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Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris

(Travel Can Be Murder #2)

Jennifer S. Alderson (Goodreads Author)

4.20 · Rating details · 152 ratings · 47 reviews

Death by Baguette: A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris

Paris—the city of love, lights … and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger…

Lana Hansen’s future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and eve ...more

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Kindle Edition, 200 pages

Published February 7th 2020 by Traveling Life Press

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Jan 27, 2020 Rekha rated it it was amazing

What a fantastic story! Absolutely Brilliant!
I am in awe of Jennifer's storytelling. She weaves such marvellous stories! Paris, Valentine's week, delicious baked goodies, five bickering couples and murder - what a combination!
The second half of the story kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending is nothing short of a nail-biting adventure!
I highly recommend this book. ...more

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Jun 29, 2020 SA Krishnan rated it it was amazing

Thoroughly enjoyed it!
The story had a Valentine's day, quarrelling couples and a complex murder. The description was a plus point of the story. Paris was amazing as seen through the book. Enjoyable read. ...more

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Feb 22, 2020 LORI (Dollycas) CASWELL rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2020

Dollycas’s Thoughts

What could be better than Valentine’s Day in Paris?

Lana Hansen has guided a few tours since New Year’s Day in Hungary. She is also dating again but Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours has scheduled her to take a group of five married couples to Paris for Valentine’s Day and train a new guide. Boyfriend Chad also has to be out of town on business anyway. She is thrilled that her friend Willow will be on the tour. Willow surprised her partner, Jane by Dollycas’s Thoughts

What could be better than Valentine’s Day in Paris?

Lana Hansen has guided a few tours since New Year’s Day in Hungary. She is also dating again but Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours has scheduled her to take a group of five married couples to Paris for Valentine’s Day and train a new guide. Boyfriend Chad also has to be out of town on business anyway. She is thrilled that her friend Willow will be on the tour. Willow surprised her partner, Jane by booking them on the trip.

After the long flight, Lana can’t wait to see the sights. She is shocked though to see Chad in the hotel lobby . . . with his wife . . . and they are one of the couples on HER tour!

Cursing the online dating app she decides to let the other guide handle Chad but finds it is impossible to steer clear of him with such a small group. She also learns he is a restaurant critic, not a website developer as he had led her to believe, and has left a lot of women in his wake. He also quickly rubs many in the group the wrong way with his critiques and pronouncements.

Soon after the tour group sits down for a picnic near the Eiffel Tower, Chad keels over dead, poisoned. Texts on his phone reveal his relationship with Lana and land her at the lop of the suspect list. She is joined by a few other members of the group.

Until they try to lock her up, the tour must go on. While visiting some breathtaking museums and gardens Lana is on high alert to find the real killer . . . but the killer has her in their sights. Can she survive this trip to the city of lights or will this be her final Wanderlust tour?

____

Just like in the first book of this series the author takes her readers on a wonderful literary vacay with a great mystery to solve. She creates such imagery with her words. I have never been to Paris but I could easily visualize every step the characters took and every place they visited. Imagining the food was so easy too.

Lana is a terrific amateur sleuth, she is savvy and smart and has mastered the art of eavesdropping very well. She also doesn’t give up. Because she was an investigative reporter she has friends in the right places and the skills needed to ferret out a killer. She also has the trust of her boss to do the right thing, Dotty also has the right connections when trouble arises for her employees and guests.

Ms. Alderson also knows how to serve up a terrific story in less than 200 pages. Because the murder takes place later in the story we have time to get to know her characters. They are very well-developed for a novel of this length. Sadly all the couples were dealing with something and had come on the trip for a chance to set things right. I really liked the way Lana tuned into each couple to make the experience special for each of them, especially after the murder with a killer in their midst.

Death By Baguette features a beautiful city, decadent meals, interesting characters, and a fun mystery. I was captivated by the entire story. With the “Travel Can Be Murder” theme, the possibilities are endless. I hope this series continues for a long time.

The third book in the series, Death by Windmill, will take readers to the Netherlands. It will be released on May 22, 2020. My virtual bags are already packed. ...more

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May 01, 2020 Tripfiction rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-set-in-paris

Cozy murder mystery set in PARIS

This is the second volume in the Travel Can Be Murder series by Jennifer S Alderson. It is “A

Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris”.

