Truffle Trouble: Death in the Village

Sophie Kiesser Mystery

by Curtis Bausse

Delicious? Oh, yes, truffles are to die for. Just one problem - they bring out the worst in people. When Sophie decides to test her private detective skills, she intends to take it gently. After all, what could be more harmless than looking for a dog? What she didn't imagine was coming across a strange stone construction in the forest, and finding more than she bargained for... Discover the fascinating world of truffles in this novel set in a beautiful Provençal village, its inhabitants faced with calamities of biblical proportions. Including a crime that Sophie sets out to solve with nothing more than her own audacity and a mischievous sense of humour.

Genres: Cozy Mystery

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2020

About the author

I grew up in Wales, was educated in England and have spent most of my life in France. I've been writing since the age of 10, when my first poem was sent to a competition by my English teacher. After moving to France, I ran a café-theatre till it got demolished, whereupon I scratched my head, wondering what to do next. Eventually I became a university lecturer, specialising in Second Language Acquisition, even though (apart, obviously, from French) I've spectacularly failed to learn any languages (I'm currently trying Dutch and can already say 'The turtle eats the sandwich', which is very encouraging). I spent two years in Mayotte, a tiny, unknown island in the Indian Ocean, which France bought for 1000 piastres in 1842. Magali Rousseau (my heroine) got into a lot of trouble there, but now, like me, she's back in Provence, where she jogs, paints, and catches murderers. You can find out more about us at curtisbaussebooks.com.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rookie PI looking for a stolen ‘truffle dog’ finds a bigger crime to tackle. She reminds me of a female Father Brown.

[Linda T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curtis Bausse delivers a delightful mix of cozy crime, quirky characters, and Provençal charm in Truffle Trouble: Death in the Village. This isn’t your average murder mystery, it’s more like Midsomer Murders meets Chocolat, with an amateur sleuth who’s as curious as she is unconventional.

Sophie, our reluctant detective, sets off on a simple quest to find a missing dog, but quickly finds herself knee-deep in rural secrets, eccentric villagers, and an ominous discovery in the woods. What begins as a harmless errand slowly unravels into a tangle of intrigue that Sophie can't resist.

Bausse's writing is infused with gentle wit, dry humour, and an unmistakable affection for the quirks of village life. His descriptions of the French countryside and the curious obsession with truffles are so vivid you can almost smell the earth. Sophie herself is a refreshing lead, not a hardened sleuth, but a sharp and slightly irreverent observer of the human condition.

There are moments where the pacing meanders particularly in the midsection and a few plot threads feel a bit conveniently tied, but the atmosphere and character depth more than make up for it. If you enjoy mysteries where the crime is less about gore and more about human folly, you'll feel right at home here.

[Drasko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am in two minds about this book. Is this cozy mystery parody or try to "modernize" it. We have modern women in modern relationship (modern part) trying to solve crimes in cozy surrounding of picturesque villages in Provence (classic cozy). It is refreshing that cute cats, dogs and other (preferably) small animals, detective boyfriends/girlfriends, ex-army boyfriends etc. are thankfully omitted. As a replacement we get a bunch of characters which will fill psychiatric wing of average general hospital. Unfortunately good part of the book consists of Sophie's monologues which are tedious and boring. Attempts at humor are lame at the best. That mother of the toddler goes for a day or two without once missing her daughter and trying to contact her is strange. And all that from the women who lost her parents in late childhood and had a great psychological problems from that trauma. The end is totally unbelievable as not Sophie and even less psychopathic gendarme will ever be able to pin any crime on culprit who conveniently confesses to all out of the blue. Disappointing!

[Kate Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie has a lighthearted and witty approach to life and her problem solving method is unique. I very much enjoyed the offbeat way this is written.

[Phyllis Cohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truffle Trouble

I found this book very confusing I persevered to the end, but I really did not enjoy reading this book.

[Lisbet Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable mystery revolving around a missing truffle dog and then a murder happens. The story just flows down the pages and are an absolute delight to read.

[Rigby Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truffle Trouble, by Curtis Bausse.

