BACKSTABBING IN BEAUJOLAIS
The Winemaker Detective # 9
Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen
Le French Book
November 19, 2015
Guillaume Périthiard has spent thirty years building a business empire and after selling it, is still young enough to enjoy his billions. But retirement is not in the cards for him; his new dream is to buy a vineyard and begin producing a premier Beaujolais Nouveau. The fact that his wife has no desire to leave their home in Versailles and move to the provinces has no bearing on his decision-making. So who would he call to advise him on the purchase of a defunct vineyard other than the premier winemaker and critic, Benjamin Cooker. Mr. Cooker is more than happy to help (for a very large fee) but refuses to be bulldozed by the hard-driving businessman. Guillaume manages to offend quite a few people in the region. He hires away two employees of the powerful wine merchant family of Dujaray; one a Dujaray family member. He gets involved with a local real estate agent, hires a cousin with a long-standing grudge against him, and let's not forget his unhappy wife. What follows is vandalism escalating to murder and can only be solved by Benjamin Cooker and his assistant, Virgile.
Backstabbing in Beaujolais is aptly titled as well as being a very entertaining read. As usual with this series, one learns about a new region of France, and much about wine and wonderful food. I really enjoy this series, perfect for an evening read and I look forward to the next visit with Benjamin, Virgile and the other characters in the Winemaker Detective series. Thanks to NetGalley and Le French Book for an advance digital copy.
RATING- 3 Stars
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