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LOST AND FONDUE by Avery Aames

"Can a Cheese Shop Proprietor Solve a Murder?"

By: Avery Aames

Genres: Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Woman Sleuth | Mystery Cozy

Posted: May 29, 2011

Charlotte Bessette of Providence, Ohio is the proprietor of The Cheese Shop. As a favor to her best friend Meredith, she takes on a catering job for a fund-raiser. Meredith has been campaigning to turn the abandoned Ziegler winery into a college. The city has agreed, but now the hard part begins - raising the necessary funds to get the project off the ground.

For years, after the last Ziegler abandoned the winery, rumors of a treasure have swirled in the small town. Other people dismiss these rumors as nonsense, but some people believe that the winery holds buried bodies (or even ghosts), as well as treasure. The mystique surrounding the winery enhances the atmosphere of Meredith's fund-raiser, which includes a scavenger hunt covering the entire premises of the winery.

During the scavenger hunt, however, several quarrels break out amongst a group of young artists who were in town for the event. Among them are Meredith's niece Quinn and Quinn's boyfriend Harker. Unfortunately, during the scavenger hunt, Harker turns up dead in the wine cellar and Quinn quickly becomes the primary suspect.

At Meredith's request, Charlotte begins investigating who may have had a motive for murdering Harker. The chief of police isn't very happy to have Charlotte's assistance, but Charlotte can't stand idly by while someone could be wrongly charged with a murder. Soon, it seems that her investigation turns up as many suspects as there are varieties of cheese!

The various subplots were interesting, especially the one involving Sylvie, the mother of the twins that Charlotte helps care for. However, the way that this subplot ended was frustrating to me. As someone who hasn't spoken French since grade seven, it was mildly annoying that Charlotte's family occasionally spoke French, especially since there was seldom anything to confirm my hunch about what was being said. I don't find Charlotte's boyfriend particularly likeable, and I find the mystery surrounding his background to be just a bit heavy-handed.

This book was especially fun for me, as a cheese lover. I enjoyed the descriptions of every cheese, and it was easy to imagine the tastes and textures that were depicted. I did feel that it was a little bit confusing to keep all of the art group members straight. They were all introduced at once in a quick scene in which everyone was interacting, and it made it difficult to keep them all sorted. That being said, the characters were very relatable, and the dialogue was realistic.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and I was kept guessing throughout the book as to the identity of the killer. The author is witty and intelligent, and this shows throughout the book.

Book Summary

When a body is found in a long abandoned winery, cheese shop owner Charlotte Bessette trades in her fondue fork for a flashlight to clear a friend’s niece of suspicion. But as Charlotte starts to turn up the truth, the killer starts turning up the heat.

Read an Excerpt

Lost And Fondue by Avery Aames

Lost And Fondue

by: Avery Aames

A Cheese Shop Mystery #2

Berkley
May 1, 2011
On Sale: May 3, 2011
Featuring: Meredith; Charlotte
336 pages
ISBN: 0425241580
EAN: 9780425241585
Kindle: B004Q7DQL8
Paperback / e-Book

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