by Ian Moore
Death and Croissants is almost the precise opposite to Simenon. The similarities are that it is very French and written by an author not from France. Oh, and someone might be dead. But here the similarities end - Death and Croissants is light, totally unbelievable and great fun! Really not very Simenon.
I love the idea of living in France and have toyed with the idea of running a B&B in the past. So to be fair, I was predisposed to look favourably on this novel. And with the myriad accolades offered by a who’s who of British comedians and writers it can only mean that either this is a remarkable book or the author has a lot of very influential friends… Well, it turns out it might possibly be both.
I started reading this and then for one reason or another, stopped about a third of the way through to pick up something else. It was only then that I realised how much I was enjoying Death and Croissants – throughout the book for which I chose to set down Death and Croissants (which itself was very good), I couldn’t wait to get back it.
To be fair, and despite the accolades, the novel is not chockful of jokes, but it is quite good: gently humorous throughout and with a genuine and very entertaining mystery which holds up through the entire novel. But what makes it special is that there is such a feeling of lightness and warmth which really evokes the location in which it is set which makes it a real winner for me, particularly at this time of year, or if you just need a pick-me-up, as many of us currently do... Simenon can wait!
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