Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm

Monsieur Pamplemousse #8

by Michael Bond

"One of crime's most entertaining sleuths." The Washington Post.
Le Guide's apprentice restaurant reviewer is quite a dish! Nevertheless, when Monsieur Pamplemousse is sent on the road with the saucy Elsie, he is not amused -- despite the fact that he finds her delectable. Their destination is the Hotel des Dunes on the Cote d'Argent, and even with the chaperonage of his canine confrere, Pommes Frites, Pamplemousse feels uneasy. Not only is Elsie a tease, but the hotel food is a disgrace and the other guests unappetizing. Then the owner/chef vanishes, and Pommes Frites digs up a bone that was never part of any four-legged animal . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, France

185 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Michael Bond, CBE was an English children's author. He was the creator of Paddington Bear and wrote about the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, as well as the animated BBC TV series The Herbs. Bond also wrote culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.

Reviews

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The seventh entry in the Monsieur Pamplemousse series. It had been quite a while since I read the earlier books in this series, but I quickly got back into characters and situations. Pamplemousse is a food critic for the French publication Le Guide (much superior to the upstart Guide Michelin) and also an ex-detective in the Surete. This time out, he is given a 'secret' mission by his boss to take a young English woman, who happens to be a great cook, on a reviewing situation in order to discredit her as a potential Inspector in the all-male ranks of the Inspectors for Le Guide. They go to an obscure hotel on the SW coast of France and then the adventures begin. Pamplemousse and his dog Pommes Frites have all sorts of misadventures in what rapidly becomes a much more complex story. The misadventures at times stretch the reader's credibly a bit too far in several instances, but the story develops rapidly, permitting the reader to get past those instances and get on with the story. A couple of murders are involved, and historical events also come into play.

[Sheuringd1988 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as humorous as other books in the series

This Pamplemousse edition was a little flat, compared to earlier and later books in the series. Though it has twists and turns, and what should be a funny misadventure for Aristides, the plot and humor felt forced. I do love Pommes Fritts and his reasoning skills though.

[Eugene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Piffle. Last of the editions still to be found as mass market paperbacks (used, of course!), and thus I have now read all of these plus the errant Goodwill Store discovery now & again, but I won’t be seeking any others. They’ve gotten more and more idiotic as Bond ran out the string writing these for an audience that craved them. Who that audience may have been it’s probably better not to know…

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average book given the series's high standards. Apart from a spectacular (and hilarious) misadventure on the part of M. Pamplemousse, the rest of the book is a bit monotonous. Pommes Frites does the job as always.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful

The predicaments our main characters get into. You have to read this to see. Lots of good laughs! One of my favorites so far in the series.

[Ian Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too long since read to review

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you require book reviews to be unbiased, stop reading this one now. I have never read a Monsieur Pamplemousse gastronomic mystery which I did not enjoy. In "Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm" (a quite intentional double entendre), the former detective of the SûretéLe Guide on a trip to the Cote d'Argent. That she is bosomy, flirty and young complicates an already complicated situation. The chef of the Hotel des Dunes disappears and Pamplemousse's faithful canine companion, Pommes Frites, digs up a bone that was apparently part of him. The case involves art treasures stolen and restolen during WWII. How did Pamplemousse end up on a nude beach wearing only his chapeau and a camera? What prompted to nude bathers to call the gendarmerie? Michael Bond is also the creator of Paddington Bear so the answers can't be too naughty.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I owned this book for about 13 years before I cracked the cover. It was a high school graduation gift from my AP European History teacher. Not that the book is particularly prurient or salacious, but in retrospect I would not have considered a book with this much innuendo to come from such a source. Why she thought I'd enjoy this is a little bit of a mystery to me in and of itself—while I'm a bit of a gastronome now, I wasn't much of one then (and the "gastronomic mystery" part of the title seems little more than a garnish); it's got some suggestive parts but nothing racy (certainly nothing that would have gotten my motor running during the high school/college era); I'm not a fan of mysteries, nor am I a Francophone.

None of this is to say that the book is... well, it is not bad. But it was just OK. A quick read with some entertaining moments.

[Nancy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hadn't read any of this series for years, enjoyed it in the past, and decided to pick it back up. I don't know if it was that I hadn't read it for a while or if I just got more discerning, but I didn't think this plot was very good. It was okay, and I like the French settings because they always bring back good memories of my trips to France, but this story just didn't seem to hang together quite right. There were transitions that weren't smooth, and a little too much having to 'suspend your disbelief.' All of that said, however, I will try a few more of these books to see if they are different/better.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

oops! a re-read, interesting slant on nude beach

[Lynn Palin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Monsier Pamplemousse and his dog, Pommes Frites!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

a wild romp. I wish more of these were available on audio.