Death and Croissants: The most hilarious murder mystery since Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club (A Follet Valley Mystery)

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I really enjoyed this book. It was a light, well written whodunnit filled with interesting characters and amusing dialogue. This sounds like a fun read! I haven’t read Thursday Murder Club yet, but now I want to read both these books! And death and croissants gives us these characters with mad cap delight. There is something that is just best described as a frolic about this book. A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman. Coming September 2022! Encouraged by another of his guests, the enigmatic Valérie, Richard sets about investigating the disappearance. Before he knows it, he is faced with a world of nudist colonies and the Mafia. Its author, Ian Moore, is a stand-up comedian so as you’d expect, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this delightfully twisty ‘qui-dunnit’.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens ... and you don't mess with a fellow's hens! It’s the same idea as The Thursday Murder Club and while I wouldn’t read another one in that series I will read this series again. This novel has a sparkle and verve that is appealing, both in the dialogue and the comedic plotting. Swingers and the Mafia in the rural Loire Valley? Pure gold. Then there’s all the crossing and double crossing, sundry motives and secrets. It’s a caper that is cleverly and humorously executed and which had me fooled most of the time. The humour and the quirky characters were great fun for the most part, but may be a bit over the top sometimes. Still I liked both Richard and Valerie (and the dog Passepartout) very much, and look forward to their further adventures. Disclaimer: Please note I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens... and you don't mess with a fellow's hens! It's a while since a book made me cry with laughter quite as much as "Death and Croissants" has done. That this far-fetched comedy about a Brit expat running a B & B in the Loire Valley area of France is written by British comic Ian Moore who himself owns a B & B in the same area begs several questions about the life of a B & B owner! Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that’s the way he likes it. The first book in the Follet Valley series, set in the French Loire, this book is absolutely marvellous, a real happy tonic for these awful days of virus and misery.

Next up is the classic femme fatale, Valérie d’Orçay; she is a guest at Richard’s B&B, and when she learns of a bloody handprint in the room of an elderly gentleman who seems to have disappeared, she insists on investigating, pulling poor Richard along. She is something of a mystery, and both Richard and I, as the reader, felt deeply suspicious of her while inevitably being pulled along by her enthusiasm, charm, and knowledge. The dynamic between her and Richard is great fun to read, and you can’t help but cheer them both on, even when one or the other does something questionable. Meet Richard Ainsworth: an almost divorced part time B&B owner, part time film historian, full time self-deprecator. Hoping to continue running his B&B in the quiet Val de Follet, he has no idea of its hidden intrigue, from the mafia to swingers, to the peddling of (il)legal grape seeds. His quiet has flown the coop on a fateful afternoon with a bloody handprint, a missing guest, and one dead Ava Gardner (beloved hen). Richard Ainsworth runs a B&B (or chambre d'hote) in the Loire Valley. One morning, a bloodied handprint is found on the wall of a bedroom and its owner disappeared. Another guest, Valérie d'Orçay, a formidable Frenchwoman, decides to investigate and Richard finds himself tagging along, not entirely by choice. All manner of farcical goings-on ensue.One day, however, an older guest goes missing, leaving behind only a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the enigmatic Valérie, persuades a sceptical Richard to investigate the disappearance, revealing a world of mafia crime, nudist colonies and fowl play... Richard just wants a quiet life running his B&B in the beautiful Loire Valley, but when one of his guests goes missing he gets caught up in the action! One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valerie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance. Like Richard Osman in his Thursday murder club series, the main reason to read this book is for the sparkling, hilarious dialogue and inner thoughts of its characters.

