MixedThe Scotland HeraldSadly, we don’t get to the heart of the matter until almost halfway through. Before then we have to endure the tedious company of protagonist Chloe, the overweening, five-times-married cousin of mild-mannered Paul, the food writer of McCall Smith\'s My Italian Bulldozer novel ... [Chloe\'s] pronouncements on matters ranging from monarchy to Catholic nuns and saints set a rather uncomfortable tone – not helped by some seriously clunky dialogue ... The problems here are so screamingly obvious and so easily fixable as to be laughable, and render the novel’s fundamental premise more flimsy than an under-baked meringue. More worrying, perhaps, is the unpleasant whiff of jingoistic imperialism in the idea that it takes the Brits to show the French how to do it ... It’s a pity that we only encounter some serious gastronomy towards the end, when Paul goes to an olive oil tasting with the new young chef. I’d like to have read more of this. In true McCall Smith form, everything turns out for the best in the best of all possible worlds ... The author’s legion of fans may devour this latest offering without question. I wonder, however, if some will find it too formulaic. In short, The Second Worst Restaurant in France needs more than a pinch of salt to rescue it.