Lana Hansen will be taking a tour group to Paris, to coincide with Valentine’s Day. She has started dating a slightly older man. At an early romantic picnic they share that both of them are shortly to be out of town and both look forward to picking up with each other when they get back.

Once in Paris she meets up with her group and has a discombobulating encounter with one of the group. The tourists comprise several couples and in order to fill numbers, her personal friends Jane and Willow have come along. They are at an argumentative point in their couple relationship, debating whether to become parents and wondering whether Jane, as a medic, is working too hard. Lana has to try and manage their bickering; yet another task for a very busy and committed tour guide. She also has to manage Randy, her rookie guide, who is learning the ropes from her.

However, these are simple matters compared to the group dynamics. One man in particular seems to be rather tyrannical, a gourmet who is known to write excoriating reviews which send his victims over the edge. Another couple, she discovers, are now new age folk – and are very good at the healing crystal thing – but she inadvertently discovers that this is only a recent incarnation. Do they have something to hide, she wonders? They clearly have a ‘different’ history which is at odds with the image they are promoting on this tour.

The author quite obviously delights in literary travel, enabling her readers to really travel by book and enjoy visiting the sights of Paris. This is great armchair travel, from a cruise on the Seine to the Marché des Enfants Rouge, to the Jardin Des Plantes and a day trip to Chartres. And her group enjoys a French baking course, of course! It is at a picnic in the Champ de Mars by the Eiffel Tower that Lana is required to test her mettle. One of her group dies. Naturally the police have to get involved and there are many grudges and motives festering away in her group. Can there really be a murderer among them?

If you like the stories of M C Beaton and the Marion Chesny Agatha Raisin series, then the Travel Can Be Murder series is waiting for you! ...more

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Mar 05, 2020 Carrie Schmidt (Reading is My SuperPower) rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-suspense, blog-reviewed, non-us-uk-setting, contemporary, cozy-mystery

Jennifer Alderson is an excellent storyteller, and you’ll quickly find yourself caught up in her latest cozy mystery – Death By Baguette! The Paris setting and the couples tour convey a lovely, romantic mood … in theory. However, as the tour begins to fall apart in true cozy mystery fashion, those symbols instead stand in sharp contrast to how everything is actually playing out. Poor Lana lol.

Lana herself is an engaging character, and you’ll find yourself rooting for her right away. (There is a Jennifer Alderson is an excellent storyteller, and you’ll quickly find yourself caught up in her latest cozy mystery – Death By Baguette! The Paris setting and the couples tour convey a lovely, romantic mood … in theory. However, as the tour begins to fall apart in true cozy mystery fashion, those symbols instead stand in sharp contrast to how everything is actually playing out. Poor Lana lol.

Lana herself is an engaging character, and you’ll find yourself rooting for her right away. (There is a fairly significant continuity error, though, regarding Lana’s age increasing by 9 years over a 6 week time period lol.) The fact that each novel takes place mostly in an international tourist destination adds several layers to the plot, too, and allows us to travel to Budapest and Paris – and soon, Amsterdam – without having to fuss with passports or actual travel. A win-win for those of us who prefer only to travel to places we can reach by car.

Much of the way the story progressed in Death By Baguette was laying a foundation as to who would be murdered and, of course, whodunnit. The actual murder takes place a lot later in the story than I’m used to, but I didn’t mind it because a) the story is entertaining all on its own and b) it kept my clue-gathering mind buzzing throughout.

Bottom Line: Alderson has once again treated readers to a vicarious international tour, complete with vivid settings, delectable food, intriguing & quirky characters… and murder. Poor Lana just can’t catch a break when it comes to the tours she’s leading, and while you’ll love Lana as a character you probably won’t want to book a tour she’s in charge of or work alongside her! haha! This Valentine’s cozy mystery is a bit slow to get to the murder, but you won’t mind – thanks to the easy writing style and smooth voice. A fun new cozy series to book for your next reading adventure!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Elizabeth Lloyd rated it it was amazing

Death by Baguette is the second murder mystery involving quick-witted Lana Hansen. A helpful, efficient tour-guide, she takes small groups of wealthy American tourists on organised visits to popular destination. This is also Lana’s first visit to Paris, but she is well prepared and nothing phases her, except discovering her new boyfriend, Chad, is one of the guests and he’s married! Visiting Paris, the city of love, in time for Valentine’s Day sounds idyllic for the couples she accompanies but m ...more

