Minced, Marinated, and Murdered by Noël Balen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A travelogue, foodie blog and mystery all in one! I received Minced, Marinated, and Murdered through via the publisher, Le French Book, in exchange for an honest review. I had been narrowing down my yearly vacation for 2018 and had been researching parts of France. Then I was asked to read and review Minced, Marinated, and Murdered which not only had me picturing a part of France I had never thought to visit but also served as reminded me how much I enjoy reading mysteries set in what sounds like an amazing part of the world.

Laure is a managing editor of a culinary magazine and travels a great deal to other regions where she interviews chefs, tastes their specialties and learns how each of the chefs creates their dishes. This time Laure and her photographer are visiting Lyon where she has planned to visit specific bouchons, or Lyonnaise type of restaurant, and take a culinary tour of the city and write about her experiences. Most of the restaurants were ones she had already been very familiar with and the book gave the sense that she spent a lot of time in Lyon as Laure appeared to know a lot about the history of the food, dishes, and chefs of the region. During her visit, three of the chefs are murdered and it is a very sad and tense time for the city as everyone waits to see if anyone else is killed and Laure and Paco seem to fall into the trail of the killer.

Minced, Marinated, and Murdered is the beginning of a new culinary series. A Gourmet Crimes Mystery by Noël Balen and Vanessa Barrot. I do not know if all of the books will be based in France but, this is a great start to a great mystery which also will be of great interest to travel and great food enthusiasts. The main characters of the story, Laure and Paco are very well described. As the book started I had to bring up a map of Lyon and follow as the book described the streets that followed the river. It reads like something a traveler can follow like a travel guide as they go from one restaurant to another. The history of the chefs in the region fit nicely in the book and would be a real treat for travelers that are looking for great food. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this new gourmet mystery world.