Deadly Slipper - (Death in the Dordogne) by Michelle Wan (Paperback)

About the Book

Set in the Dordogne region in southwestern France, Wan's debut, a French-flavored mystery with botanical window dressing, tracks the perilous search for a rare orchid and its long-missing hunter.

Book Synopsis

A reclusive English botanist helps a woman search for the truth about her missing orchid enthusiast sister in southwestern France in this "moody and elegant suspense story" (The Washington Post Book World).

Nearly twenty years have passed since Mara Dunn's sister Bedie, an orchid enthusiast, disappeared while on a hiking holiday in southwestern France. Mara remains determined to find out what happened--but her only real clue is a sequence of wild orchids, including a mysterious, previously unknown Lady's Slipper, captured on a roll of film found in Bedie's long-lost camera. With the help of Julian Wood, a reclusive English botanist, Mara begins her search...stumbling into decades' worth of local secrets and putting herself in danger. Rich in lush descriptions of the Dordogne, and laden with savory details of French cooking, Deadly Slipper is rife with surprising twists and turns.

Review Quotes

"Laden with local color.... A moody and elegant suspense story."--The Washington Post Book World

"Transporting.... A cross between Peter Mayle and The Orchid Thief." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Turn down the AC before you start this spooky thriller--it'll give you chills." --Cosmopolitan

"Deadly Slipper is full of vicarious thrills, offering sensory indulgences of the floral and culinary kind, with a dash of romance as spice. Lovingly written, with a sensuous style that lingers over the enticing or mouthwatering detail.... The real drama is on the dinner plate." --San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

MICHELLE WAN was born in Kunming, China, grew up in the United States, and has lived in India, England, France, and Brazil. She and her husband, a tropical horticulturalist, visit the Dordogne annually to photograph and chart wild orchids. They live in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.