Death by chocolate, but it’s the wrong person. Meant for the ex-Mafia man or his bride, a food critic?Could it have been an act of jealousy by Al De Duco’s ex-girlfriend, Kitten Knight, or an act of revenge by Mario Carlucci, a long-time enemy of his from Al’s days with the Mafia in Chicago?Or was the intended victim Al’s wife of two weeks, Cassie, the very popular food critic who writes the Food … who writes the Food Spy column for The Seattle Times? But who would want to murder Cassie?
Maybe it was Myles, the food critic she was filling in for at the Times and who was jealous of her success. Then there’s the Gourmand’s Guide to Good Eats food blogger, Jessica, who’d always hated Cassie. Or even the owner of Frogities Restaurant, Jules, who would love to see the bad publicity resulting from a murder at Le Bijou Bistro.
This is the fifth book in the popular Northwest Cozy Mystery Series by a two-time USA Today Bestselling Author. Download now by scrolling up this page and clicking on the Buy or Read For Free button.
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This whole series is fantastic and this book in particular has fantastic scenery description, yummy food, great characters and a very believable plot. You will totally enjoy the story and want to read more of Ms. Harman’s work.
This was a very interesting cozy mystery because not only did it have the main character, DeeDee being told by her friend Cassie that she went to Las Vegas with the man who she just started dating who is a retire mobster, Al De Duco but also got married while in Las Vegas. DeeDee and Luke invite Cassie and Al out to dinner at Le Bijou Bistro where DeeDee is suppose to do a review of the restaurant and they now get a table for four. Big surprise, the table for two where Cassie and Al were suppose to sit; a chocolate cake was brought to them for desert and the woman dies. This has a lot of suspects and it takes awhile to find out who really was the intended victim. This will keep your mind working and focus off having to stay home for other reasons.
Murder by chocolate is the last supper for the victim. For the rest of us, feeding on red herring expertly cooked up and served by author Dianne Harman, it’s a lot of fun. MURDER AT LE BIJOU BISTRO is a tantalizing cosy mystery perfect for reading on the beach, even though its twists in it won’t let you sit back and relax, because it quickly moves to action. “Jumping into his Maserati and switching on the ignition, he floored the accelerator and sped away, tires screeching.”
The author, Dianne Harman, knows how to up the tension. Her foreshadowing is such a tease. “What happened next was such a shock that afterwords, Jules could only remember it as a series of flashbacks.”
A woman, seated at the table next to Jake and his girlfriend DeeDee, where they were supposed to sit, is choking to death, after a bite of the chocolate cake that was not meant for her. Who was this bittersweet fate meant for? Who done it? There are a lot of characters in the cast, can you figure out the real suspect before Jake and DeeDee?
Five stars.
This was a great cozy mystery! There were lots of twists and suspicious characters. The characters were enjoyable as well as the humor and dogs throughout the story. Someone died at the same restaurant that Al and Cassie were dining at. Was Cassie a target? Or someone else? Cassie’s friend DeeDee and her boyfriend Jake feel like they should join up to help Al do some investigating.
This review is for the audio book.
I enjoyed this book. The book starts with the murder and then introduces you to the suspects and motives but what I liked was the fact that you weren’t sure who the intended victim was meant to be, it certainly kept you guessing. The characters are fun, I especially liked Al and his mob connections, I know they are ment to be hard tough guys but running around after the wife carrying her things is just so funny and it is the way they are so straight faced. The mystery was interesting and I didn’t see the twist coming. I haven’t listened to the series in order but it doesn’t matter because each book is a stand alone mystery but you do get several characters that appear in different books so it is great when you get to meet them again.
With Cassie’s birthday fast approaching, she decides to celebrate it with her husband and good friends Dee Dee and Jake by going out for a meal. As a good critic for the local paper Cassie knows all the best restaurants. But the birthday doesn’t to the way they planned and a young woman dies eating chocolate cake. The woman was sat at Cassie’s usual table, was she the target? And what about Al? With his connections to the mob he has his own list of people who would like to see him dead? Or was the target the restaurant it’s self? It would certainly have a negative effect on business if they were found responsible for killing off a local celebrity. Can Dee Dee and Jake track down a killer before the killer tries again? Then the killer hits closer to home and Cassie’s daughter gets caught up in the trouble and it’s a race against time.
I liked the narrator but her voice for Al made me laugh a few times.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Retired mobster, Al De Duco, and his new wife /food critic, Cassie, see a woman killed. The woman was murdered while eating a chocolate cake slice earmarked for them while sitting at the table they requested. Thinking it was meant for one of them they make a very long list of suspects on who might be after them. The story has too many suspects who all threaten to kill one or both of the couple. Al and Cassie and their friends work though the suspects to find the killer. Then, Cassie’s daughter is kidnapped. I’m not sure I like all the suspects, the view of the crime, or just the general approach to the mystery, but it didn’t do it for me.
This book really kept me guessing. It was well written and a great page turner!
With Dianne Harman’s talent this series just gets better and better. Well-written and pretty well edited (with very few errors of any kind to distract the eye) Murder at the Bijou Bistro is a great read. Familiar characters are joined by a few new ones and every one of them is someone you could easily have met along the way. The plotting is fun and nice and tight. Grab a latte or hot cocoa and head for a cozy chair by the fire and start reading. You won’t go to bed until you turn the last page.