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Carolyn Blue and her family jet to France. This sounds like an ideal vacation but a variety of mishaps occur early on. Lost or misplaced luggage was too bad and something that sometimes happens, but when a family traveler ends up in the luggage carousel, this should be a sign of what is to come. The Blues join with the rest of their tour group - 22 members total, comprised of many academics. Included are three individuals that are vying as finalists for the university dean position. Continual tension has you guessing who is behind some of the pranks and accidents that are occurring. The chapters are sprinkled with culinary commentaries and food reviews. Interesting table discussions ensue: some of which are mad cow disease when beef tartare is presented, chocolate and its history (my personal favorite), orange groves, French mayonnaise, French potatoes, bruschette and artichokes. The academic part of me reveled in the food and history facts. More, more, more! The author presented this just like an excellent hors d'oeuvre that is pleasant to the palate but not too filling. Was someone targeting one of the group or was it just bad luck? One of the professors seemed to consistently have his share of problems and he blamed nearly everyone. As if this was not enough, Carolyn's son, Chris, is being vamped by a hormonally enhanced 16-year-old girl. Then, again, maybe she is just naive. The adventures continue with one of the members suffering a broken bone. On the eighth day of the trip, the group was told the story of the English mastiff dogs and how long ago they protected a town. These dogs were penned and then released in the evening, curtailing any curfew breakers. When they currently saw the dogs, they did look ferocious but Carolyn's friend, Robbie, cozied with the present mastiff, having him drool on her rather than attack her. This was not the last we shall see of the mastiffs. Some of the members of the group leave due to all the hubbub and as I approached the ending of the story, not only did I find the recipe for duck a l'orange, I found that I had correctly guessed the assailant. Bon chance to you in your observations!
Reviewed by Rita Ratacheck, June 2002
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