Rating: 
Summary: an enjoyable read
Review: I enjoyed not knowing until the end what had happened to Julienne and think that the clues were fairly scattered among the recipes. I'm looking forward to the next entry on the menu!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Food, Good Fun
Review: I enjoyed this book. I think it's rare to see such emphasis on the emotional effect of a missing person believed to be murdered. I love Carolyn, and her love of food, of friendship. Her supportive husband was very believable. Not everyone in a mystery book needs to be nasty.
Rating:
Summary: Great Food, Good Fun
Review: I really enjoyed the descriptions of some of the sights to see in New Orleans and I enjoyed reading about all of the restaurants and food. However, The mystery was very weak. There were few viable suspects. I am never able to figure out who committed the crime when I read murder mysteries before it is revealed in the story. In this book, I figured out who committed the crime long before the end of the book. The main character is very pleasant, but seems not to be too bright.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Food; Bad Mystery
Review: I really enjoyed the descriptions of some of the sights to see in New Orleans and I enjoyed reading about all of the restaurants and food. However, The mystery was very weak. There were few viable suspects. I am never able to figure out who committed the crime when I read murder mysteries before it is revealed in the story. In this book, I figured out who committed the crime long before the end of the book. The main character is very pleasant, but seems not to be too bright.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, Wise, Mystery
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Crime Brulee, have tried most of the recipes and loved going to all the wonderful New Orlean places with Carolyn Blue and her husband Jason. I too am tired of cooking and have reached an age when I truly enjoy a woman who dares to say, "No More." Ms Fairbanks humor is droll and entrancing at the same time. I can't wait for her next book. Another West Texas Reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Finished it, but wish I hadn't
Review: I was so disappointed in this book. Having visitied New Orleans and having an interest in the culinary world AND being an avid mystery fan, I thought it would be SO good!Using dialect when writing dialogue is one of the first no-nos of writing -- and now I see why. It's irritating and condescending. The thought of the Chief of Police in a city the size of New Orleans actually making an advance on a grieving friend WITH HUSH PUPPIES AND CRAWDADS is just ridiculous. If I lived in NO, I'd be furious! Having read the other reviews, mine is about the same as the other one star reviews, but I felt the need to add it to offset the four and five star reviews -- some of which I suspect may have been written by friends of the author, who is a resident of El Paso.
Rating:
Summary: Crime brulee is burnt
Review: Nancy Fairbanks may be a successful romance writer, however she is no mystery writer: her characters are contrived, the plot is non-existant, and there is no mystery. Worst yet are her "amusing" attempts at New Orleans native speech patterns. Seldom have I prayed for the central character to be beaten, tied up and tossed into a bayou. Avoid this if you can.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: Seldom have there been so many varied reviews as there are for this one very nice, well-written book. The negative ones, had I read them before buying the book, could have put me off it--and that would have been my considerable loss. The word "literate" in a blurb written by author Earlene Fowler told me I would probably like it--and I did. Toward the end, the feats and foibles of the protagonist, Carolyn Blue, had me laughing out loud--something that usually happens only with Janet Evanovich's books. But this intrepid, but rather innocent, little lady, Mrs. Blue, got into enough trouble for Stepanie Plum and Amelia Peabody combined. The travelogue and food critique was a plus, and I certainly didn't feel that New Orleans had been maligned in any way. In fact, my appetite was whetted to go back and try some places I've missed. I thoroughly enjoyed this comic outing, and can't wait to buy the next two or three. Having just finished reading a couple of grim and gritty, down and dirty mysteries, this one was a welcomed change of pace. Face it--it's all in the taste at the time!
Rating: 
Summary: A delicious read
Review: Seldom have there been so many varied reviews as there are for this one very nice, well-written book. The negative ones, had I read them before buying the book, could have put me off it--and that would have been my considerable loss. The word "literate" in a blurb written by author Earlene Fowler told me I would probably like it--and I did. Toward the end, the feats and foibles of the protagonist, Carolyn Blue, had me laughing out loud--something that usually happens only with Janet Evanovich's books. But this intrepid, but rather innocent, little lady, Mrs. Blue, got into enough trouble for Stepanie Plum and Amelia Peabody combined. The travelogue and food critique was a plus, and I certainly didn't feel that New Orleans had been maligned in any way. In fact, my appetite was whetted to go back and try some places I've missed. I thoroughly enjoyed this comic outing, and can't wait to buy the next two or three. Having just finished reading a couple of grim and gritty, down and dirty mysteries, this one was a welcomed change of pace. Face it--it's all in the taste at the time!
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing and painful read
Review: This author is a delight. Her heroine, the setting, the charm with which she describes her characters and their environment are unparallel. You know and like these people, you want to go to all the wonderful restaurants and enjoy an evening with these people, you even get a kick out of the police lieutenant making a pass at Carolyn, the only thing missing is the mystery. It was an afterthought?
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