Monsieur Pamplemousse: The charming and witty crime caper

Monsieur Pamplemousse #1

by Michael Bond

Bond's charming food inspector and part time detective has a tricky task in sampling the appalling cuisine of the Hotel du Paradis. Tricky due to the fact that it's run by his Director's formidable aunt, and intriguing given the tales of the effect of the hotel's food on it's gues

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, France, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Dogs

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Dj · Rating 4 out of 5]

So having not had anything like a normal reading path as a child, it turns out I missed the books that this author is generally known for. Things like Paddington Bear and Olga de Polga. To date, I have never read either of these book series nor have I watched any movies in regards to them.

While Monsieur Pamplemousse is on the adult reading level. In some cases, the very adult level, although in this case more for the outrageous humor of it all than anything else it is still a wildly funny look at a Mystery. Monsieur Pamplemousse once of the Surete, now working as an investigative reporter for a French (maybe the world) renowned food magazine. With his trusty bloodhound he is inadvertently shoved into a mystery and the occasional threat to life all the while having to write up a review of the restaurant for the hotel he is staying at. The hijinks he gets into are enough to stretch the boundaries of suspending disbelief but it is a fun ride.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for adults and that is a treat. I ended reading the entire book aloud to my hubby as tears of laughter flowed down our faces. It had such a rapid pace going that I even forgot there was a crime.

The book was written from the perspective of Monsieur Pamplemousse, and Pommes Frittes, his beloved fellow foodie reviewer, whom happens to be a Blood Hound.

It is amazingly ribald, and witty. The food descriptions delectable, and the crimes abound! Inflatable dolls with a twist and policemen that are struggling...

I could go on but I do remind you it is an adult novel but not tasteless.

I shall find the others in the series. I feel I must in honor of my French Husband!

It is terrific oh, by the way, Michael Bond also pens "Paddington Bear" series.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

/Monsieur Pamplemousse: A Gastronomic Mystery/, Michael Bond (1926-2017), published 1983 in U.K., 1985 in U.S., 192 pages.

A farce. Crude adolescent male tripe. As little resemblance to Hercule Poirot (by Agatha Christie) as to Paddingon Bear (also by Michael Bond).

'Good boy!' [The dog] Pommes Frites stared suspiciously at the closed door for quite a long while. He was used to the various nuances in his master's voice, and the guilt-ridden tones of the last remark had not escaped him. It was the kind of voice Monsieur Pamplemousse usually reserved for Madame Pamplemousse on those occasions when he arrived home late without a reasonable excuse, reasonable in Madame Pamplemousse's eyes, that is … Part apologetic, part defiant, with a dash of apprehension mixed in for good measure. p. 77, chapter 4.

1928. Monsieur Aristide Pamplemousse born (age 55 in 1983).
Pamplemousse and bloodhound Pommes Frites were forced to take early retirement from the Sûreté. The two of them are a reviewing team for a restaurant guide.

Chapter 1. Monday Evening.
Chapter 2. Tuesday Morning.
Chapter 3. Tuesday Evening.
Chapter 4. Tuesday Night.
Chapter 5. Wednesday Morning.
Chapter 6. Wednesday Evening.
Chapter 7. Thursday Afternoon.
Chapter 8. Friday Morning.
Chapter 9. Friday Afternoon.
Chapter 10. Saturday.

[Jae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightweight French farce. The Clouseauesque Monsieur Pamplemousse and his trusty hound Pommes Frites solve a silly case. Pleasant enough if you're just looking for something short and easy.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5 stars for the interesting bloodhound, Pommes Frittes, who assists Monsieur Pamplemousse with his restaurant/food critic evaluations. While eating in one of his favorite restaurants on the job he inadvertently gets involved in a scheme that seems to involve him being a target. It is a comedy of errors. Unfortunately, most of the comedy fell flat for me. Pleasant enough read, the dog saved the day for me.

