Roux Morgue
A
Mary Ryan Mystery
Claire M. Johnson
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-487-2 (1590584872)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-487-3 (1590584873)
Publication Date: April 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis
(from
the publisher): San Francisco
pastry chef Mary Ryan is
back at her old alma mater. Initially ecstatic to be teaching, Mary
finds herself trying to straddle both worlds, caught between her
original mentors and her contemporaries.
To make matters worse, Homicide Detective O’Connor
has enrolled as a student, claiming to be on disability from the San
Francisco Police Department.
In the middle of this turf war, Mary is confronted by the dean Robert
Benson. Mary must either force Coolie Martin to leave the school or
lose her job. Why would Coolie’s father, a member of the
Board of Directors, allow this to happen? But when faculty and staff
begin dying, Mary thinks that Coolie’s forced exit might only
be part of a larger, more sinister plot.
Acting on a hint from O’Connor, Mary contacts the only person
who can help her: nemesis Thom Woods. Will Mary and Thom uncover the
truth before another chef bakes his last pie?
Review:
Claire M. Johnson's second Mary Ryan mystery, Roux Morgue, has
the San Francisco pastry chef joining the faculty of the Ecole
d'Epicure (School of Cooking) and finding herself in the midst of all
sorts of mischief and mayhem.
A battle royale is raging at the school between the "old" chefs who
believe traditional European cooking should be taught, and the "new"
chefs who want to embrace of more inventive, modern, and healthy
methods of food preparation. If that weren't enough, the dean of the
school gives Mary an ultimatum regarding the status of a student, one
with which Mary not only doesn't understand, she doesn't agree. And
what is homicide detective O'Connor doing enrolled at the school? When
a student dies after eating shellfish (an item conspicuously missing
from the menu), it's assumed to be a tragic accident. But when another
death follows, suspicions are aroused. Is all this conflict connected
in some way, and if so, how?
Roux Morgue
is not a culinary mystery in the generic sense of the genre's
definition. The mystery happens to be set at a school of cooking, and
Mary is a pastry chef by profession, but there is very little in the
way of culinary arts going on here. Mary isn't the most pleasant of
characters, a sort of vulgar Nancy Drew. She seems to bounce from one
mystery to another (and there are several more not covered here) and
it's never quite clear how her involvement furthers the investigation
of any of them. There are attempts to inject humor into the story, to
lighten up the sometimes dour mood, but they generally fall flat.
Roux Morgue
is all the more disappointing since the elements (ingredients, if you
will) for a good mystery are all present. It's just that they never
come together.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Roux Morgue and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Beat Until Stiff
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-040-0 (1590580400)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-040-0 (1590580400)
Roux Morgue
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-487-2 (1590584872)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-487-3 (1590584873)
Omnimystery keywords for Roux Morgue ...
Location(s) referenced: San Francisco.