But, life goes on for him, and most days are the same........Pretty boring and only has his cleaning lady, Madame Tablier for company. OHHHHHHH, until one morning Richard's life goes Bang and turns upside down, when one guest at his B&B goes missing a old Grand chaps, who has left a bloody handprint on his rooms wall - Christ thats gonna be a pain to clean!!! Richard want to do something about this and get to the bottom of where Grand chaps has gone? Drag or copy the ebook to your Kindle's documents folder (in your file explorer look for a new device on the left called something like SDCARD. Inside SDCARD there should be a My Files or My Documents folder: drag or copy the file there) French is my favourite language and I studied it extensively for most of my life, including the culture, cuisine, history and geography of France, for a complete and complex understanding of the subtilities of the language. First there’s Richard Ainsworth, a middle-aged Englishman running a B&B in France, looking at a future as a bachelor after his marriage has come undone. The only things bringing joy to Richard’s life are his pet hens, and his vast knowledge and love for old cinema. He has the typical self-deprecating humour of the English, and a lot of the story involves him trying to find his place in all this chaos, and his character arc is really quite lovely.The mystery is a light one, and the book is full of delightful humorous touches. The whole thing has a very campy (in a good way) feel, from Richard’s references to his beloved classic cinema to the madcap, zany race to solve the mystery. One of the best descriptions of Richard comes from Valerie. He is a man, who perhaps comes across as older than he really is because he is tired of life. He is indeed like ‘an old hunting dog’, looking for a quiet life. However, I was convinced that there was something left in Richard that indicated he hadn’t quite finished with the excitement of life yet. He is completely bewitched by Valerie from the start and I had no doubts that he would follow her on any adventure she chose to have him on. I’ve lived in the North of England for five years now and I’ve become very familiar with the British culture, notably their famous or, rather, infamous, dry humour becoming one of my favourite things about the Brits. The Policeman is top notch, I have met several like this during my many years in France, but only when you can actually find an open rural police station!! Disappointingly, I have not met any Echangistes, but I’m sure they exist!! Rural France setting, croissants, a bossy French lady and a dog named Passepartout - now, doesn't this sound exciting? Wait, there's more - do not forget to add Italian mafia, movie dialogs and double crossing to the list.

Richard wants the quiet life. He runs a B&B in the Loire Valley spending his days looking forward to his afternoon nap. I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago Books for an advance copy of Death and Croissants, the first novel to feature Bed and Breakfast owner Richard Ainsworth, set in the Loire Valley. I rather enjoyed it and would be happy to see where Valérie and Richard's sleuthing leads them next. British expat, Richard Ainsley, lives a perfectly predictable, mundane life running a B&B in France. I am very partial to a light-hearted, cosy mystery, so I was very excited to hear about the brand new Follet Valley series, of which Death and Croissants is the first instalment.What a fantastic series debut! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Death and Croissants. Quirky characters, a dash of humor and a (murder) mystery to keep guessing till the end, this book is an absolute delight for mystery lovers. Richard is a middle aged man living a quiet life in France. One day, one of his guest goes missing living a bloodied hand print behind and suddenly Richard find himself dragged along femme fatale Valérie who is determined to find out what happened. Richard is more of an outside viewer to the events taking place around him until one of his beloved hens is found dead. You don’t mess with a man’s hen. Death and croissants will take you on a ride with nudists, mafia, old man with a grudge, an other one with a price on his head and secrets. Super cute Romcom set in a Loire Valley B&B, run by Richard Ainsworth, a very British man of a certain age, separated with his wife, and barely sustained by a nerdy love of filmdom. Gliding elegantly into his ho-hum humdrum-ness sails chic and glamorous inn guest Valérie d'Orçay, followed by a mystery involving elderly twins known as the Monsieurs Grandchamps, one a judge and the other a criminal with mafia ties. Death and Croissants is the first of the Follet Valley Mysteries and is a crazy, quirky, comic, and slightly over the top cosy mystery. In the book, we meet Richard Ainsworth, a middle-aged Englishman who has moved to the bucolic Loire Valley where he runs a Bed and Breakfast or rather a chambre d’hote. Richard is dejected, slightly boring even, and his only interest in life is old movies, so much so that the hens in his establishment are named after actresses—Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner. He is estranged from his stylish wife Clare who found nothing to keep her in France and has returned to England. Life goes on monotonously for him, most days being pretty much the same, only his cantankerous (but observant) cleaning lady, Madame Tablier for company. Loved this book, had some real laugh out loud moments. Richard is a bit like a rabbit in the headlights when the vivacious Valerie is around.