Deadly Tasting - Jean-Pierre Alaux, Noël Balen

Le French Book

Now I enjoy a glass of good wine with a meal but I am certainly not a wine connoisseur though I know what I like and I can decipher a wine label.  Initially, a mystery built around the many intricacies of wine did not appeal to me.  I have however, enjoyed everything that I have read so far from Le French Book and decided that was reason enough to read at least one volume from this series.  Again, a big Thank You to Anne Trager for translating and making these enjoyable award winning reads accessible to English readers.

Deadly Tasting is book four in the Winemaker Detective Series.  Local Bordeaux police consult wine expert Benjamin Cooker,  following the discovery  at the scene of a brutal murder, of twelve wine glasses deliberately placed in a semi-circle and only one glass contains wine. Cooker needs to identify the wine in the glass to understand the message the killer is leaving.  But when a second murder occurs and this time two glasses are filled with wine, Cooker and the police realize that time is of the essence if they are to stop the killer from striking again. 

Certain the wine left in the glasses is a grand crux Pomerol from the Pétrus estate, Cooker must figure out who could have an apparently unlimited access to such an expensive wine.  Delving into the history of the wine necessitates revisiting the history of the Nazi occupation of the area and digging up secrets from this dark time in Bordeaux history. 

 

The writing is tight and the story fast paced.  There are some lighter moments involving Cooker and the cabbage soup diet that his wife has him on.  Though not strictly necessary to the story, these moments help to lighten the mood following some of the more gruesome murder scenes and the telling of the heavier aspects of the Nazi occupation.

 

Much to my surprise I became quite intrigued by the wine information and found myself researching Pomerol wine, the Pétrus estate and even the cabbage soup diet.  Everything that I learned from my investigations confirmed how well the authors had done their research and how smoothly they incorporated facts and history into the mystery.

 

My research also led me to discover that I can order the Pétrus estate's Pomerol locally but I definitely can't afford to.  At thousands of dollars for a bottle, if I should ever be fortunate enough to have a full glass of it in front of me, there is no way I will be leaving it behind for someone else to discover as a clue.  Salut!

Have a look at some interesting facts about wine and be thankful you weren't a woman in Roman times.

http://interestingthings.info/food-and-beverages/10-interesting-facts-wine-know.html



 

The Marco Effect – A Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Penguin Group - Dutton

I chose to read this book for a number of reasons.  First, it is set in Denmark and I thought that would make a change from the US, British, and French mysteries I have been reading.  Secondly, I have read good things about the Department Q series and I enjoy a crime series where you get to know the characters and watch them develop. Also, Adler-Olsen is a best-selling author who has won a number of crime-writing awards.  The summary of the book piqued my interest as well as the fact that the story is based, loosely, on real events.

Cover summary:

“All fifteen-year-old Marco Jameson wants is to become a Danish citizen and go to school like a normal teenager. But his uncle Zola rules his former gypsy clan with an iron fist. Revered as a god and feared as a devil, Zola forces the children of the clan to beg and steal for his personal gain. When Marco discovers a dead body—proving the true extent of Zola’s criminal activities—he goes on the run. But his family members aren’t the only ones who’ll go to any lengths to keep Marco silent . . . forever.”

Meanwhile, the last thing Detective Carl Mørck needs is for his assistants, Assad and Rose, to pick up a missing persons case on a whim: Carl’s nemesis is his new boss, and he’s saddled Department Q with an unwelcome addition. But when they learn that a mysterious teen named Marco may have as much insight into the case as he has fear of the police, Carl is determined to solve the mystery and save the boy. Carl’s actions propel the trio into a case that extends from Denmark to Africa, from embezzlers to child soldiers, from seemingly petty crime rings to the very darkest of cover-ups.”

Well, it seems I should have picked a different book as an introduction to the series. The story goes from Denmark to Africa and back.  This is a lot of area to cover and I found it resulted in too many characters and minor storylines that detracted from the main event.  Normally, the thought processes and rationalizations of the villain is a part of a story that I look forward to, but the sheer meanness that was Zola just didn't hold my interest.

 

The story stands alone and I had no trouble following the recurring characters in the series and understanding their relationships.  I looked forward to the pages that were about Marco, or Mørck and his assistants. The rapport between Mørck and his assistants was to my mind the best part of the book.  Their humor, understanding, and respect for each other, make for a pleasant and entertaining read.  There were, however, one too many camel analogies from Assad for my personal liking.

 

The core of the story that revolves around Marco is interesting, believable and well-developed and everything is neatly wrapped up at the end.  I just think that this is an instance where less would have been more but that won't deter me from reading another book in the series.

 

Article about the BBC documentary on gypsy child thieves

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/gypsy-child-thieves/

 

Interview with Jussi-Adler Olsen

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-rubinstein/the-marco-effect-a-talk-w_b_5854086.html