Dine and Die on the Danube Express

by Peter King Narrated by David Baker

Overview

Aboard a vintage luxury train on a voyage through Eastern Europe, the gourmet detective encounters a thoroughly modern murder.



The Danube Express was once the most famous train on the continent. Linking east and west, it was the fastest route from the Alps to the Black Sea, until airplanes and automobiles made it obsolete. When a group of savvy investors revived it in the 1970s, it became an Express only in name. A five-star hotel on wheels, it is now a luxurious icon-and it's celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. Some of the most glamorous figures in the world have booked passage on this historic trip, and riding among them is London's gourmet detective, who has come to sample the Danube's famous cooking. But when a Hungarian actress disappears from the train, it turns out to be more than a publicity stunt. Soon it is clear that a killer lurks on the Danube Express, and plans on taking it all the way to the end of the line.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

King (Eat, Drink and Be Buried, etc.) delivers mixed results in the seventh outing for his Gourmet Detective, this time aboard a luxury train. The journey begins in Munich, winds its way through the Alps, with stops in Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia, the final destination being the Black Sea coast of Romania. The passengers sample the best of each locale's cuisine, while the Gourmet Detective observes the workings of the high-class excursion. Before long his reputation as an amateur sleuth, albeit one who's worked with the pros of Scotland Yard, gets him involved in the disappearance of a glamorous Hungarian actress. Has she been abducted from the train? Has she been murdered? Or is it some bizarre publicity stunt? Then a body turns up and things get even stranger. As the Gourmet Detective and the head of security work to stop the killer from striking again, the train moves forward more smoothly than the plot. An engaging travelogue and the good food, evoked in the attractive jacket art, compensate only partly for stilted prose and an unconvincing mystery that feels grafted on. Comparisons to Agatha Christie's classic Murder on the Orient Express are inevitable, but King's novel limps along a distant second. (June 2) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

During a cuisine tour aboard the fabled Danube Express, the Gourmet Detective finds that he must use his sleuthing abilities when a famous Hungarian actress disappears from the train. Fascinating food, characters, and intrigue. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Expecting merely another sybaritic gustatory experience as he boards the Danube Express for its 25th anniversary chug through eastern Europe, the Gourmet Detective (Roux the Day, 2002, etc.) has barely sampled the first night's seven-course dinner before security chief Karl Kramer needs his help: The most famous passenger, stage star Magda Malescu, is, according to a news flash in the Budapest Times, dead in her compartment. But where has her body gotten to? Why is the compartment permeated with the scent of bitter almonds? And how did the reporter hear about this almost before it happened? There's no shortage of suspects on board, two of them-Magda's understudy and a cynical journalista-soon murdered and a third-a wine connoisseur, working security for the wine growers' association, but also undercover for another unspecified party-nearly so. When Magda reappears, a flummoxed Kramer and G.D. are concerned that all this hullabaloo might be to distract their attention while the baggage car is relieved of a newly discovered Mozart manuscript or grape vines meant to improve the quality of Romanian vintages. The bodies are discreetly removed from the train; Magda's love life is scrutinized; more heavenly fare is consumed; and charming castles, chalets, cows, and country folk are glimpsed through the windows before the Gourmet Detective disembarks in Bucharest. Forget about the mystery, best described as detection lite, and concentrate on your cholesterol level, which will rise just from reading about the butter, cream, flour, crepes, ducks, goose, raspberry sauce, and apricot liqueur.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176110012
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Series:	Gourmet Detective Mysteries , #8
Edition description:	Unabridged

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