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The Second-Worst Restaurant in France  By  cover art

The Second-Worst Restaurant in France

By: Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by: Timothy Ackroyd
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Publisher's summary

In a delightful sequel to the best-selling comedic novel My Italian Bulldozer, we are in a French village where the local restaurant's haute cuisine leaves a lot to be desired - and two books into an astounding ninth series from one of our most beloved authors.

Renowned cookbook writer Paul Stuart, renewed and refreshed from his time in Tuscany, has returned to Scotland to work on his new book, The Philosophy of Food in Six Easy Chapters. Writing, though, is complicated by Paul's changed domestic circumstances. His editor and new girlfriend, Gloria, has moved in with him despite not being specifically invited, and she's brought her two rather demanding Siamese cats. When Paul's cousin, Chloe, suggests Paul visit her in the French countryside, Paul jumps at the chance. However, once he arrives, he finds his fortunes tangled up with the infamous local restaurant that gives the book its title.

In this story about a man who prides himself on his taste finding delight in the most unexpected places, we have Alexander McCall Smith at his most witty and charming.

©2019 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2019 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about The Second-Worst Restaurant in France

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  • 03-18-20

Wonderful

I was definitely surprised by this book. I found it very engaging and was sad to have it end. I will definitely look for this author again. The performance was like listening to Sean Connery speak. And, what woman could resist that.

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2 people found this helpful

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Very funny!

Loved all the food and book references and quirky, mysterious Chloe with Paul as the straight man. Especially humorous was the pregnant waitress. The reading was well done.

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Delightful

Sweet story of humanity. A desire to live in a world of kindness-all of the time.

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6 people found this helpful

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Thoroughly enjoyable!

Great story and I love the way AMS writes dialogue and private thoughts of the main character, Paul. I will be listening to it more than once!

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  • Overall
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Loved it even more so than Bulldozer!

Loved the characters, performance, and I hope we see Chloe again! The tone and cadeance of book is wonderful.

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4 people found this helpful

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Great Show

I think hearing this was lots more fun than simply reading it would be. The narrator did an excellent job with the wide variety of accents. In this pandemic time I have started “listening myself to sleep”. It has helped me immensely. This was a simple enough story that I could always track myself back to the last line I remembered and easily catch up. Good book for these trying times.

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3 people found this helpful

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Marvelous

This series is magical. The characters are beguiling. I loved cousin Chole! The narration was outstanding.

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4 people found this helpful

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Another Good Read by Alexander McCall Smith

Another entertaining and well written adventure with Alexander McCall Smith. Recommend. for a get away summer read.

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it was never amazing, but consistently enjoyable.

I'm happy that I heard it. I liked it enough that I would like to hear more about all the characters. Nothing was riveting, but it was like having a bunch of new casual friends.

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11 people found this helpful

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  • -g
  • 11-14-20

it's a dialogue heavy book

apparently this is a series but I haven't read any of the other ones. the plot is very dialogue heavy and sometimes it's hard to tell characters apart due to the narrator.

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2 people found this helpful