This is the second in Daryl Wood Gerber’s bistro series and while it can be read as a standalone, it does help to have the context from the first book. The setting is the Napa Valley and centers around Mimi’s bistro. While many of the characters were well-developed, the book seemed to drag and did not hold my attention. I liked the first book in the series much more.

Mimi Rousseau, owner of Bistro and Maison Rousseau, is ready for Crush Week and the Sweet Treats Festival that is being held on the premises. Chef Camille’s sister, Renee, is managing the event with an iron fist. But, when she’s found murdered, can Mimi find the culprit before the Festival becomes a disaster?
This was a wonderfully woven mystery with great suspects drawn from unique characters. Once I thought I knew who did it, I was surprised by a new twist in the plot. The ending was very satisfying. I can’t wait to read another book from this great series. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

This is the second book in the series. A great premise with all the ingredients of a solid cozy mystery.

Tourists flock to town every year for Crush Week – when the vintners press grapes into wine – but this year, there's the added attraction of the Sweet Treats Festival. The festival, organized by Chef C's sister, is being held on the grounds of Maison Rousseau. So when a body is discovered late one night, in order to clear the name of her business and her chef, Mimi feels obligated to investigate.

This is the second book in this series, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first one. I would love to spend time in Nouvelle Vie and enjoy a meal or two at Mimi's Bistro. I like the way the character relationships are developing, and the way we learned more about the main characters in this book. I'm not a fan of the inconsistent use of the French names of the dishes at the Bistro – sometimes the French names are used, sometimes the English names are used – but even more annoying is when the French names are used and not translated or explained. I'm hoping this will be addressed in the next book, which I'm looking forward to reading.

Mimi has recovered from the previous happenings at the Bistro and both the Bistro and Maison Rousseau are doing well, bookings are up and part of the grounds are being used for a Sweet Treats Festival, with some of the proceeds going towards helping education.  Chef Camille's sister (Renee) is in charge of the festival, and she is so determined to make a good show of it that she is upsetting people left, right and centre, including Chef C, Renee's husband, and the previous organiser of the festival.  Everything seemed to be going okay though until Chef C arrives home late at night to find Renee dead in the kitchen, now she is in the cross hairs as a suspect and Mimi needs to prove her innocent.

Oh and things are heating up between Mimi and Nash, no thanks to Nash's ex wife!

This is the second book in the French Bistro Mystery series. The first book was outstanding and this one is equally good. They are set in Napa wine country, and I can see my self there when I read them.

Mimi is celebrating Crush week and knows it will bring in lots of business for the bistro. Her Chef, Camille, is surprised when her sister Renee comes to town to run the Sweet Treats festival. When Renee is murdered, Mimi steps in to investigate and clear Camille.

I loved the plot and the characters. The recipes from the first book were excellent and the ones from this book sounded just as good.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is book #2 in the French Bistro series and is even better than the 1st book! Mimi is the owner of Bistro Rousseau and Maison Rousseau Inn. Crush Week is a week long festival celebrating grapes which is a big part of Napa Valley. Mimi is sponsoring the Sweet Treats Festival with lots of coordinators, vendors and people.
Renee, the sister of Chef Camille, is murdered. There are lots of suspects so Mimi and her friends set out to find Renee's killer. This book has everything a cozy mystery fan likes - interesting likeable characters, an intriguing mystery, friendship, and some romance! It is not an intense or graphic mystery. Very enjoyable!

I am really enjoying this series. I'm looking forward to the next! Main character is smart with all aspects in her life. I like that. Some lead female characters in other cozy mysteries seem to be clueless in at least one aspect of their life. This main female character is smart, but nice too. Someone you'd like to 'be around.' Which is nice since you do get to know the characters in series books.

This is a good second book. HOWEVER, I really dislike how the author name drops other cozy authors in her books. It’s a bit pandering, IMO.

"A Soufflé of Suspicion" is the second book about Mimi Rousseau, a woman who owns her own bistro. Her life is disturbed again by a murder and while she herself is not the suspect this time, one of her employees and friends is, so Mimi is once more trying to solve a crime.

