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"Witness by the Church" is Gini Anding's latest book starring food critic Amy Page and French investigator Jean-Michel Jolivet, passionate lovers living together in Paris. In each "Witness" novel, Amy is the key-yet unwitting-witness to a crime. Unlike most mystery novels starring a female lead, Amy isn't an amateur sleuth and never sets out to help the police. In "Witness by the Church," Amy doesn't realize she holds the key clue to a major crime, until she becomes the target of several botched assassination attempts. While Amy is the primary witness to the mystery at hand in each novel, she also serves as the reader's witness to certain cultural, historical, geographic and culinary particulars and events," Anding says. "Everything in my novels is meticulously researched and documented. A good read should be entertaining without sacrificing the facts."
Witness by the Church
Gini Anding
iUniverse (2007)
ISBN 9780595455027
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (2/08)
“Witness by the Church” is the fourth book in Gini Anding’s ‘Witness series.” It is the first one that I have read. She reintroduces the characters, so I had no problems stepping into the series. She just made me want to go back and read the other ones. The heroine, Amy Page is an American widow. She is newly living with her lover Jean-Michel Jolivet who has recently retired as an inspector.
After Amy begins experiencing too many mishaps, some of which are obviously intentional, Jean Michel becomes suspicious and starts investigating. This leads into other incredible mysteries that involve relics, lost treasures, an ancient church and tales of the Templars. Jean-Michel needs to find out who is endangering Amy’s life as quickly as possible to keep her safe. To him, she is the most important treasure.
“Witness by the Church” takes you to some wonderful places in Paris. Ms. Anding’s vivid descriptions bring everything to life, so much so that I felt like I was there. I love the romance between Amy and Jean-Michel. What would a mystery in Paris be without love? Amy is a very lively character. She makes everything an adventure. She is also a culinary expert, whose descriptions of food made my stomach growl. I also picked up some interesting trivia on the history of some foods. It was also fascinating to learn about the life of St. Louis and his church.
For a fun, romantic mystery, “Witness by the Church,” is the perfect pick. Romance reader groups will especially love it!
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