Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier serves on the Paris, France police force. Local food critics are getting bumped off in a variety of clever ways and Capucine and her team have been called in to solve the murders. But they are continually thwarted by the archaic juges d'instruction who insists that all matters related to the murders be passed through his office. The murderer has a fetish which needs to be fed through successive murders yet has now gone quiet. How is Capucine going to force the murderers hand without drawing her food critic husband, Alexandre, into the fray?
This was an okay cozy mystery and took a fair amount of twists and turns. I found the coarse language unnecessary and distracting. The writing was not compelling and it wasn't until the last 50 pages that it got interesting but by then, I just wanted to be done with the book. ( )

Capucine faces a serial killer close to home–someone is killing food critics in restaurants as they make notes for their reviews. Her investigation is further complicated by an overzealous administrative judge who insists on inserting himself into the investigation to Capucine’s exclusion. With an upcoming, high-profile opening of the Eiffel Tower restaurant, Capucine must decide if she is willing to use Alexandre as bait or live with the danger of losing him later to the serial killer.
I like the foodie aspects of this series as well as the characters and their sometimes odd relationships. ( )

I received this book through Early Reviewers. I love cozy mysteries & foodie type fiction so this sounded right up my alley. Restaurant reviewers are being killed in Paris. The detective, or Commissaire, sent to investigate is Capucine Le Tellier, wife to a restaurant reviewer. Through him she knows many of people involved in the case, which is what gives this it's cozy feel. I liked or detested the characters as the plot required, they were well drawn & had their own personalities. None seemed flat or just thrown in for plot reasons. The story over all did have its ups and downs as far as believably and the author at time seemed to feel he should never use a 2 syllable word when a 5 syllable one was available. But unlike other books where those sorts of words are the norm, they seemed often out of place & jarring.
Overall it was a good read and would certainly read the next in the series. ( )

I received this book through Early Reviewers and expected to enjoy it, having read many cozy mysteries related to food in the past. The fact that the detective was French and the mystery set in France did not bother me as I enjoy the Fred Vargas mysteries very much which are also set in France. This book, however, was not nearly as enjoyable to read as Fred Vargas's Chief Inspector Adamsberg and his team. I found Killer Critique to be very difficult to get into. In fact, I started it and stopped reading it three times before I gave up. I found the writing annoying, as if the author seemed more intent on impressing readers with his own intelligence than in writing an enjoyable story. I didn't like that he used so many french words. I realize the book is set in France, and I usually don't mind some french being interjected, but I found it somewhat arrogant and annoying the way it was done in this book. It just felt unnecessary for English readers and made the story more confusing and hard to follow. The characters themselves were not likeable in the least and no matter how far into the book I read I never felt like I wanted to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. It just didn't hold my interest and I doubt I would ever read anything by this author again. There are too many fun and well written mysteries out there to bother slogging through a series that makes one feel like reading it is work. ( )

This book was very difficult to read. It does take place in Paris but I really didn't like the use of so many French words thrown around. It wasn't just the random word but partial conversations. I felt the need for a French-English dictionary to understand all that was being said. I read quite a bit and don't mind having to look up a definition once in awhile, but even the use of English words seemed aimed at the author showing off how intelligent he is. Add to this the fact that none of the characters were particularly like able and you just a mess. Capuchine is a detective, heading a department but wears designer clothes and has a model-like figure. We hear lots about her thighs as she wears a very short "frock." Really. This book was like watching a modern detective show on television where all of the female leads are tall, thin, wear spike heels and low-cut blouses. Not at all realistic. I have no identify to read any more by this author. ( )