[John Frankham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't laughed so much at a book since reading The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin. Also reminiscent of Tom Sharpe. This is the first of the Pamplemousse series about a French food guide inspector, Monsieur Pamplemousse, and his dog Pommefrites as they stumble across crime - in this case murder attempts on Pamplemousse as he insisted on dining at his usual seat, previously chosen to be the site of an assassination. Fake wooden legs, blow up dolls, promiscuous restaurateurs, and miracles abound. I hope no children read this thinking it's a Mr Men book!

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to review this. This is one of the nuttiest books I've ever read. Mainly it's absurd in a cute way. It's occasionally funny. It makes sense now as I write this seeing that the author was the creator of Paddington Bear. I guess this is for adult dog-loving francophiles who are very young at heart.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A (very much) adult book by the author of Paddington Bear. This book is light and quirky (a dog named Pommes Frites helps narrate the story - an extra star is given for him). This book would translate easily into a Wes Anderson movie.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

First in a series by the author of Paddington Bear. Pamplemousse is a food critic who, along with his bloodhound, Pommes Frites, encounters various mysteries that need resolution. Sometimes hysterically funny, sometimes a bit raunchy, always a delight.

[Jazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars | Pure joy! Another series I waited far too long to begin. Better known for writing the Paddington Bear children's books, Michael Bond (1926–2017) also wrote a series of adult mysteries, and I do mean adult. Not offensive, just be prepared for some bawdy and, at times, slapstick humor. I found myself laughing throughout at the antics of restaurant reviewer Monsieur Pamplemousse (translated, grapefruit) and his loyal bloodhound Pomme Frites (French Fries). In his first case he is preparing to award one of his favorite restaurants the ultimate "Third Stockpot" in Le Guide, when the chef brings out the main course—revealed to everyone's shock when uncovered to be a horribly accurate model of a human head on a platter. I never minded that the mystery was overshadowed by the humor, because it was such a fun read. I will certainly be reading the other novels in this hilarious series, but like a food connoisseur, I imagine these are best read in moderation, sprinkled among other books and not all at once.

[Susan Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting, a little odd for me. I think I’ll stay with Paddington.

[Austen to Zafón · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read Paddington, these books will really surprise you. Michael Bond, the author of the wildly successful Paddington series write a series that's definitely for grown-ups, although it still has some of the same kind of physical comedy that's so funny in Paddington. M. Pamplemousse (grapefruit) takes his dog Pommes Frites (french fries) to French restaurants to critique the food. But somehow, wherever he goes, there's a mystery to be solved. For me, finding these books was as pleasurable as finding the essays, satires, and plays of A. A. Milne. I wouldn't say that Bond is on the level of Milne as a writer, but I did enjoy these stories.

[Kristen Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, there were some hilarious bits, but I wouldn't recommend it. My husband picked it up at a library sale, noting that it was by he who penned Paddington and a culinary mystery, so I gave it the once-over, which is all it deserved. Some illicit midnight meetings (of the Pink Panther level) and I admit--I laughed until I cried. The mystery--someone put it: a by-product of the writing. I don't remember the ending or the plot, frankly. The cuisine and a dog called Pommes Frites--ah, well, if you must indulge, here is a strange dish for a long summer day with nothing else to do.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, a mystery that is partially told from a dog's point of view should be over-the-top twee, but Pamplemousse and his canine partner Pommes Frite are completely charming. Bond injects the right amount of darkness and danger into the story to keep you turning the pages, but Pommes Frites adds a level of whimsy that makes this a unique story. Probably not for every taste, but worth a try.

[Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly, poking gentle fun at mysteries, food critics and the French in general. These books are somewhat dated, but still entertaining and well-written by Michael Bond, the man who gave the world Paddington Bear.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful series. I had read them all but the first. Found it at great used book store in Rolla, MO. Great treat!

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: our sleuth and his dog Pommes Frites await the delicacy of the house but then the unexpected happens.

[JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Monsieur Pamplemousse is an ex-police officer who has found a new career as a restaurant reviewer. While on an annual holiday to the Hotel La Langoustine, he is also combining business by deciding whether they deserve the coveted third Stock Pot. While there, he sees an unusual couple, a striking blonde with a young man with claws for hands, and they aren't very nice to each other.

