The Grave Gourmet

Book excerpt: From the Champs-Élysées to the twinkling banks of la Seine, chic Parisian policewoman Capucine LeTellier plunges into a uniquely Parisian affair of gastronomic delights and bureaucratic intrigue to close a case that could make her career--or kill it. . . After dining on such delicacies as oyster sorbet and avocado soufflé, Jean-Louis Delage, président of automotive giant Renault, has been found dead in the freezer of Le Diapason, a three-star restaurant owned by Chef Jean-Basille Labrousse, a renowned restaurateur extraordinaire. Capucine is uniquely suited to the case, as her husband Alexandre is a food critic well-connected to the culinary world. In between sharing sumptuous meals and fine wine with Alexandre at Paris' finest eateries, Capucine struggles to win the respect of her new squad of detectives and crack both the case and the guarded secrets of the restaurant staff. Praise for Alexander Campion's The Grave Gourmet "Full of amusing characters. . . Readers will want a second helping." --Publishers Weekly "A delicious mystery. . . a fun book with a very different flavor." --Carolyn Haines, author of the Bones Mysteries "An astonishing debut that raises the bar on today's detective novel." --Aram Saroyan, author of Door to the River "Saucy, spicy, tasty. . .ooh-la-la!" --Kate Collins