The description of the book made me think it was right up my alley - Paris, food, mystery - yes!! However, I found the writing style to be a bit juvenile and while I enjoyed the characterization of Julia Child very much, Tabitha was beyond annoying.

Picture it: Paris 1949. The city is still recovering from the devastation of WWII. Julia Child and her husband Paul have recently moved to Paris due to his job with the diplomatic service. Once in Paris, Julia experiences the delights of French cuisine for the first time, and the rest is history. Shopping for ingredients for her latest culinary masterpiece at a local market, Julia encounters fellow American Tabitha Knight. Tabitha is half-French, so after the war, without many prospects at home in Detroit, she moves to France to stay with her grandfather. The two American ex-pats strike up a friendship and Julia attempts to help Tabitha with her cooking skills and her love life. Sharing a flat with Julia and Paul is Julia's sister Dort. Dort works in the theatre and often brings back her pals for long boozy evenings. One night, Tabitha leaves one of these parties at the same time as a young woman she just met, Thérèse. Tabitha only lives across the street, so she bids Thérèse farewell and leaves her to wait for a taxi. The next morning, Thérèse is found murdered in the stairwell of Julia's building. Even worse, the murder weapon turns out to be Julia's favorite chef's knife. This means that someone who attended the party that night must be the killer.

Handsome Inspector Merveille doesn't believe that Tabitha is telling him all she knows about the mysterious Thérèse, especially after a handwritten note containing Tabitha's name and address is found in the murdered woman's pocket. Tabitha's father is a policeman back in Detroit, and she grew up listening to his stories of crime investigation. She's also an avid reader of mystery novels, so it doesn't take much persuading from Julia to convince her to do some investigating on her own. Julia sometimes helps out in the sleuthing (and she definitely wants to hear all about it), but she spends most of the novel cooking up delicious concoctions that keep everyone occupied as Tabitha goes about Paris looking for clues. Julia also has her own mystery to solve: why does her mayonnaise only work on certain days? It's a puzzle . . .

The book is a wonderful love letter to the sights, sounds and smells of Paris. Even though it's a large city, Tabitha and Julia live in a small neighborhood where everyone knows everyone, and the gossip is gentle. Julia is forever gathering ingredients for delicious meals she makes whirling around in her kitchen like a tornado. The story is very cozy, featuring grandfather and his partner "Uncle Rafe" and their spoiled pets, Oscar Wilde the dog and Madame X the aloof black cat. I also enjoyed the plucky Tabitha, complete with her trusty Swiss army knife, who fearlessly takes on danger in pursuit of the truth.

Tabitha Knight moves to Paris after losing her job post-WW II. She lives with her French grandfather and an "uncle" across the street from the apartment building where Julia Child lives. They become best (fictional) friends, shopping at the market together, eating Julia's wonderful food-- and investigating a murder that takes place in Julia's building.

Tabitha does most of the unofficial detective work, egged on by Julia to help Inspector Merveille find the murderer. Tabitha, a master and crime fiction fan since she was a child, uses her knowledge from books to help sleuth out the criminals.

A fun story with food, humor, believable characters, and danger on top of the original murder. I felt it was a bit Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie meet Sherlock Holmes. A very enjoyable read that I received an Advanced Reader copy.

I am getting hooked in mysteries. this was a good one. I really liked the thrill of the book and liked it. I will read more of mysteries.

What a clever idea and done so very well. Readers who are foodies will be in heaven. Colleen channels Julia so very well, you can hear her on the page!

First off, I love that the title, Mastering the Art of French Murder, is a play on Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This cozy murder mystery spans over a few days in the dead of winter in post war Paris. Tabitha, a friend of Julia Child, is invited to her apartment one night for a party where Julia’s sister Dort, hopes to set her up with one of her theater friends. Tabitha has an okay time at the party and decides to leave before everyone else is ready. One of the friends, Therese, leaves at the same time as Tabitha, but has to wait for her ride outside as Tabitha walks home. The next day, Therese is found murdered outside of Julia Child’s apartment. The book follows Tabitha as she tries to solve the mystery of who murdered Therese. (Much to the dismay of the French inspector…)

I very much enjoyed this mystery. As someone who has been fortunate to have traveled to Paris, I loved the setting and all of the French characters and dialogue. I learned a lot of new French words! I thought the character of Julia Child was perfect in this fictional setting. Having all of her cooking tidbits throughout the novel was a lot of fun!

This first installment in a fun new series featuring Julia Child’s friend and neighbor as a sleuth was absolutely pitch perfect. Not only was Julia’s character portrayed exactly as I picture her, Tabitha was a breath of fresh air in her own right. And her grandfather and “uncle” were wonderfully written additions.

This had everything I love in historical mysteries: a well-plotted mystery, fantastic setting, right amount of historical detail, a likable sleuth, and fantastic side characters. Not to mention Julia Child and wonderful French cooking scenes!

