Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
El Paso resident Carolyn Blue looks forward to accompanying her spouse when he attends a scientific research conference in New Orleans. Carolyn and Jason will meet three other couples who have been friends for a long time. She especially looks forward to seeing local resident Julienne Magnussen, who was her best friend for three years as children in Michigan.
The first dinner together turns ugly when Julienne and her husband Nils exchange acerbic remarks until she leaves the table. When she fails to return, Carolyn looks for her, but no one in the restaurant knows what happened to her. Nils says she went to her lover, but Carolyn cannot believe her old friend would desert her before dessert when they both looked forward to this week. Julienne fails to show up in the next few days. A worried Carolyn goes to the police, who refuse to accept a missing person's report except from Nils who does nothing about finding Julienne. Though a housewife for years and now a culinary author, Carolyn begins to look for Julienne not yet knowing that she can become the main course for a dangerous person.
CRIME BRULEE is an entertaining amateur sleuth tale that takes the reader on a mouth-watering tour of New Orleans. The story line is fun and allowed to slowly simmer before Carolyn embarks on her investigation. Readers will like the heroine and her spouse, as they are a nice couple. Nils comes across as too acrimonious, but the audience will still believe that Nancy Fairbanks provides a gourmet feast.