Michael Bond 
Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests His Case 

Ever eager to expand the influence of France's leading gastronomic guidebook beyond her native shores, the Director of Le Guide has been cultivating a useful transatlantic connection in the form of a certain Mrs Van Dorman. Ex-parfumier, presently a publishing magnate and, in her spare time, a fan of private-eye novels, Mrs Van Dorman has deserted the relative safety of La Grande Pomme to accompany a group of crime writers to a recreation in Vichy of a banquet given by Alexandre Dumas before he started work on yet another sequel to The Three Musketeers. And who better to escort her than Monsieur Pamplemousse, Surete sleuth turned top-rank gourmet? Monsieur Pamplemousse himself could think of a number of more suitable candidates, especially when it becomes apparent that the assignment involves a grand entry dressed as d'Artagnan, mounted on an uncomfortably rampant black charger. But when cyanide turns out to be a surprise ingredient of the murder tour it is soon clear that Monsieur Pamplemousse – aided by the unerring nose of bloodhound Pommes Frites – is the only man for the job…

About the author

Michael Bond was born in Newbury in 1926. In 1958, his first children's book, A Bear Called Paddington was published. In 1983 he started writing adult fiction, with his first tale featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites. He sadly passed away in June 2017.