Guest Author: Cathy Stopps

If you wonder about the title “Let’s Do Lunch”, despite the fact that I am French, it has nothing to do with food.


When I first moved to Boca Raton, thirty years ago, I used to take my son to school every morning. There I met his friends’ parents. As a newcomer to this great community of ours, I was enchanted by the kindness of these ladies who on a regular basis would declare “Let’s Do Lunch”.


I am still waiting…


Born in France, I was raised in Madagascar during the Colonial era by parents in the service of the French Government. My formative years were spent at a boarding school in Paris, after which I set off for England to study and work. I was awarded a degree in English Language and Literature from Cambridge University. It was there that I met my future husband. Our family moved to the US over 30 years ago to settle in South Florida.


Over my years here I have discovered a new way of life: “One Upmanship”. I have met many wonderful people whose one and only goal in life is to impress others. I learned what car my daughter’s boyfriends drove before they even told me their names. I learned that people only value your friendship if you lived in a certain part of Boca. I learned that appearance was number one, no matter the cost. Most of all I learned the true meaning of the word “Pretend”.


This is what prompted me to start writing. My book can be perceived as the story of greed and murder in the Sunshine State, but it is really the story of everyday life in Boca Raton- with a touch of imagination- viewed through the eyes of a European girl.

“Let’s do Lunch” follows protagonists Richard Beauvoir, Emmanuelle Darvieux and detective Sam Loubard as they work together to solve a series of high-profile town murders. When a prominent figure and his wife go missing and their grand-daughter is murdered soon thereafter, Richard and Emmanuelle find themselves drawn into a web of mystery and deceit. Local detective Sam Loubard, Richard’s childhood friend, works with Richard and Emmanuelle as the mystery intensifies, entangling them in the inner-workings of the upper echelons of society and inculcating their psyche with mind-twisting danger.  


Website: cathystopps.com
Email: cathy@cathystopps.com