With succinct and amusing descriptions of place and person, Curtis Bausse takes us on an entertaining ride to picture-postcard Provence, where Sophie, discontented with herself, her work, her husband and adorable little daughter, is prompted by a chat with her mother-in-law, Magali Rousseau, to try something new. Reluctantly supported by her long-suffering, but loving spouse, she takes off for a few days in search of a lost dog.
Having little idea of how a real Private Detective would go about the search, an imaginary conversation with Magali provides a snippet of wisdom—Don’t pretend to be what you're not; just accept that you're not what you're pretending to be. Imagining she is inconspicuous, Sophie listens to village gossip while indulging in what she calls random snooping. The results are hilarious, but the dog remains lost.
Having lost her way among forest tracks one evening, a chance encounter in a lonely stone hut results in a murder investigation. Permission to assist the local Gendarme to solve the case, is secured by unbuttoning her blouse.
Her investigations, inept as they are, are further hampered by the recalcitrance of moody locals whose distrust of each other is as tenacious as the jealous enmity between the mayors of the two neighbouring villages, each vying for personal glory and the tourist franc.
The grudges everyone seems to have against everyone else, so muddy the waters that Sophie is about to throw in the towel when…

Truffle Trouble is an amusing, charming, insightful, light-hearted tale of petty arguments, jealousies and deceit among a cast of decidedly oddball characters, including a paper parrot named Renate.

[Michele Bishop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sophie Kisser is the daughter-in-law of Magali Rousseau owner of a detective agency. Magali sends her to a small town to look for a missing truffle hunting dog. The dog's owner tells her that she needs to check out the area around a truffle farm, but to talk to the owner and get permission to use her land and wait to see if the dog's kidnappers bring him to hunt truffles late that night. She decides to walk around a bit, but loses her way in the dark. It begins to rain and she is unable to find her car. She finds a small cave and goes in out of the rain. She discovers a body and once she finds her car, goes to the local police and reports it. This begins a search for the killer as well as for the dog. There are the usual suspects for the killing. It is a humorous book and of course the killer is the one person not suspected.

I received this book free for my review of the same.

[Teresa Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author at my request and this is my honest opinion. This is a delightful new series. Sophie is determined to become a good detective, following in her mother-in-law's footsteps, and she is off to a great start. Sophie is determined, smart, and refreshingly funny. All of the characters she meets during her investigation are interesting in one way or another. There is plenty of action, and, of course, as a new detective, Sophie manages to get herself in a jam. The story provides several twists and turns and kept me guessing who the "bad guy" was up until the end. To paraphrase another reviewer, Who knew that searching for a "truffle dog" could be such an adventure! I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.

[Jutta Rawcliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story Magali's daughter-in-law, Sophie Kiesser, wants to get more out of her life and, therefore, goes in search of a stolen truffle hunting dog, a Lagatto Romagnolo. What starts out as a dog hunt quickly becomes a murder investigation. Magali fans will be happy to know she is present in the investigation in the form of imaginary conversations which Sophie has with her as well as appearing briefly later on. Sophie has a novel way of solving investigations. The ending is dramatic and although Sophie falls into danger as is common with detective novels, the denouement is original and refreshing. Although I personally prefer the Magali series, I know this book will be right up some people's allies. It is well worth the read!

[Janice Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder and truffles, what could be better? Sophie has decided to follow in Magali Rousseau’s footsteps and be a private investigator. Who knew finding a dog would be such a problem?
Sophie is a different kind of sleuth. She is trying to find her way and be independent and she is funny. The characters she meets along the way are all eccentric in one way or another.

The story kept me guessing at the murderer for most of the book. I enjoyed it. It's a lovely start to the series.

I received this book as an ARC and wished to leave a review.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle mystery, which is connected to the other mystery series written by this author. As usual, the books stand alone, so you don't need to have read any of the others, although you might find that you will want to do that!
I enjoyed the research put into this book, and if you have ever been interested in truffles, then you might enjoy this! The characters were well written, the plot mostly plausible, and the characterisation of rural France was written by somebody who understands it.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable, gentle but fascinating mystery, set in rural France and peopled by some thoroughly eccentric characters.
It is well written and has ties in to the author's Magali Rousseau series, but is lighter in tone.
If you love cozy mysteries set in an authentically French village setting, then this should be on your reading list.
I received an advance copy of this book, but have voluntarily written this honest review.

[Susan Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great start to a new series. It was fun to follow Sophie as she learned the ropes. I was sure I knew who committed the murder a few times, only to find out later that I was wrong. I am looking forward to more books in this series.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of the book. It is an easily read mystery with some interesting characters and some surprises.

[T Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written with a clear timeline and with great characters. Amusing, but with a little too much nonsense. There's also too much repetition of facts, but it's still an entertaining book.