Book Review: In the Spirit of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge (An American in Paris Mystery #4)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Tabitha and the rest of the cast

Cons: Supernatural element slows down the start

The Bottom Line:

Supernatural

In historical series

Not my favorite

Nine Bluets Gathered for Dinner

While I will read many different cozy themes, I tend to avoid the paranormal books. Unfortunately, they sometimes sneak into series I normally enjoy. That’s the case with In the Spirit of French Murder, the fourth An American in Paris Mystery. 

The series is set in 1950, and it centers around Tabitha Knight, an American who has moved to Paris to live with her Grand-pere and his friend, two men that Tabithas has come to think of as her “messieurs.” Across the street just happens to be Julia Child, and the two women have become fast friends. Unfortunately, Tabitha has developed a reputation for finding dead bodies, but this latest case is going to hit very close to home. 

One March afternoon, Tabitha is returning home from Julia’s when she sees a strange woman leaving the house where Tabitha lives. It turns out that she is a medium, and her warning to Grand-pere has left him shaken. But the next night, when Tabitha’s messieurs are hosting a dinner for the seven other members of their old resistance network, the evening ends with a murder. Should Tabitha be taking the warning seriously?

Yes, this woman is a real medium. And if I weren’t already invested in the series, I probably would have set the book down when I realized that. But since I wanted to know what happens next to the characters, I kept reading. Since this is the first time the series has brought in that element, it felt out of character to me. 

Sadly, setting up the part of the story with the medium meant the main plot really got a slow start. While it did lead to a logical climax with some good twists along the way, I still felt the pacing was uneven. 

And I do have to comment on the timeline. Yep, it needed a polish. To be fair, I was reading an ARC, but there were references to the story taking place in early March, late March, and almost March. In that order. 

One thing I have liked about this series is the depiction of life during and just after World War II. Paris is a city still recovering, and I like being reminded that just because victory had been declared, there was still aftermath to deal with. Likewise, we see more about what it meant to live in Paris during the war. I found that history lesson fascinating. 

And, as I said, I needed to know what is going on with the characters. Fans will enjoy seeing just what happens next.  Do keep in mind that, while this is book four, and they’ve released over the course of four years, it’s only been four months for the characters. 

Fans will be happy to spend more time with Tabitha and the rest. But I hope that we move away from the supernatural element introduced in In the Spirit of French Murder. 

Here are the rest of the An American in Paris Mysteries. 

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.