- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: H.B. Fenn & Company; First Edition edition (Mar 1 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1554702666
- ISBN-13: 978-1554702664
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 14.1 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #41,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Quill & Quire
With cooking shows proliferating on TV, and with the 2007 hit movie Ratatouille (about a rat that loves to cook), it was probably inevitable that someone would take a stab at creating the sort of character Kevin Sylvester cooks up in Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders.
The first book in a mystery series called the Flambé Capers, Marco Polo Murders finds 14-year-old prodigy chef Neil Flambé trying to figure out who is killing Vancouver’s master chefs with poisonous chai. A prologue informs readers about the theft of a diary written by Marco Polo that contains information about a rare, lethal spice. Flambé, nicknamed “The Nose,” has an astoundingly refined sense of smell, and simply by sniffing the chefs’ corpses, he identifies all the tea’s ingredients except for one, that strange spice.
Riffing on the cliché of chefs as impassioned geniuses, Sylvester constructs a farcical story out of this mystery. But at 300 pages, the book feels a tad long for the intended audience, especially since Sylvester works in simplistic, goofy jokes at every possible turn, constantly stalling the momentum.
The plot is further derailed when Neil finally gets his hands on a copy of Polo’s diary but elects, for no good reason other than that he is busy running a restaurant, to lock it in a safe rather than having it translated immediately. Hey, why solve the mystery too soon? In addition, Neil is meant to be a genius chef, but when he does cook, his master dish is simply shrimp sautéed with garlic, onions, salt, and pepper.
What Sylvester does do well is conceal his killer. There is a large cast of characters, and it’s not clear until the very end whodunnit.
While the idea of a sleuthing teen chef may seem like a great one, the dish Sylvester serves up is half-baked and missing a few ingredients.
Review
“Want to boost your circulation statistics? Buy this book. Want to boost your circulation statistics some more? Buy two copies of this book. However many copies you buy, within a year they will either be read to pieces or be as hard to find as Bill Barilko’s body. Sports Hall of Weird will entirely meet the expectations of its readers, who will mostly be sports-crazy kids, along with some cross-over readers from the Guinness Book of World Records camp. This is a book that needs no pitching?. It is pure entertainment.” Canadian Materials on The Sports Hall of Weird “?a great book to use to get children more interested in the weird side of the Olympics as well as for light reading.”?suite101.com on Gold Medal for Weird “?a fun book to read and to share.”?Canadian Materials on Gold Medal for Weird
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Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
good feedback,
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This review is from: Neil Flambe & the Marco Polo Murders (Hardcover)
From School Library Journal
'Neil Flambé is an interesting teen'a passionate chef, ignored son of a lawyer mom and an ad-executive dad, overwhelmed student, and the "Nose" to Inspector Nakamura, who relies heavily on him to help solve cases. When chefs across town turn up murdered, Neil sniffs some strange spices at the crime scenes, but he can't quite put his finger on what they are, which is unusual for him. When he stumbles upon a journal once owned by Marco Polo, he gives it to his cousin to transcribe. As the journal unfolds, it becomes more and more evident that the deaths are somehow tied to Marco Polo's long-ago journey to take a princess to her betrothed. Polo went to his grave with that secret, thinking no one would ever discover his terrible mistake. A romance between Isabella, the daughter of a chef, and Neil is a little mature for a 14-year-old but it probably won't bother middle school readers. This would be a great book-club choice. Participants could create the perfect seven-course meal as an accompaniment to discussing such an engaging and lively read.' Julie Shatterly, W.A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Praise for Neil Flambé 'Good Fun' ' Gordon Ramsay 'Amusing' Readers will wish they could sample his Pommes de terre a la Flambé' ' Publishers Weekly Recommended ' 'Makes the reader look forward to the next book in the series.' ' Canadian Children's Booknews **** Highly Recommended. 'A giggle from beginning to end' ' CM Magazine Recommended - 'Easily as entertaining as Ratatouille' - Canadian Living 'Super Cute' ' My Ever Expanding Library
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foodies will love this.,
By John Forte "Speaker40" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Neil Flambe & the Marco Polo Murders (Hardcover)
Entertaining and wonderfully clever. A great combination of a smart story wrapped around the cooking details that true foodies will relate to and celebrate. Great book for any age. Well done.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read,
By P. Roland - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Neil Flambe & the Marco Polo Murders (Hardcover)
From my nine year old son:
"Neil Flambe and the Marco Polo Murders is full of action, mystery and romance. You name it, this book has it. I would recommend it for anyone, especially picky eaters." 3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
good reviews for Neil Flambe,
By Kevin Sylvester "author/illustrator" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Neil Flambe & the Marco Polo Murders (Hardcover)
Praise for Neil Flambé
"'Good Fun"' -' Gordon Ramsay "'Amusing.' Readers will wish they could sample his Pommes de terre a la Flambé'." - ' Publishers Weekly "Terrific. Kids will love it." - CBC Radio "Recommended. ''Makes the reader look forward to the next book in the series.'" - ' Canadian Children's Booknews **** "Highly Recommended. 'A giggle from beginning to end'." -' CM Magazine "Recommended - 'Easily as entertaining as Ratatouille'." - Canadian Living '"Super Cute'." -' My Ever Expanding Library |
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