I liked that the author found a good reason to involve her protagonist in investigations a second time since I was a bit unsure about how she was going to do that after reading "A Deadly Éclair". Because the series is tied to the bistro, the setting is limited and I am interested to see what will happen in the next few books, but Mimi's involvement in the proceedings certainly made sense in this one. The case itself was intriguing; there were many possible theories and most of the people involved had a plausible motive and the opportunity. Therefore, it was not easy to get to the truth. I was trying to guess who the killer could be the whole time and I appreciated that you had to keep guessing until the end since the author had a lot of strong suspects. The false leads were convincing and every time the protagonist uncovered a new piece of evidence, she had to question herself and what she had previously believed to be the truth. I liked that, even more so because the conflict between believing in her friend and trying to be objective was nicely written.

While I enjoyed the book, there were some points that bothered me a bit. With the first book, I had criticised that Mimi sometimes got information too easily and that the sheriff did not play much of a role. That is sadly the case once again, even though I have to say that the sheriff seemed to be more important in this book, which I liked. It is also important to note that the witnesses do sometimes react angrily when she more or less accuses them of being guilty and not everyone is willing to tell her everything. Still, there were times when they just volunteered a lot of information. It's a small point and easily overlooked, but nonetheless worth a mention. Because of these two points, I'd rate the book 3.5 stars.

In this second book of the series Mimi and both her businesses are thriving and the future looks bright. Her Chefs sister, Renee, has left her husband and come to town where she is setting up the Sweet Treats Festival at Mimi's Inn. Mimi decides to go meet Renee and finds out that she is a headstrong women who likes to be in charge. When Mimi receives a phone call at night from Chef C saying her sister is dead she goes to comfort her and see what she can do to help. Mimi realizes that Renee has been murdered, but who would have wanted to kill her and why? The police think it was her sister, upset that Renee was edging in on her man, but Mimi just doesn't see it. Follow along as Mimi starts her own investigation hoping that she can clear Chef C's name. While looking into the murder Mimi learns that there were several people who had issues with Renee, her soon to be ex-husband, the lady she bought the rights to the festival from, a local woman to name a few but did any of them have reason to kill her? The author delivers a fun whodunit that will have you looking for the killer in many directions the whole way through. The characters are well written and the scenic setting is a delight to imagine, and don't forget about the wonderful recipes that she includes at the end (I look forward to trying many). I can't wait to see what happens next!!!

A Souffle of Suspicion is the second installment in the A French Bistro Mystery series set in Nouvelle Vie, California featuring Chef and B&B owner, Mimi Rousseau. The small Napa Valley town is bustling - it's Crush Week for the wineries and Mimi has also agreed to host the Sweets Treat Festival, a delicious event featuring cakes, pastries, souffles with bake off competitions, on the grounds of the Bistro and B&B.

Bistro Head Chef Camille's sister Renee is the Festival organizer and while things seem to be running smoothly on the surface, she's ruffled a few feathers behind the scenes including those of her sister. Renee has recently left her chicken farming husband, Rusty and Chef C thinks she's now got her sights set on Donovan Coleman, a younger and local baker that Camille has been dating. Allie O'Malley, the original Festival owner had sold the business to Renee with the understanding that she could buy the company back at any time and earn a percentage of the proceeds for any festivals that Renee organized, but Renee conveniently left that part of the agreement out of the contract when Allie signed the document, and now Allie is livid.

It's really no surprise when Renee turns up dead, the problem is that she's found in Chef C's kitchen. Dettermined to clear Camille's name, Mimi sets out to track down a killer.

A quick moving plot with plenty of suspects, the return of familiar characters including Mimi's best friend Jorianne "Jo" James and Nash Hawke, Mimi's hunky boyfriend. Mouthwatering recipes and lovable cats. A terrific addition to the series.

I received an advanced copy of A Souffle of Suspicion from NetGalley via Crooked Lane. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

I am always on the lookout for a new light mystery series, and I had high hopes for this one. But I am sad to say that at 60% in, I'm abandoning it. It just feels like the entire book is people saying to Mimi, "Tell Tyler about this." She's not really doing much that I can tell, and there doesn't seem to be any true investment in or reason for her to need to find Renee's killer.

Add to that a few little things that I found annoying (such as being home baking alone is not an alibi, and name-dropping other mystery authors/series is just weird and awkward), and I just decided to move on to other possibilities.

Great, fun, interesting read! It was very hard to put down this book! I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next! Also it’s a little spooky and suspenseful! It was great being back with Mimi and the other characters in the series. You don’t have to read the first one in order to enjoy this, but I recommend that book as well! Captivating characters and an intriguing mystery! Can’t wait to read the next in the series!