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Feb 15, 2020 Janice Richardson rated it it was amazing

Valentine's Day is for lovers. But on this tour to Paris, there are more squabbles than kisses between the couples Lana is overseeing as a tour guide. The City of Light is rife with arguments, snubs and temper tantrums between the couples on this Wanderlust tour.
The author doesn't slam the reader with the murder in the first few chapters. Rather, she gives the reader a chance to know each character thoroughly before one of the group is murdered. With plenty of history, background and informatio ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Christine rated it really liked it

Tour guide Lana Hansen has signed on to an online dating service and met a charming man named Chad. Imagine her surprise when she meets him again on her Wanderlust Tour in Paris and discovers he is married. Death by Baguette by Jennifer S. Alderson is the second in the Travel Can Be Murder series. With complaining couples bickering and arguing throughout the tour, the Valentine-themed tour in Paris is anything but romantic, especially when someone gets killed. Great descriptions of the sights in ...more

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Aug 02, 2020 Nola Arganbright rated it really liked it

Shelves: cozy-mysteries

Food for thought

A very entertaining read. A tour group tours Paris in what is planned as a romantic week. There is a great amount of squabbling and drama within the group as when one guest falls dead there is no shortage of suspects.

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Feb 14, 2020 Fee (Ebook Addicts) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, read-in-2020

I loved the first book in this series Death on the Danube so I couldn't wait to read this next adventure for our tour guide Lana Hansen.

Lana is back and this time she is taking a tour to the most romantic city in the world for Valentines - Paris, France. After her last tour despite the death, her life is looking up, she has a job that she loves and even her love life is on the up and up. Though she is sad she wont be able to spend it with her new beau Chad, she is shocked to discover that he is ...more

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Feb 17, 2021 Ira Therebel rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-mystery, western-europe, fiction

I was a bit disappointed with the first book in the series because I figured out long before it happened who did it. This time soon after I started I thought it will be the same. My arrogant mystery loving self was sure I knew who will be killed, how, who did it and why. Well turned out I only knew whom and partially how. With the rest Jennifer Alderson really managed to confuse and surprise me.

Besides that the book is again written in a very entertaining way. I loved the characters and their pe ...more

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Feb 17, 2020 Victoria Bennison rated it it was amazing

As always Jennifer S. Alderson's descriptions tantalized and fulfilled. Leaving us with both the desire to visit Paris...to experience it, and the feeling that we’d done just that.

Also, for those of us who enjoy a cozier life, she takes us on the tour we would choose for ourselves. Good food, beautiful gardens, famous galleries and museums fill the pages like a Holiday wish list. Leaving us to feel, as though life and adventures need not end at a certain age, but continue to change and grow with ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Valerie Poore rated it it was amazing

This terrific cosy mystery has a really good puzzle to be solved. In true Agatha Christie tradition, a group of people travelling together on a tour of Paris are all suspects in the death of one of their number. The method is not in dispute, but since several of them have a motive, finding the murderer is a challenge for group leader, Lana, and the French police. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it has such a great sense of place and the wonderful sights of Paris are brought vividly to life. Th ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 Sandra McKenna rated it it was amazing

An excellent read.

Oh, I didn't want this book to end. It is equal to the first in this fabulous cozy mystery series, and this time is set in Paris.
Lana takes a group on a Valentine's day tour to the city of romance, visiting lots of the popular tourist attractions which are described so well, the reader is taken along on the journey with them.
A very cleverly constructed story of lies and deceit which leads to murder.
I cannot recommend it highly enough, and am looking forward to reading more ...more

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Feb 08, 2021 Caitlin Copp rated it it was amazing

Shelves: january-2021

I am absolutely devouring these books. They remind me a lot of the Passport to Peril books. In this installment, Lana Hansen is on her way to Paris, the city of love and romance. She has just started dating a fellow named Chad and is missing him on her trip. With her new romance just kicking off, she is quite surprised to find out that Chad is one of the group members on her trip....as is his wife. As a true professional, she keeps it together and gives her group members a true tour of the city. ...more

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Feb 20, 2020 E.J. Bauer rated it it was amazing

I do love a cozy mystery and this one was located in Paris which made it even better. A murder set amongst some of the city's most famous destinations, well drawn if somewhat tetchy characters and a determined sleuth in the form of tour guide Lana combine to make this, the second in the series Travel can be Murder, a Valentine's Day to remember. For all the wrong reasons. Definitely a cozy read. ...more

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Feb 22, 2020 Jessica Robbins rated it really liked it

Shelves: blog-tour, own-kindle

*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.

