Monsieur Pamplemousse & the Tangled Web

Monsieur Pamplemousse #18

by Michael Bond

Monsieur Pamplemousse and his trusty dog, Pommes Frites are called into Le Guide’s offices early one morning and presented with a string of Leclercq’s plaintive conundrums – all relating to his mobster uncle-in-law. These include a letter about a juicy steak turned brisket, a dead restaurant owner and a giant truffle delivered by post . With all these seemingly random problems at hand, Pamplemousse attempts to unravel each but it quickly proves impossible as they overlap and tangle at every turn – usually making him look the fool.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

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

[John Frankham]

A 2019 re-read confirms the 4*.

Another very enjoyable outing for Monsieur Pamplemousse. Was the giant truffle that Pommes Frites swallowed with disastrous consequences genuine or more sinister .....?

The GR blurb:

'A culinary mystery to tease your literary taste buds. Monsieur Pamplemousse and his trusty dog, Pommes Frites are called into Le Guide s offices early one morning and presented with a string of Leclercq's plaintive conundrums all relating to his mobster uncle-in-law. These include a letter about a juicy steak turned brisket, a dead restaurant owner, a giant truffle delivered by post and the imminent arrival of the vivacious Caterina to the Gare des Lyons. All of which Pamplemousse has been called upon to help. With all these seemingly random problems at hand, Pamplemousse attempts to unravel each in dilemma but it quickly proves impossible as they overlap and tangle at every turn usually making him look the fool. However, it becomes apparent that there is much more sinister going on and it doesn't seem to relate to Capa Nostra and Uncle Caputo at all."

[Pamela]

Quite a jolly little story with a case of mistaken identity, fraud, technological advances, and a giant truffle. These stories are a bit of a mixed bag, but I found this one enjoyable and entertaining. Probably because Pommes Frites, the bloodhound, has an important role to play, and because there was a lot of humour too. Bond throws in some interesting fragments of history, and the Parisian setting is always nicely done.

[Clare Coffey]

I thought that the book was very funny. Some of the stereotypes were a bit too implicit. Apart from that would recommend to family and friends.

[Yrinsyde]

2.5 stars. A quirky mystery - though the mystery is rather 'ramshakle' as another reviewer put it. I'm not a dog lover but the presence of dogs in this story didn't overwhelm. I liked the Parisian environment (though I prefer Simenon's Paris). My favourite character was Doucette, Pamplemousse's erstwhile wife.

[Donald]

The Guide is moving with the times and with it's annual publication will be launching an App, but a murder and a scam almost derail them both. Rather silly nonsense again, with rubber steaks, laxatives and vibrating phones...

[J Grimsey]

Quirky humour and good style and character. Good food and dog coverage but plot is a little ramshackle.

[John Hardy]

Rating 1.6. Weird characters and a very boring style of writing. Imagine a 250-page book where the words "Monsieur Pamplemousse" appear, on average, twice on every page. I didn't finish it.

[Katharina]

I was intrigued by the title, I thought it was going to be a fun mystery. But in the end, it was just silly. I didn't care about any of the characters nor what happened to the truffle. Or anything else in this book.

[Mira]

Full of conversation, exposition and very little action. I was looking forward to lots of good food descriptions but there weren't many of those either. Not much for me to enjoy. I found the book unsatisfying:(

[Giles Chanot]

A quirky, humorous, and incredibly silly mystery novel in the mould of Inspector Clouseau from Pink Panther.

[Stephanie]

The Monsieur Pamplemousse series is just delightful!