Orchid Mysteries by Michelle Wan

Only once was I able to visit Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, Oregon — the largest independent bookstore in the world. Husband and I were there on a short holiday to see the gardens (beautiful), explore the city (nice), and of course this infamous bookstore. Husband took a long look at the sign, then saw my astounded and delighted face — and decided he would retreat to a bar across the street to watch the basketball playoffs. It’s still a wonder that he puts up with me.

It was a wonderful hour or so just exploring and browsing. But, we had flown up to Portland for a long weekend, with only two small bags, so I had to limit my purchases to what I (and/or Husband) could carry. In the end, I showed up at the bar with tired feet and just a small bag of books.

These books were part of that haul:

These are the first two in a series of orchid murder mysteries set in Dordogne region of south west France. I read the first, Deadly Slipper immediately upon returning from out trip, but the second one, Orchid Shroud, has long waited patiently on my shelves, unread…

I went back and skimmed through the first to remind myself what the mystery was about and soon I was re-reading entire chapters. I found my notes in the back of the book, so will tell you this all about this well-written and unique mystery

Deadly Slipper by Michelle Wan

In the Dordogne in the south west of France, Mara Dunn is trying to find out what happened to her twin sister, Bedie, who disappeared nineteen years earlier. While it is a long shot, Mara needs to find out what happened to her sister and get on with her life.

Beatrice “Bede” Dunn was fascinated with wild orchids and wild orchid hunting, and became passionate about documenting the existence the breeding grounds of a particular species. In 1984 she and her boyfriend, Scott, went on a hiking and orchid hunting holiday in the Dordogne. When it began to rain, the couple had an argument about whether to leave their camp and seek shelter elsewhere or to stay put. Bede was adamant about remaining and so she did – alone. When Scott returned two days later the tent and their things were still at the campsite, but Bede was gone, along with her camera, backpack, Michelin guide and a book on wildflowers and orchids. No one ever saw the young woman again. After a massive search and investigation, which garnered much publicity, no evidence of foul play was discovered as there was no body, no crime scene.

Mara has found a loaded camera that she believed was owned by her sister, and had the deteriorated film processed and prints made. She has come to the Dordogne area to consult with orchid expert Julian Wood to see if he is able to identify the locations shown in the photos. The police have already told Mara that there is not enough identifying features in the photos, but she is determined to learn the truth.

Julian feels there is no chance of finding where these photos were taken, let alone finding Bedie, but he is fascinated with the final photo – a photo of Cypripedium – Sabot de Venus in French, sometimes called Lady’s Slipper in English. Julian becomes motivated to begin a search as Mara, but for different reasons. And since this rare wild orchid does not grow in the Dordogne, or anywhere in Europe, he has his own mystery to unravel – and he decides to become involved with Mara and her investigation.This extremely rare orchid could not be growing in this area — yet there it is, clearly photographed.

Not only a good literary mystery, Deadly Slipper was a really a fun book to read. Filled with an exotic cast of characters – from the local bogeyman and his mother, who is even scarier than her son, to the bizarre Sauvignac family, (the local nobility), to an indifferent French police inspector, to Julian Wood’s fanatic orchid hunting nemesis, and the regulars down at Chez Nous, the town’s cafe/bar/gourmet restaurant. The narrative surrounding the orchids are fascinating, and then there’s the food, wine and the gorgeous countryside – the setting is totally realistic and French.

Ms. Wan is a fascinating person as well. She 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.

One day in southwest France Ms. Wan found her first wild orchid, and thus orchids and murder came together in the Death in the Dordogne series.

So, I’ve decided to keep these books, and put the second one Orchid Shroud on my staggering TBR file. But first I have to finish one – at least one — of the three books I’m currently reading (see previous post).

There are still two more in the Death in the Dordogne series ~~perhaps? maybe? should I?