This is one more series I will be anxiously awaiting the next installment of. Kudos to the author on a fantastic execution of a wonderful idea for a series. I would love to see recipes featured in future installments! Or some fun tie-ins with actual Julia Child recipes and photos.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

This new murder mystery (which I hope is intended to be a series) features the (fictional) American best friend and confidante of Julia Child. She and Julia solve a murder together in post World War II Paris. It's just about perfect! I look forward to recommending this to cozy mystery readers, but it is not strictly cozy -- the appeal will go across the board to mystery readers who want something lighter, with a touch of history.

How can you go wrong with Julia Child as a secondary character in a novel? This book is no exception. I would love to have Julia as my next door neighbor, bringing me delightful meals to eat. Tabitha Knight is half French and half American and has come to Paris to live with her grandfather and uncle. She is enamored with Paris and everything about the City of Lights. Then she finds a body in the cellar of Julia's building and recognizes her as someone she met at a Julie's apartment the night before. Here's her chance to prove she can solve a real crime and off Tabitha goes. Lots of suspects and a terrific plot. Hope this turns into a series.

Murder Most Horrid…
The first in a new series from the author of the fabulous Phyllida Bright Mysteries. This time set in post World War Two Paris and with a culinary twist. Our protagonist, Tabitha Knight, just happens to be the best friend of the acclaimed Julia Childs. A wonderfully well done picture is painted, steeped in atmosphere, and against this marvellous backdrop comes murder most horrid. With well crafted characters and a pacy narrative, this is a joy and the next is very much anticipated.

I wanted to love this so much. This combines so many of my favorite things, but unfortunately, the writing style and voice is not one I can stomach. DNF-ing at 10%.

The writing feels so unpolished. Information dumps abound without giving me a reason to care for this character, plot, or world. Honestly, that's the main reason that I'm not finishing this one. Paragraphs of information dumping about the character, history dumps about World War 2, information dumps on Paris at the time. In isolation, I could probably slog my way through them and chalk it up to a less-than-confident writer. But all together, they made the first chapter unbearable. I completely disengaged. The other reason I cannot find it in myself to finish this one is the main character. Tabitha's voice is immature to the point of cliche. Perhaps that's intentional, but it was such a turn-off in the first chapter or so, to the point that any enthusiasm I had was killed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

An easy to read murder mystery featuring the fictional best friend of Julia Child as the amateur detective. The main characters were very likeable and the added extra of a possible romance at the end was the icing on the cake!

A great fictional murder mystery that includes real life characters like Julia Childs - I love that idea. Great plot and storyline and the book moved effortlessly. A great read!

This is a charming mystery that imagines Julia Child in post-World War II Paris, helping to solve a murder that takes place in her apartment building. Told from the perspective of Juia's American friend Tab, the novel vividly describes life in Paris at the time and is populated by real-seeming characters in realistic situations. Tab and Julia are a formidable team, and I cannot wait to read the next installment in their adventures.

This is a complex mystery and intriguing reading about Paris post war. It is lovely the way it incorporates real characters into the narrative.

what an ICONIC title! this was great. thank you netgalley & to the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Kensington Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Another cozy mystery series with wonderful characters and a story that keeps you entertained and guessing.

Brilliant! I loved this book from page one. Colleen Cambridge has fantastic characters, I could literally hear Julia. Thank you for such an enjoyable book!

This is, hands down, one of the most delightful mysteries I’ve read in some time. While I’ve enjoyed Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright/Agatha Christie stories, I’ve found those characters a bit brittle. The characters here, Tabitha and her messieurs and neighbor Julia Child, are more down-to-earth and playful, which appeals to me.

The mystery is solidly crafted and blends a traditional whodunit murder with Cold War spies, The characters introduced in this series debut have great promise. Tabitha’s grandfather and uncle are fascinating and I hope to learn more about their exploits in books to come. They remind me of the uncles in Secondhand Lions.

Julia Child is portrayed in a very similar way to her public persona - bubbly and irreverent - but it is Tabitha who shows the greatest promise. She’s a smart, capable young woman who got a taste of independence and freedom as an airplane mechanic during WWII, and now chafes under the outdated restrictions placed in women in the 1950s. I’m expecting to see her really grow into her own independence, although I also expect to see a flirtation develop between Tabitha and the inspecteur, potentially crossing this over into the Romance genre.

Overall, a delicious, refreshing mystery from an author who has crossed the line from “new” to “noteworthy.”

Fans of Julia Child will get a tremendous kick out of this light murder mystery. Julia and her engaging American neighbor are caught up in a series of murders too close to home. The combination of sleuthingvand cooking is great fun. . . And, for me the culinary “ mayonnaise mystery” was much more important than the dead bodies.

I loved the characters in this light novel and hope they return for additional adventures.