighthearted drama.

Mastering the Art of French Murder, Colleen Cambridge's first American in Paris Mystery, features Julia Child (embassy wife and Cordon Bleu student) helping her friend Tabitha Knight solve the brutal murder of a recent guest at Julia's apartment. Along with Julia's sister Dort, her husband Paul, and Tabitha's grandfather and uncle, this duo is the perfect sleuthing team - Tabitha does the legwork and then they discuss the case while Julia's prepares one fabulous meal after another. It was fun, cozy, and very fast-paced! 1949 + Paris + Julia Child + murder mystery = magnifique!!! A+++ and 5 stars, and I really hope this is the beginning of a very long-running series!!!

This book is absolutely charming. It's a mystery set with Julia Childs in Paris France.

Tabitha is an American staying with her grandfather. Her good friend Julia Childs is teaching her how to cook and embrace the Parisian life. All this is upended when a dead body is found outside Julia's apartment, in the early morning hours after her sister Dort hosts a party. The dead body was killed with Julia's chef knife and has the business card of Tabitha in her pocket.

Utterly charming. I really hope there is more in this series!

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books, in return for an honest review. This is a clever premise for the first book in a new cozy series. I’ll read anything by Colleen Cambridge and this new series is another winner. When Tabitha Knight, half-American and half-French, goes to Paris to live with her grandfather and honorary Oncle, she becomes friends with Julia and Paul Child. Through them, there’s mysteries galore. Everything from how to properly roast a chicken to who killed the woman found in Julia and Paul’s alley after one of Julia’s sister’s late-night parties. Tabitha is a great protagonist and I look forward to more books in this series.

Tabitha has moved to Paris to live with her grandfather, and becomes best friends with Julia Childs across the street. Julia helps Tabitha make edible food for her grandfather and Oncle while Julia receives adventure and excitement from Tabitha. When a young woman is stabbed to death after leaving a party at the Childs' home, Tabitha realizes she was the last person to speak with her just before her death. Was it a random killing? Or did someone she know want her dead? Is Tabitha next on the list? This was a fun book and Julia Childs' voice comes out of the pages!

Colleen Cambridge has introduced us to some fantastic new characters in The Art of French Murder, which is the first book in a promising new series. The book opens in post war France, where we encounter Tabitha Knight and her friend Julia Child. The women stumble upon a murder victim and Tabitha finds herself swept up in the ensuing mystery.
I found much of the mystery to be fairly predictable, but the setting and characters were so well done that I very much enjoyed this book. The food prepared by Julia was a fun addition. I also liked Tabitha's reliance on her trusty Swiss army knife and was grateful that the inspector replaced it for her. I look forward to seeing Tabitha and her charming grandfather and uncle in upcoming books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for this ARC of The Art of French Murder.