Winemakers Detective Series sounds like a good way to while away an evening. These are translated from the French and I must say that I found the logo off-putting - a pistol drips blood into a wineglass. But on with the story of TREACHERY IN BORDEAUX. Benjamin Cooker, France's most famous winemaker, is tortured by self-doubt as he writes up notes on his famous wines in the Medoc region. A young man, Virgile, arrives to apply for a job and between firing questions at him about maceration of enzymes and terroirs, Benjamin invites him to sample his wife's cooking which that day is lamprey casserole.

We read of a neighbour's disaster when his casks are contaminated, the laboratory finding high phenols, of carcinogens in fruit purees, of the careful science in the trade. Meanwhile Benjamin, who loves buying anything connected with wine and antiques, has an old painting of a winery which reminds him of someone else's painting. An elderly professor tells him that it is part of a medieval tryptych, but shortly afterwards he is found dead. Can this be sinister?

Any devoted wine buff may enjoy reading a whole page of Benjamin tasting a red wine and deciding what blend and vineyard it was, and it is good to appreciate what a complex process is involved in getting wine from harvest to customer. However compared to most mysteries the short book is detail-heavy and action-light, and Benjamin and Virgile talk their way through events with rarely a glimpse of a female in more than a domestic role. Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen live in France and each write novels, while the former is a journalist and the latter a music critic. This is not your usual tale of sleuthing and while it is nicely descriptive, it will suit certain readers, particularly men keen on wine tastings, better than others.

Book Summary

Benjamin Cooker is a renowned winemaker and critic turned gentleman detective who sets out to find who is trying to take down the prestigious grand cru Moniales Haut-Brion. Is it negligence or sabotage? Who would want to target this esteemed vintner? Cooker and his assistant Virgile Lanssien search the city and the vineyards for answers, giving readers and inside view of this famous wine region.

Treachery in Bordeaux is the first of the 20-book Winemaker Detective series that delves into the underworld of a global luxury industry.