Death of a master chef

Fans of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Ganache novels should revel in Bannalec's ninth Brittany Mystery, since, as in Penny's work, so much of it is devoted to exploring a delightful setting and exquisite food. In this installment, following The Body by the Sea (2023), Commissaire Georges Dupin of the region of Concarneau is sent north to Saint-Malo, the walled city so splendidly depicted in Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See (2014). Dupin is there to attend a police training seminar, but, of course, his interest lies more in exploring the city on the brink of the Atlantic, learning about its history, and indulging in its famous food. As Dupin enjoys samples at Saint-Malo's famous food market, he hears screams from a nearby stall. Arriving there, he finds a woman with a kitchen knife protruding from her chest. The victim of the attack is a well-known chef who operated a Michelin-starred restaurant. The police believe her sister, also a prominent chef, was the attacker. Somehow, Dupin manages to get on the case, using his skill at tying together seemingly unconnected observations from his interviews of everyone he encounters. More important to Brittany Mystery lovers, however, is the chance to follow Dupin around history- and eatery-rich Saint-Malo. A feast.

A seminar near Saint-Malo leads Commissaire Georges Dupin of Concarneau into one of the strangest investigations in his Breton police career. Although Dupin rarely finds seminars helpful in honing his investigative skills, the native Parisian, who's finally adjusted to life in remote southern Brittany, looks forward to a chance to study the customs--especially the foodways--in the north of his adopted province. The famed Marché de Saint-Servan, with its plentiful stalls of luscious local cheeses, seems like the ideal place to start until a ruckus midmarket reveals one woman stabbed to death and another fleeing from police. The victim, Blanche Trouin, is a celebrated local chef, and the escapee is her sister, Lucille, also a prominent chef and Blanche's bitter rival. Upon her arrest, Lucille refuses to talk. But while she's in investigative custody, Blanche's husband is also murdered. Normally, Commissaire Huppert of Saint-Malo would be charged with investigating Blanche's death, but a second murder prompts Dupin's boss, Prefect Locmariaquer, to form a team including Dupin and Dupin's seminar partner, Commissaire Gaston Nedellec, to handle the complex case. The "Britt Team" will embody what the seminar is designed to promote: cooperation among the different Breton departments. But solving a murder that Lucille Trouin must have committed coupled with a crime she couldn't possibly have committed is no easy task, and Dupin must stretch his wits to ensure that Finistère, his home department, holds up its end. Dazzling detection and equally fine cuisine. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.