Bestselling author Ian Moore takes Richard Ainsworth, the middle-aged English hotelier of a Loire Valley Bed and Breakfast, his French bounty hunter friend, Valerie, her pampered pup Passepartout and we readers on a deliciously humorous romp of a mystery in Death and Fromage, the second in his Follet Valley Mystery series. 
 
Poor Richard is estranged from his wife, bored with his life and known to drown his sorrows in a glass while watching classic cinema, that is until a Michelin star restauranteur is killed and Richard and Valerie set off to find the murderer of more than one goat cheese-infused slaying victim.
 
While it’s mentioned several times that our protagonist resembles Downton Abbey’s Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), the voice I heard throughout was that of another put-upon man named Richard, who lets others navigate his life while he bounces along for the ride, portrayed by the late Clive Smith, husband to Hyacinth Bucket (Dame Patricia Routledge), who pronounces their surname Bouquet, in the British television classic Keeping Up Appearances. Imagining that poor Richard with hen poop on his shoulder had finally come into his own made this novel all the more satisfying for me.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed Death and Fromage, its sometimes laugh-out-loud humor that keep up the pace around every plot twist and turn, along with an amusing group of supporting characters and highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys a funny, light, cozy mystery. I look forward to reading the other installments in the series. I received this advanced reader copy of Death and Fromage from Poisoned Pen Press, courtesy of NetGalley.
 
Order online or purchase at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Seller’s Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.