The woman is extremely upset that Pamplemousse won't give up his usual table to her, but he stands firm. When he is served the chef's special dish, he doesn't expect that a man's head will be inside - not a real head, it is discovered, but a very good facsimile. Now he wonders if someone is sending him a message, and why.

But to make things worse, the co-owner of the hotel, Madame Sophie, has set her sights on Pamplemousse as a sexual conquest. Not wanting to receive her advances, he must find a way to put her off without offending her. But there are also the series of small accidents - starting with someone who has cut through his balcony railing which could have killed him under the right circumstances. So if he doesn't discover what's going on and soon, he may have to put an end to a delightfully delicious career...

Well, I really wanted to like this book. I love mysteries, and while I've never read anything by this author before, I did have hopes. But then again, one does usually think that when a book is labeled a mystery, there will be a dead body or two somewhere along the line. In this instance, I was disappointed. There is none. There is not only no dead body, there is not much a mystery, either.

This book, it appears to me, was written to be some sort of farce of something - I haven't quite decided which - either of the mystery genre or something sexual. For one thing, I don't understand why Madame Sophie can't tell the difference between a candlestick, plastic and a real person. Methinks she needs to see a physician along the line...

Anyway...what was supposed to be humorous along the lines of keeping her happy and keeping Pamplemousse faithful to his wife, there was an awful lot of pages devoted to this, and none of which I found remotely interesting. It would have been better if he had just explained to her that while he found her attractive, he would remain true to his Doucette. But no...

Then, I never really understood why he was the target of someone wanting him out of the way. He never asked questions; he never tried to find out who sent him the head. So why was someone trying to 'send him a message' or kill him? It didn't make any sense. The climactic scene regarding this, late in the book in a hospice, was completely off the wall. Perhaps if we were given to understand that he was interested in more than his palate or his dog, but we were not.

In the end, when everything is explained, it is neither remotely interesting nor worthy of being called a mystery. In fact, the only mystery I discovered was the fact that there are several more of these in the series, all of which I will happily skip - you should, too.

[John Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I asked for recommendations for Crime Fiction books set in the french countryside, someone suggested the series of which this is the first. I knew the name of M.Pamplemousse but little more but when I found out that he was a resturant critic, my literary mouth started watering.
I knew the author from his Paddington Bear books but I was a little surprised at just how much he had written. No less than 18 in the Pamplemousse series and 52 Paddington books as well as others.

At the beginning I enjoyed the story of the life of our hero, his visit to one of his favourite restaurants and the detail of dishes along the way. Perhaps I should have known better than to expect a serious character from someone called Mr Grapefruit and it wasnt long before he started to change to someone who could easily have been the twin brother of Inspector Clouseau, a similarity further enhanced by Pamplemousse having been head of the Sûreté until an unfortunate affair with 15 girls from a chorus line lead to his early retirement.

From this discovery the character deterioration seems to accelerate with Pamplemousse being unaware of several attempts on his life which he avoids in true 'Clouseauesque' fashion , scenes in a ladies toilets in the hotel and articles from "Poupées Fantastiques" that definitely wouldnt have appeared in the author's childrens books.

All this and the thoughts of the dog " Pommes Frites".

It was a pleasant enough read if you were looking for that sort of Comedy Francais. Unfortunately at this time, I wasnt.

[Timothy VanderWall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to get into this story, my first Monsieur Pamplemousse mystery. The concept sounded like much could be made of it -- an incognito food critic for a major European guide book, who was also recently retired from the Sûreté. Unfortunately, my expectations were far from fulfilled. The first time that the tale went inside the mind of Pamplemousse's blood hound, Pommes Frites, as if he were a fully-reasoning, intelligent individual, the story lost me. Aside from that, the humor was sophomoric and the mystery itself was unclear to me until well past the first half of the book. I actually had to force myself to read the last 25% of the book simply in order to find out how it all came together.
Unless someone can assure me that Mr. Bond just had a bad start with this first mystery (but that his writing greatly improves with the second one), I will not be reading another Monsieur Pamplemousse mystery.

