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nomad_wander27's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
booksuperpower's review
5.0
Grand Cru Hiest by J.P Alaux and N. Balen- translation by Anne Trager is 2014 Le French publication. I was provided a copy of this book in exhange for an honest review.
In this second chapter in the Winemaker Detective series, we find Cooker being assaulted and badly beaten. While he is recovering in the hospital he finds he is a little down and entirely too hard on himself. As a result it is recommended by his health care providers that he take a vacation.
While visiting the Tours region, Cooker meets a wine broker. The broker is quite flamboyant in attitude and dress, flaunting his new wealth and a beautiful prostitute that is keeping him company. When the girl is found dead and the broker turns up missing, Cooker gets drawn into the investigation. He calls upon his assistant Virgile to help him and two embark on a journey to solve the case.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited about the next book. I couldn't wait to read this one. I think the second book was better than the first. Now that we have been introduced to the primary characters, we can really get a glimpse of their individual personalities. The mystery in this one was most puzzling. There was not just one, but two murders. While the obvious suspect has vanished and all the evidence seems to point in one direction, Cooker is convinced there is something else going on.
The talk of vintage wines, the landscape and the various off beat characters kept me engaged from start to finish. The best part of this second installment for me was the character development of Virgile. Oh my goodness! While Virgile still has some confidence issues and occasionally continues to stumble over his words, he has really developed a wry sense of humor and had me in stitches. In fact, he almost stole the show.
I did miss Cooker's wife. She did not accompany him on his vacation and I missed the descriptions of the meals she prepared and the gentle banter between the long time married couple.
Overall this mystery is very light and could easily be enjoyed by those that perfer the cozy mystery genre. It is just edgy enough though that anyone that enjoys a good mystery will want to check this one out.
This one is an A+
In this second chapter in the Winemaker Detective series, we find Cooker being assaulted and badly beaten. While he is recovering in the hospital he finds he is a little down and entirely too hard on himself. As a result it is recommended by his health care providers that he take a vacation.
While visiting the Tours region, Cooker meets a wine broker. The broker is quite flamboyant in attitude and dress, flaunting his new wealth and a beautiful prostitute that is keeping him company. When the girl is found dead and the broker turns up missing, Cooker gets drawn into the investigation. He calls upon his assistant Virgile to help him and two embark on a journey to solve the case.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited about the next book. I couldn't wait to read this one. I think the second book was better than the first. Now that we have been introduced to the primary characters, we can really get a glimpse of their individual personalities. The mystery in this one was most puzzling. There was not just one, but two murders. While the obvious suspect has vanished and all the evidence seems to point in one direction, Cooker is convinced there is something else going on.
The talk of vintage wines, the landscape and the various off beat characters kept me engaged from start to finish. The best part of this second installment for me was the character development of Virgile. Oh my goodness! While Virgile still has some confidence issues and occasionally continues to stumble over his words, he has really developed a wry sense of humor and had me in stitches. In fact, he almost stole the show.
I did miss Cooker's wife. She did not accompany him on his vacation and I missed the descriptions of the meals she prepared and the gentle banter between the long time married couple.
Overall this mystery is very light and could easily be enjoyed by those that perfer the cozy mystery genre. It is just edgy enough though that anyone that enjoys a good mystery will want to check this one out.
This one is an A+
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