Monsieur Pamplemousse

Bond's charming food inspector and part time detective has a tricky task in sampling the appalling cuisine of the Hotel du Paradis. Tricky due to the fact that it's run by his Director's formidable aunt, and intriguing given the tales of the effect of the hotel's food on it's gues

Critic/sleuth Pamplemousse has a lot on his plate when he investigates a terrible and strangely popular hotel.

Monsieur Pamplemousse is looking forward to a well-earned break in the South of France courtesy of his employer - all he has to do is collect a piece of artwork for Le Guide's Director. But when his contact fails to show and a dismembered body is washed up outside the hotel, the holiday mood evaporates. As Pamplemousse struggles with the case (and with modern technology) his ever-faithful bloodhound Pommes Frites is on hand offering proof why, during his time with the Paris Sûreté, he was one of their top sniffer dogs.

The acclaimed creator of Paddington Bear dishes up a dastardly plot for Monsieur Pamplemousse and Pommes Frites to unravel. It isn't every day that a coffin explodes during a funeral ceremony. Barely escaping with his life, thanks to a warning howl from his faithful bloodhound Pommes Frites, Monsieur Pamplemousse can only wonder who was behind the explosion . . . and if they were also responsible for the demise of the coffin's inhabitant. But then another urgent matter comes to his attention: a terrorist group is planning to poison the food chain. Monsieur Pamplemousse, together with Pommes Frites and a rather strange ally, must spearhead an elite.

Madame Pamplemousse is the story of Madeleine, forced to work in her unpleasant uncle's horrible restaurant, The Squealing Pig. By chance she comes across the most marvellous shop, run by Madame Pamplemousse, which is quiet, discreet, yet full of delicious and otherworldly 'edibles' - Pterodactyl Bacon, Scorpion Tails in Smoked Garlic Oil, and Great Squid Tentacle in Jasmine-Scented Jelly. A quiet comradeship develops between Madeleine, Madame Pamplemousse, and Madame's cat, Camembert. And together they create some wonderful culinary magic. Exquisite, beautifully formed prose that has echoes of Angela Carter belies a narrative that is full of pace. A wonderful fairy tale that will appeal to both adults and children.

When Monsieur Pamplemousse got an urgent summons from the Director of Le Guide, he knew that there was trouble at the top. His faithful canine companion, Pommes Frites, noticed it too. But neither of them expected that the trouble would involve a nun who was in the habit of joining the Mile High Club or a full-scale smear campaign targeting Le Guide's credibility as France's première restaurant and hotel guide. Someone has been spreading worrying rumours among the staff and infiltrating the company files - awarding hotels prizes for bedbugs and praising egg and chips signature dishes. Even Pommes Frites has become a victim of the assault. It could all spell the ruin for Le Guide, but Pamplemousse is on the case.

The garlic-laden winds of change are blowing through the vineyards of Burgundy, and Monsieur Pamplemousse, along with his faithful companion Pommes Frites, will find skullduggery aplenty among the vines. Under threat from the increasing use of pesticides is the helix pomotia: the humble snail, the main ingredient for escargot Bourgignon. Meanwhile, on the Canal de Bourgogne, Monsieur Pamplemousse is lecturing a group of international wine buffs on the fruits of the region, a task from which he is distracted by a Marilyn Monroe look-alike. It turns out that skullduggery among the vines will be the least of Monsieur Pamplemousse's worries.

In Paris, there is a café, elegantly furnished with polished wooden tables and an awning of striped gold and green, whose walls are filled with vintage posters advertising drinks such as Green Fairy Liqueur, Mermaid Madeira and Red Devil Lemonade. And sitting on the bar is a large, silver, steam-powered espresso coffee machine.The café is owned by Monsieur Moutarde, and Monsieur Moutarde has made the most extraordinary discovery. With the help of his friend, Madame Pamplemousse, he has created a time-travel machine (for that is what the espresso coffee machine is). Very special, highly flavoured, intense ingredients are fed into the machine, where they are subatomically blended with quantum froth and space-time foam. The resulting liquid looks like a small black coffee but in fact transports the drinker through time and space. But this is a dangerous invention. For who knows what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands? Before long, Monsieur Moutarde, Madame Pamplemousse, her cat, Camembert, and her friend, Madeleine, are on the run through space and time to capture a T. rex's freshly caught drool and the tears of the rare sphinx - vital ingredients for a tonic that will both save them and revive the ailing spirit of Paris. A magical romp that will charm and delight.