I actually read A Long Quiche Goodbye a while ago, but decided to re-read it before continuing on with the rest of the series. The Long Quiche Goodbye is the first of Avery Aames’ Cheese Shop Mysteries:

The other three books are, in order: Lost and Fondue, Clobbered by Camembert, and To Brie or not to Brie. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Summary:

Welcome to Providence, Ohio, home to Fromagerie Bessette and its proprietor, Charlotte Bessette. Exciting changes are afoot in the Cheese Shop (as Providence’s residents call the Fromagerie Bessette), including the addition of a wine annex and plans to sell gourmet goodies, artisanal breads, and gift items like olive wood-handled cheese knives from France. Unfortunately for Charlotte (and even more so for the victim), one of those beautiful knives ends up buried in someone’s chest not long after the last Travertine tile had been laid–and someone very near and dear to her is the prime suspect. Can Charlotte figure out the killer in time to save her beloved grandmother and The Cheese Shop?

Review:
The short version of my review: A Long Quiche Goodbye was as good a read the second time and I would highly recommend it to cozy fans. As I mentioned in a previous post, however, do not read this book on an empty stomach. Or if you don’t have any cheese in the house. It was all fun and games until I was reading on a Sunday morning and got to the part where Charlotte makes herself a breakfast of sourdough toast with Dalmatia fig spread with a thick slice of Perrin Haute-Savoie…and all I could do was stare sadly at my almost bare cheese drawer.

The Long Quiche Goodbye embodies cozy. Not only is the Cheese Shop cozy, but the town itself is cozy with an ice cream shop, a quilt shop, a Village Green–it’s the kind of place that makes me wish I lived in a small town.

I also love books where the setting becomes every bit a character as the people who inhabit its pages. I don’t think I’ll ever walk into another cheese shop and not expect it to look like Fromagerie Bessette the same way I expect every mystery bookstore to look like Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand, and every tea shop to look like Laura Childs’ Indigo Tea Shop.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was that even if Providence is a small town, there are enough suspects to keep you guessing. It’s not the kind of small town setting where you start with six suspects and three of them end up dead. There is also a good mix of long-time residents, newcomers, and visitors that keeps the novel from crossing from cozy into claustrophobic; I look forward to getting to know all the characters better as I read the subsequent books. Lastly, there is a nice surprise at the end that will make you want to read the next book ASAP.

I highly recommend A Long Quiche Goodbye, and look forward to Lost and Fondue.

On a related note, Avery Aames, writing under her real name Daryl Gerber Wood, is releasing Final Sentence, the first title in A Cookbook Nook series, in July. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy, and am very excited to start another series.

Happy reading! Let me know what you’ve been reading–I’m always on the lookout for more books to read and authors to meet!

P.S. As I promised last week, I have been noodling around with a new section of the blog that will include A Long Quiche Goodbye. I will talk about that in a separate post–I need to iron out a few glitches. Hope you’re having a good week and see you again soon!

P.P.S. If you’re new to the blog, check out my previous post where I write about having the pleasure of meeting Avery Aames and Rochelle Staab (of the Mind for Murder series) at a recent book signing.