Murder Makes an Entree: A Victorian Whodunit - Hardcover

Myers, Amy

3.26

31 ratings by Goodreads

9780312143763: Murder Makes an Entree: A Victorian Whodunit

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312143761 ISBN 13: 9780312143763

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1996

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When chef Didier becomes the chief suspect in the murder of Sir Thomas Throgmorton after he suddenly dies during a banquet, Inspector Egbert Rose of Scotland Yard enters the case and prepares a search to find the real culprit, solve the crime, and clear the chef's good name

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From Kirkus Reviews:

It's 1899, and Auguste Didier, master chef/sometime sleuth (the paperback Murder at the Masque, etc.), has herded the students of his London cooking school to the seaside resort of Broadstairs, where Auguste is to prepare a special anniversary banquet for the Society of Literary Lionisers. Charles Dickens, current focus of the Society, spent much time at Broadstairs, but Auguste's focus is on pleasing Edward, Prince of Wales, this year's honorary president of the Lionisers. In the kitchen of the Imperial hotel, Auguste sweats over the elaborate menu, aided by students Heinrich Freimuller, of the German Embassy; James Pegg, son of a veterinarian; butcher's son Algernon Peckham; Lord Alfred Wittisham, a prot‚g‚ of old friend Emma Pryde; and two young women- -Emily Dawson and Alice Fenwick. All goes well as the dinner progresses to its finale--readings from Dickens, of course--but soon after dessert chairman Sir Thomas Throgmorton collapses and dies--of atropine poisoning it transpires, once Auguste's friend Inspector Egbert Rose of Scotland Yard takes over. The Prince of Wales makes a hasty escape as Rose and Auguste try to figure out how the poison was administered, and Rose investigates Throgmorton's fellow committee members, some of whom were on less than amicable terms with Sir Thomas--like jealous Samuel Pipkin, and smitten but rejected Gwendolyn Figgis-Hewett. The solution, its roots in the past and carrying little conviction, finally arrives after a second murder; much musing on facets of haute cuisine; endless Lioniser visits to Dickens's onetime haunts, and a whole series of pallid romances. Food aficionados and readers steeped in Dickensian may find pleasure here. For others, an indigestible stew whose chief ingredient is ennui. -- Copyright �1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Likely to satisfy few appetites, Myers's (Murder at the Masque) Victorian mystery features French chef Auguste Didier who is conducting a cooking course for six apprentices at Broadstairs on the English seaside. He can't pass up a chance for his little school to prepare the banquet for the Society of Literary Lionizers, convening there with the Prince of Wales. Didier is dismayed that the dishes must pertain to the works of the 1899 honoree, Charles Dickens, who championed plain cooking. But worse occurs when the chairman of the Society dies and Didier's gourmet meal seems to be the cause. The presence of the Prince of Wales commands the involvement of Scotland Yard, and fortunately, the chef's old friend, Inspector Egbert Rose of Scotland Yard, is vacationing with his wife nearby. Rose and Didier find a plethora of suspects in the acrimonious Society committee, all of whose members have had recent run-ins with the chairman, and the cooking school pupils, each of whom also had a tie with the dead man. Rife with Dickensian puns and references, this tale may nourish some literary and gourmet perusers, but it starves mystery fans. (Aug.) Science Fiction & Fantasy
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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