MONSIEUR PAMPLEMOUSSE INVESTIGATES

by Michael Bond ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1990

A sluggish sixth outing for M. Pamplemousse and his four-legged sidekick, Pommes Frites, who now must uncover the saboteur out to destroy the reputation of Le Guide, France's leading dining directory. The first salvo: a newspaper obituary announcing the death of le Directeur. Next, piranhas appear in the lobby fountain. Then, Le Guide's latest restaurant ratings are deleted from the computer and spurious ones inserted to replace them just three days before the new edition is to be released. Meanwhile, Madame Grant, the chief accountant who resented the firm's recent computerization, disappears; a lumpy-figured man bearing a strong resemblance to her appears at the Guide offices after-hours; a luscious computer-expert advises Pamplemousse; Potatoes Frites tails a suspect; and Pamplemousse--for Clouseau-silly reasons--is forced to spend a third of the book in drag before he and his pet pooch remove, so to speak, the bugs from the menu. A tired narrative--enlivened only by Pommes Frites's tracking sortie. Even the author's attempts at a new liaison for Pamplemousse seem halfhearted, and surely, by now, a primer course in computer-workings is less than thrilling stuff.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1990

Categories: FICTION