[Rev. M. M. Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aristide Pamplemousse is a former French Surete detective who now works as an undercover inspector for Le Guide, a guidebook not unlike Le Guide Michelin or Gault-Millau. In this first outing of several, he and his bloodhound companion, Pommes Frites, are staying at one of their favourite hotels and restaurants. Things go terribly wrong when the specialty of the house is served, but instead of a chicken it contains what appears to be a boiled human head (it's made of plastic but the effect is somewhat shocking). The rest of the story concerns the (mis)adventures of Pamplemousse and Pommes Frites as they deal with attempted assassination, insurance fraud, the abduction of Mme Pamplemousse and a number of good meals.

Michael Bond is perhaps best known for being the creator of Paddington Bear; here he creates a character who not only knows his cuisine but has a lot of Inspector Clouseau in his DNA. The book is a good way to pass a lazy summer afternoon.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tripped over one of Mr. Bond's later books I believe at the library. When I realized it was a series, I decided to go back to the beginning and see how it all started. This is the 1st in a series of 15. I plan on reading them all. They are simple and easy reads, no sex or heavy violence, just a man and his dog.

The main characters Monsieur Pamplemousse and his canine companion Pomme Frites give me a giggle every time I translate their names in to American. Mr. Grapefruit and his dog french fry are a culinary delight. I read a lot of dark heavy mysteries, with this being so light and frivolous they make a great break in my day to day reading habits.

Sadly Mr. Bond died in 2017, once I'm finished with the series there will be no more. He is better known for his Paddington Bear series.

[Tabitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short answer: Not for me.

This book was recommended by Marlene. I like the concept of a mystery tied with food BUT I didn't enjoy the way the mystery was structured. It felt a little more like Matlock, in that, there wasn't a way for the reader to really know what was going on until the end. It was not something you could unravel with the character but rather, key information was withheld. Even the revelation of the mystery was awkward. This COULD be a more engaging book for those with a background in both French and English as some of the jokes were clearly conveyed within the French content. Further, I didn't like the tasteless and unnecessarily crude content. I finished it hoping I'd find the ending/completion of it satisfying. However, it convinced me I don't desire to read another from the series.

[Patricia Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decently good mystery, especially as it’s the first mystery novel by the author of Paddington! Witty and satirical, it’s clear Bond is going for a light Wodehousian type of humor, but he often just misses the mark. There was quite a bit of Mel Brooks-esque innuendo and sex humor that was entirely unnecessary. Especially since what I really wanted was more information about the dog—the wonderful and marvelous Pommes Frites—and the incredible food descriptions. Will read another just to see if he gets better at his craft with time and figures out what his audience really wants. But like I said, all-in-all a pretty good mystery.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing bit of fluff. I hadn’t realized that the author is actually better known for writing the Paddington Bear books (which I’ve never read). This one is not a children’s book. Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful dog Pommes Frites are both retired from the French Surete and now work undercover reviewing fine dining establishments. A mixup about a table reservation leads to further mixups, attempted murder and a bit of sex. It’s hard not to enjoy a book where a large dog is one of the main characters.

[Marcia Santulli senn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely, funny and entertaining mystery! Monsieur Pamplemousse and his canine friend, Pommes Frites are undercover culinary reviewers in France. Monsieur Pamplemousse is retired from the French police force, the Surete. I look forward to reading all of their adventures, if this first book is any indication of the fun and mysteries to be solved!

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 in the Monsieur Pamplemousse, inspector of food and detective extraordinaire,mystery series.

Retired from the Sûreté and now the lead reviewer for the main French travel guide, Pamplemousse's routine visit at a restaurant he has reviewed several times, turns into comedy highlight reel with attempts on his life as someone definitely wants him out of the way. His dog plays a prominent role.

[Eugene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too surprised that Michael Bond earned his reputation largely on the success of the Paddington Bear books - this too read as if it were pointed at a young audience. And while the humor here is sophomoric, at least the story itself was readable. Don’t think I’ll hunt for others in the series, but if I run across one on a bookshelf somewhere I’ll give it a look.

[Chris Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the casual style; this is like a Sunday afternoon detective drama, very easy going and enjoyable. Three main joy is the affable detective; the mystery was nothing mind blowing but certainly entertaining.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure silliness, which was a nice distraction.