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Death by Baguette

(Travel Can Be Murder #2)

Jennifer S. Alderson (Goodreads Author)

4.38 · Rating details · 29 ratings · 17 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 ...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.

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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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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 ...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 ...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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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, 2020 Victoria Bennison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fika-with-vicky-guests

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. ...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 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.

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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 ...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 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: blog-tour, author-direct-copies

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 ...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 ...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, ...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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Feb 19, 2020 E rated it really liked it

Another fun cozy mystery, this time in Paris. I'm just bugged by the mix-up of Lana's age (no big thing, but annoying that this mistake is made--38 in first book and 6 weeks later, she is 47, 12 years younger than Chad who is 59).

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Shelves: amateur-sleuth, amsterdam, mystery, travel, travel-by-book, travel-cozy, cozy-mystery

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About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson

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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 ...more