Death and Croissants by Ian Moore – Review

Published: March 14, 2023

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Series: Follet Valley Mysteries #1

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 256 (Paperback)

My Rating: DNF @ 36%

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
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.

One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance.

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!

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It’s always a bit of a bummer to dislike a book enough that I end up DNF’ing it. For those uninitiated to the world of bookish acronyms, that’s Did Not Finish and unfortunately, I did not finish this book.

This is the story of an English fellow who doesn’t like mornings, breakfast, or people running a Bed & Breakfast in the Loire Valley in France. He’s neither particularly good looking nor particularly bright which becomes quite apparent when he finds that a guest is missing and has left a bloody handprint on the wall of their room. Rather than calling the police to investigate, he decides to go along with a particularly forceful (and suspicious) female guest and conduct their own haphazard investigation. This may sound charming. It is not. 

During the course of their research, they find the missing man has a twin brother who hates him, a police officer who seems less than interested in actually doing anything, and another pair of English Bed & Breakfast owners who are both swingers and nudists. I encountered all of this less than halfway through this sham of a mystery. I could have forgiven much if the characters were either clever or likable, but they didn’t manage either of those. Richard, the main character and proprietor is also a spineless, dithering man who seems like he wouldn’t do anything without compulsion. Valerie, the mysterious and demanding French woman with her tiny dog, was suspicious and pushy. 

Perhaps I was too hasty in quitting this book, but I sincerely doubt it as the average rating on Goodreads is a whopping 3.38. This was certainly not for me and I found no humor or enjoyment, only annoyance.