My name is Claire Fontaine. Sounds very French, right? Pair that with the French accent I woke up speaking after a workplace explosion scrambled my speech patterns, and people assume I grew up in Paris. The truth? I was born and raised in Caper Cove, California. I’m as American as surfboards and apple pies, and as Californian as avocado toast, but my name and accent throw people off. I don’t mind, though: everyone assumes I’m a brilliant caterer just because I sound French. Thanks, French Foreign Accent Syndrome! LOL.

Every day starts the same way: with a run. At 6:00 a.m., I lace up my sneakers and meet Suggie Oh, my childhood best friend and partner in crime (the investigating kind, not the committing kind). We’ve been inseparable since kindergarten, and pounding the sand together is our ritual. Some people journal, some meditate. We gossip, vent, and scheme while jogging along the coast. It’s the best way to keep in shape—and, if I’m honest, to keep sane.

Back at my beach apartment, I trade my running shoes for a chef’s apron. Green tea or coffee comes first, and then it’s straight into chopping, stirring, and testing. Being a private chef means no two days are the same. One morning, I’m whipping up tiny canapés for a fashion show; the next, I’m prepping comfort food for a birthday dinner; and during high tourist season, I bake breakfast pastries for the Osprey, my dad’s beach café and our town’s unofficial headquarters for gossip and casual California cuisine. I wasn’t always in the kitchen. Before the explosion, I was a criminal attorney. Courtrooms, case law, cross-examinations. Now, my courtroom is the kitchen, my evidence is mise en place, and my verdict is usually: delicious.

I work a lot (sometimes too much) but it’s necessary. My goal is simple: earn enough to move out of my father’s rental which I share with Detective Torres, and finally have a place of my own. I dream of a place where my frustratingly serious roommate doesn’t steal my soap from our shared bathroom or refuse to give me updates on the murder cases. Apparently, he doesn’t love being out-sleuthed by a caterer. It’s not my fault if I’m better at it. Until then, the kitchen is both my refuge and my grindstone.

By afternoon, I’m usually back in the kitchen—unless I’m actively investigating a murder. Somehow, I always end up doing just that. I promise myself I’ll stick to cooking, but then my father gets wrongly accused or an innocent person is framed. The defense lawyer in me can’t resist chasing the truth, and the chef in me has no problem interviewing witnesses between shifts, or using food to loosen tongues.

Evenings are a blur of final prep, deliveries, and the occasional cooking class. Once the day winds down, I sit with the file that never leaves my desk: my sister’s disappearance. Missing-persons reports, timelines, dead-end leads. I study them night after night, hoping to spot the detail everyone else overlooked. By midnight, I’m sound asleep.

It’s not the life I planned, but it’s the one I’ve got. Like a recipe that goes sideways but somehow turns out delicious, it’s messy, surprising, and oddly perfect.

COSPLAYED TO DEATH — A “Suddenly French” Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: November 2025
Format: Digital, Print
Purchase Link

Things are getting even stranger in Caper Cove…

When Claire Fontaine and her best friend, Suggie Oh, stumble upon the body of a competitive surfer, their quiet coastal town is once again plunged into chaos. To make matters worse, a famous cosplayer washes ashore, leaving behind more questions than answers. What begins as Claire’s quest to clear her father’s name quickly spirals into a deadly game involving fierce surfing rivalries, identity-altering cosplay, and long-buried secrets.

As Claire and Suggie delve deeper into the worlds of extreme sports and cosplay, Claire must also confront her ongoing struggles with French Foreign Accent Syndrome. Between clashes with her roommate, Detective Ben Torres, navigating the politics of the surfer elite, and uncovering the killers, Claire starts to question whether her legal skills or culinary passion are what truly define her. With whispers around town growing that she’s “faking” her accent for attention—just like cosplayers craft false personas—Claire finds herself doubting where performance ends and authentic identity begins. Behind the scenes of both worlds, Claire discovers a cutthroat battle for lucrative sponsorship deals that turns competitors into enemies, where athletes and cosplayers alike will go to extreme lengths to secure their financial futures in industries where fame is fleeting.

Can Claire untangle the threads of jealousy, greed, and betrayal before another life is lost? Or will her search for the truth put her in the killer’s sight once again?

Meet the author
Elle Jauffret is the Agatha Award-nominated, Pencraft Award-winning author of the Suddenly French Mysteries series. A former criminal attorney for the California Attorney General’s Office, she blends legal expertise with culinary and character-driven storytelling. Praised by bestselling authors Jonathan Maberry and Hank Phillippi Ryan, Elle serves on the board of Sisters in Crime San Diego and hosts write-ins for SinC Worldwide. She lives in San Diego, which serves as the backdrop for her mystery series, and regularly appears on panels at literary conferences across the country. You can find her at ellejauffret.com or on social media as @ellejauffret.