A delicious addition to the French Bistro Mystery series by Daryl Wood Gerber. Amidst all the eating, drinking, and merriment at Bistro Rousseau, Mimi’s head chef, Camille, has to face the tragic death of her sister, Renee. Evidence reveals there is a killer at large during Napa Valley’s Crush Week.

I enjoyed learning more about Mimi and the great cast of characters from book one as they continue in their work and personal lives. The lengths the perpetrator goes to stop anyone from finding out their identity keeps the story lively and intriguing. The author provides delicious-sounding recipes for readers to try.

I reviewed an ARC from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

In this second book of the French Bistro Mystery, Mimi is looking forward to all the tourists attending the Sweets Treat Festival, part of Crush Week in Nouvelle Vie. But when Renee, the festival's manager turns up dead, Mimi realizes she needs to help with the investigation. Especially since her own Chef C, Camille, is also Renee's sister. The action moves along at a nice pace, with several possible suspects and motives. I love the introduction of a new cat for Mimi (black!), as well as a possible changing relationship with Nash. I enjoyed the descriptions of the festival's activities and contests, as well as the delectable foods served at Mimi's Bistro...with these recipes included at the end of the story! Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book.

Cupcakes with a side dish of Red Herring Lutefisk

Spoiler-ific review

I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This Cozy Murder Mystery is of the Culinary subgenre- meaning it focuses on a main character who cooks. Additionally there are fourteen recipes included at the end of the book. This is the second book in a series, and I haven’t read the first one. As far as I’m concerned you can read this series out of order.

Chef Mimi is our amateur sleuth for this sweet and savory adventure through Napa Valley. She is a cat-loving small business woman, who owns and operates a small bistro. She gets wrangled into helping with a food festival by the woman Renee. Everything is going great with the festival: the guests are donating money to charities, Mimi’s business is booming and the souffle contest is the talk of the town. At least until the constantly bickering Renee turns up extremely dead in while making a souffle.

The plot was a Christie-esque adventure which reminded me of Diane Mott Davidson’s work. The police are left clueless when presented by an overabundance of potential killers. Renee’s husband wants to take over Renee's business. Renee and her sister have fought in the past (using chef’s cleavers!). Renee screwed over an old business partner, who potentially wants revenge. The list goes on. As the main character Mimi interviews witnesses and turns up clues, the killer targets her to prevent her from discovering the truth.

I had a good time reading this and would read more in the series. But to give an unbiased review I’ll list some constructive criticism: none of the characters particularly stuck out to me except Renee, who was killed within pages of the book’s beginning, and Mimi’s assistant who lives with her head in the clouds. I would have liked for more of the characters to have some panache.

And now for the recipe reviews.

At the end of the book are several recipes. I made the Beef Bourguignon (aka Beef Stew with extra wine) and the Brochette D’Agneau a la Grecque (aka Greek Kebabs). Both were excellent.

The Beef Bourguignon in particular was perhaps the best beef stew I’ve ever had, and definitely the best I’ve ever made. I learned the trick of thickening the broth and enriching it by combining butter with corn starch from this book's recipe.

The Brochette D’Agneau wasn’t as good. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it plenty- however the sauce was a little too thin and watery to be used as a proper dipping sauce. I know it was supposed to be more of a marinade, but I was using a cut of meat which didn’t need to be marinated. It still made for a great meal (we had the lamb kebabs with some falafel), but after the high-note of the Bourguignon I was hoping for more.

Stay Sunny!

I love Daryl Wood Gerber's writing style. Her characters are rich and the descriptions helps you smell and taste the food and feel the excitement of Crush Week. The setting of the beautiful Nappa Valley makes this a delicious book to dive into. The mystery has twists and turns all through and makes you keep turning the page. I can't wait to try the recipes at the end of the book. I highly recommend this series and look forward to reading more.

I loved this book! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I hope the author writes tons of books within it because Mimi is my favorite sleuth!

** Full review to come closer to release **

I've read most of the books by this author & found them enjoyable. I was disappointed in this one however. Most of the book was centered around the business and food of the bistro that Mimi owns. Very little of the mystery was covered, mostly guessing about who the killer may be. No proof or evidence is discovered. Then at the very end Mimi suddenly guesses who it is & confronts her at a party and the killer confesses. This book has potential but really needs to work on the mystery. #ASouffleOfSuspicion #NetGalley