Travel anyone?? This book will take you on a fantastic trip to Paris. Lana is a tour guide for some pricey trips and this time they are going to France for Valentine's. Before leaving she has a date with a new man she is seeing. Things seem great until the trip starts nd the same man shows up with his wife. Talk about a surprise for Lana. She is just grateful that things didn't get very far between the t ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Death By Baguette by Jennifer S. Alderson is a complex mystery filled with renewed love and deception.
Who hated the food critic enough to kill him?
Lana Hansen
Lana is our travel guide and, of course, our sleuth. She hasn't traveled much, but she does her homework and does a fabulous job of managing the tours normally. However, occasionally on ...more

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Feb 18, 2020 Catherine rated it really liked it

Lana Hansen's life has taken financial and romantic turns for the better. She's gainfully employed in a job that includes luxurious travel, and has started dating again. Lana is about to embark on her fourth tour as a travel guide, leading a lovers-only trip to Paris for Valentine's Day. While she is excited about the destination, she doesn't relish spending Valentine's Day in one of the world's most romantic cities without her new boyfriend Chad . . .

So imagine Lana's surprise when Chad shows u Lana Hansen's life has taken financial and romantic turns for the better. She's gainfully employed in a job that includes luxurious travel, and has started dating again. Lana is about to embark on her fourth tour as a travel guide, leading a lovers-only trip to Paris for Valentine's Day. While she is excited about the destination, she doesn't relish spending Valentine's Day in one of the world's most romantic cities without her new boyfriend Chad . . .

So imagine Lana's surprise when Chad shows up in Paris for the couples tour with another woman—Miranda, his wife of thirty-six years. Lana is beyond shocked—she had no idea that the man she met online through the Seattle Singles dating app was married. Chad is just as stunned, and fears being exposed for his despicable behavior. Lana quickly recovers her professional demeanor, and the two agree to pretend that they have never met. But this is more easily said than done.

While Lana is busy catering to the needs of the guests and training a new tour guide, Chad is offending the other guests with his words and deeds. His superior attitude and competitiveness rub everyone—including his wife—the wrong way. In fact, Lana considers asking Chad to leave the tour, but Miranda begs her not to, confiding that her marriage will be over if that happens.

Clearly, the lovers-only tour is showing signs of passion, but not in the way originally intended. Sparks are flying, but they are generated by contempt rather than ardor. Lana is doing her best to provide an enjoyable experience for the guests, and hopes that a gourmet picnic under the Eiffel Tower will restore a more festive mood. But as the couples indulge in the picnic delicacies, Chad collapses, and dies at the scene.

The investigation of Chad's demise is led by Parisian Inspector Boucher, who determines that Chad was poisoned, and quickly sets his sights on the members of the tour group for a culprit. Although many in the group have strong reasons for wishing Chad harm, has one of them actually killed him? It's up to Lana to prove the innocence of Boucher's lead suspect and establish her own guiltlessness in the process. Is Lana's life as a tour guide over?

Death by Baguette is a lively romp through the streets of Paris with stops at many famous landmarks along the way. In addition to a satisfying mystery filled with quirky characters and effective red herrings, readers are treated to visits of well-known sites, complete with lavish descriptions so evocative that you feel you're on the actual tour. I have visited Paris twice, and loved reliving my own experience through Alderson's descriptions. At the same time, I can imagine what it must be like to "explore" the sights for the first time through the author's words. Case in point, I googled one of the attractions I hadn't seen before—the Stravinsky Fountain—and watched several lovely YouTube videos that show the fountain in all its glory. This was such an unexpected bonus.

As with Death on the Danube, the first book in the series (for my review click here), this second installment is a winning combination of mystery meets travelogue. The series is ideal for those who enjoy travel, like to travel vicariously, or just need an escape to an international location without having to pack a suitcase, carry a passport, or endure long security and customs lines. Books in the Travel Can Be Murder series can be read as stand-alones—one need only pick a desired destination. The next port of call is Amsterdam, the setting for book three, which is another tour I'm looking forward to. ...more

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Feb 22, 2020 Diane Hernandez rated it it was amazing

Shelves: author-direct-copies, blog-tour

What can be more romantic that a Valentine Day trip to Paris, the City of Lights and Love? Well for Lana the tour host, finding her new boyfriend is on the tour—with his wife—is not the best day in her life. But the tour must go on. When one guest is killed, Lana feels she must discover who the killer is in Death by Baguette, the second book in the Travel can be Murder series.

