Murder Most Delicious

Someone with no taste seems like the last person who would enjoy Paris, but Olivia Beech has a good reason for a trip. She’s a master sommelier—a highly expert wine taster—whose sense of taste has been destroyed by COVID. Before this catastrophe, she was a rising star in the wine world, and, trying to maintain her New York Michelin-star-restaurant career using only her sense of smell and the help of a trusted coworker, she has kept her malady secret. But the problem was revealed and Olivia was humiliated, and now she’s trying for a job at a Paris bistro. There’s only one problem: her arrival sees the poisoning death of the chef who might hire her, and she’s the main suspect. Thus starts a delightful mystery set in a cozy Paris neighborhood that houses friends for decades. They have formed a quirky neighborhood watch and are determined to find the killer, bringing Olivia into their kindly fold. The clever storytelling and vibrant language that Postel-Vinay brings to the books that she writes as Danielle Trussoni are here on clear display, along with intriguing glimpses of the high-end wine and perfume worlds. Lovers of European-trip books and friends solving mysteries à la Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club will especially enjoy this whodunit.—Henrietta Thornton