"Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders" by Kevin Sylvester

Synopsis: Neil Flambé may be fourteen years old, but he’s also a world-renowned chef. Patrons pay top dollar and wait months for reservations at his tiny boutique restaurant. But Neil is more than a fantastic cook—he solves crime too. Ever since he used his kitchen know-how and keen sense of smell to acquit a man of murder, he’s been helping Police Inspector Sean Nakamura crack case after case.
But when some of the best chefs in town turn up dead, the crime scenes turn culinary. Police are stumped, and the only clues are the scents of mysterious spices and a journal that may have belonged to…Marco Polo? Neil must find a way to connect the past with the present and solve the murders—or he could end up as the prime suspect!

My review:
It was the illustrations and the 14-year-old chef main character that appealed to me.  Being a redhead, I enjoyed reading about a redhead, even if he is a pompous and arrogant teenager.  The only thing I didn't like about "Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders" is that I kept wondering if this were the first book in the series or not.  It is, but I kept doubting it.  The reason for this is that there were vague references to events that happened in the past as if this were not the first book in the series.  Eventually I clued in that the vague references would be fleshed out later in the book with more detail.
I like the historical aspects about Marco Polo, his journeys in Asia, and Kublai Kahn.  I don't know how much of it is fact or fiction but I enjoyed it anyway.  That might entice readers to seek out more information about the explorer and his travels.  This book was a quick read and I look forward to seeing how the series develops.  So far there are four books in the series and the third one (Neil Flambé and the Crusader's Curse) was nominated for this year's Forest of Reading Silver Birch Award.  That's how I found out about the series.

Read on,
Paula