I knew I was going to enjoy this debut mystery from the first line - "Is there anything in this world quite as joyless as muesli?" As he later says, it reminded him of "discarded bird silage". Any book that has me wanting to share lines and has me giggling and laughing out loud is going to earn five stars from me. Encouraged by another of his guests, the enigmatic Valérie, Richard sets about investigating the disappearance. Before he knows it, he is faced with a world of nudist colonies and the Mafia. Its author, Ian Moore, is a stand-up comedian so as you’d expect, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this delightfully twisty ‘qui-dunnit’. Very minor spoilers: their very softly hinted at ‘will-they-won’t-they’ relationship is what kept me going so that I finished the book in three days, even though I was left a tiny bit disappointed with where Valérie and Richard’s dynamic seemed to be going. I’m sorry to be critical, but I just got fed up and gave up around half way through. It’s possible that I missed a comic masterpiece in the second half, but I doubt it somehow. Farrago do an excellent job in bringing us a lot of both new and neglected humorous writing, much of which I have enjoyed very much. This one, though, wasn’t for me. I loved the way Richard’s inherent Britishness was constantly at odds with the outrageousness of some of the other characters. I also found his film obsession and the many great movie references very endearing. It was really enjoyable to see Valerie teach Richard to find excitement in life again.

Richard is wonderfully English and the fact that this book is set in France amongst European people means that his innate Englishness really stands out. He would really much rather completely ignore the fact that a guest has left without paying and ruined an expensive piece of wallpaper with a bloodstain than find out what really happened. The English are known for being slightly awkward and hating to make a fuss, which is why Richard is reluctant to investigate the mystery himself. It’s only Valerie’s determination and intense curiosity that causes them to end up taking the case into their own hands. Middle-aged Englishman Richard Ainsworth runs a B&B in the Loire Valley, where nothing much ever happens and if he’s honest, he rather likes it that way. That is until a guest goes missing, leaving a bloody handprint on the wallpaper, firmly putting paid to the quiet life. I rather liked Richard’s attempts at stoicism, with his overblown yet understated (can you do both?) approach to all things. Death and Croissants is the first in Ian Moore's cosy mystery series featuring British expat Richard Ainsworth, the middle-aged proprietor of a chambre d'hôte (B&B) in the (fictional) Follet Valley - a "quiet corner" of the popular Loire Valley region in France.The highlight of Richard's day is feeding his hens, Lana Turner, Joan Crawford and Ava Gardner. He also enjoys watching old movies and drinking whiskey. This man loves his whiskey! And, the quiet life!

Moore's French whodunnit is an engaging caper through the Loire Valley with an expat reluctant hero mixed up with a Maigret-like rural cast, a glamorous heroine and a couple of Mafia killers. It is finely paced, truly funny and written with a wry detachment that conjures up a gentler age of murder mystery.' Charles Bremner Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that's the way he likes it. Death and Croissants is a far funnier book than a story about a bloody murder has any right to be’. Josh WiddicombeHe had seen hundreds of films where one man tails another, yet it was sadly, and very swiftly, clear to Richard that none of the finesse or techniques of such an enterprise had rubbed off on him.’ I’m afraid that, despite warm endorsements from a lot of comedians whom I like very much, I didn’t like Death And Croissants.