Murder on the Pilgrims Way
Pearl receives a surprise present from her mother, Dolly – an early summer break at a riverside manor house that has been recently transformed into an exclusive hotel – the newly named Villa Pellegrini.
Pellegrini – the Italian word for pilgrims – reflects the fact that the building lies on the old Pilgrims Way into Canterbury, and Pearl is looking forward to the break, not least because DCI Mike McGuire has been neglecting her due to his work. But when she discovers that she’s actually booked in for a cookery course from the Italian celebrity chef, Nico Caruso, she begins to think again . . .
Pearl doesn’t welcome instruction on cookery at the best of times, and certainly not from an arrogant chef like Caruso. She goes along, intent on challenging Caruso’s egotism – and a long tradition of men dominating gastronomy – but soon finds herself distracted, not only by her enchanting surroundings but by the disparate selection of guests.
She even begins to enjoy Caruso’s attentions – and his cookery – until one of the guests goes missing and it becomes clear that murder is on the menu.
ISBN: 9781472124920
Publication date: 06 April 2017
Page count: 304
Imprint: Constable
Reviews
Murder on the Pilgrims Way
What with running an up-market fish restaurant and a detective agency, Pearl Nolan has been overdoing it of late.
This is the opinion of her mother who, in a misguided fit of maternal generosity, arranges for the two of them to spend a sybaritic fortnight in a country hotel.
But there is a catch. The holiday turns out to be an extended cookery course run by an egotistical Italian chef who is anathema to Pearl. And if that is not bad enough, a murder is slotted into the programme.
Julie Wassmer holds to the classic crime tradition of focusing on a closed community of suspects. But within the formula she rings the changes with snippets of culinary expertise and insider knowledge of rural pursuits, making the sudden descent to violence all the more shocking. A tried-and-tested crime recipe with Whitstable flavours that makes for a Michelin-starred read.
Murder on the Pilgrims Way
Murder on the Pilgrims Way
With a couple of chefs at the heart of the mystery, it is only to be be expected that there is a wealth of culinary delights to whet the appetite of the reader, especially as the story is set in the Garden of England – wonderful terroir cooking! Italian dishes galore. Wines to imbibe… Even the wonderful Sportsman at Seasalter (a top tip by the way!) gets a look-in.
One thing… call me pedantic… I was just itching to put an apostrophe in the title of the book…
This is a delightful murder-cum-gastro mystery set in a beautiful part of England. Enjoy.
Murder on the Pilgrims Way
It with great pleasure that I get to open the blog tour for Murder On The Pilgrims Way, book four in the “Whitstable Pearl” series – following The Whitstable Pearl Mystery, Murder On Sea and May Day Murder. The series fits under the “cozy” umbrella, which while attracting some readers, can put off other, more serious-minded, mystery readers. Which is a real shame, as like some other series that have that label thrust upon them – Chef Maurice, for example – this is well worth your time.
Pearl and her retinue – mostly represented here by Dolly and MacGuire – are fine constructions, all of which have well-thought out backstories. Pearl is a single mother who, now that her son is at university, has returned to her original dream of crime investigation, and both her and McGuire are dealing with the fact that the road to romance – or wherever they are heading – has obstacles along the way, one of those being Nico himself. You can add in Whitstable itself as a character, I suppose, as certainly I’m becoming much more inclined to visit it since reading this series.
We are very much in the traditional set-up here, with a smallish group of suspects, all of whom have motive and opportunity. We gather the suspects for the finale and the solution is not a straightforward one, despite there being enough hints for the alert reader to put bits and pieces together.
It’s an easy, entertaining read, as are all of the other books in the series
Murder on the Pilgrims Way
Murder on the Pilgrims Way