In the first book in the series, Death on the Danube, Lana is a new tour host for her landlady’s company, Wanderlust Tour ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Amber - TBR Book Blog rated it really liked it

Another great story in Lana's life as a destination tour guide - which funny, I've been seeing ads on different apps for a destination tour guide service for Italy. Just ironic, or my phone knows what I'm reading :). Anywho, Lana is headed to France this time with a group of married couples to take them around France. Which I love reading about these destination places because I can't fly over large bodies of water and this takes me there.

There is all sorts of mystery and intrigue afoot along t ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Monica rated it it was amazing

Another wonderful adventure with Lana as she takes us all over Paris. Great descriptions make you feel like you are there. This was another that I couldn't put down. Quick-paced so I felt like I was right the rushed tour group where you come home from your vacation more stressed and tired than relaxed as the guests kept adding more stops in to try to cram as much as they could into their short Paris stay. Lots of suspects in the death of one of the guests since he was not a very nice person and ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Helen Edwards rated it really liked it

I needed a break from serious reading so I read this book. It is very light and easy to read and allows me to escape to a different country with a travel tour. I loved the descriptions of Paris and the various historic sites. As an avid baker, I was interested in the production of baguettes and wondered how poison had been put into one of the sauces. Even the murders and the murderers were different from what we usually get in this type of novel and I did not guess who the "bad guys" were, missi ...more

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Jun 28, 2020 Roxx Tarantini rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cozy-mystery

Well written and filled with wonderful tidbits of the city they're visiting, this narrative was expertly crafted. AND this reader was actually able to sniff out the real culprit before the big reveal.

A great new-to-me series and author! This is Book Two of the series, but was a great stand alone. I will be going back to read the first book, and then continuing on from there. I love it when I discover a really good new series that's already several volumes in!

An excellent read that I highly recom ...more

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Feb 20, 2020 Martie rated it it was amazing

Paris during Valentines week, what could be more romantic and murderous. Ms. Alderson’s talented ability to description the sites and tastes of Paris made me feel like I was once again visiting the sites from long ago, eating that wonderful food at picturesque cafés and leisurely enjoying the beauty of those phenomenal gardens. Throw in some wacky tour goers, a murder that any of them could have committed and you’ve got one wonderfully enjoyable read.

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Jun 26, 2020 Sharon M. Turner rated it it was amazing

Valentine's Day tour of Paris!

Lana is the lead guide on a romantic tour of Paris with five couples. This luxury tour was planned to cover the best museums and romantic palaces for this holiday. But instead of romance and love this tour has adult men fighting over racing you boats in a pond, unhappy couples and a gruesome murder on tour. Will Lana survive this tour? Great story....... And more books to read. ...more

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Nov 25, 2020 Celest rated it it was amazing

Not your typical Valentine's Day

This was another great mystery by Jennifer S. Alderson. She is becoming a favorite of mine now. This book was set in Paris on Valentine's Day, what could be more perfect for the couples on holiday. The murder was an unprecedented addition to the trip that Lana needed to help solve. The police seemed to find everyone suspicious and I was oblivious. A very entertaining mystery. I'll read more books by this author. ...more

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Mar 16, 2020 Debbie Allen rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 08, 2020 Virginia rated it really liked it

Love and Murder

Why does Valentine's Day in Paris seem to bring out the worse in couples? Tour guide and former investigative journalist Lana Hansen leads her not so merry band of tourists through the wonders of Paris even after one of them is murdered. Start with Death on the Danube to fully enjoy this delightful series. ...more

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Jul 12, 2020 Eileen rated it really liked it

Travel mysteries

I enjoyed this cosy whodunnit mostly for its travel theme. The main character is a tour guide leading a group in Paris. The descriptions of the sights were vivid. This is part of a series, but the first I have read. It didn’t matter that I haven’t read the first one. Looking forward to taking a mental trip with this group again.

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About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson

566 followers

Hi! I am an American expat currently living in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, I moved to Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. When not writing, you can find me in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning my next research trip.

My love of travel, art, and culture inspires my awa ...more