DEADLY TASTING by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen is Released

New York, New York

It's a celebration of fine wine, food and cigars, and a murder mystery all in one, set in Bordeaux. Deadly Tasting, by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen, is another installment in the Winemaker Detective mystery series, featuring ace wine expert Benjamin Cooker and his sidekick Virgile.

In this cozy mystery, a serial killer stalks Bordeaux, signing his crimes with a strange ritual: twelve glasses in a semi-circle, one more filled with each victim. To understand the wine-related symbolism, the local police call on the famous wine critic Benjamin Cooker. The investigation leads him and his assistant to the dark hours of France's history, as the plot thickens among the once-peaceful vineyards of Pomerol.

"This series grows on you, like a fine wine, getting better with each sip," publisher Anne Trager from Le French Book says. "As with the other books in the series, the wine and the wine region are characters as much as the two sleuths. This one adds another dimension, exploring scars from France's history."

Twenty-two books have been published in France in the Winemaker Detective series, which is also a hit television series in its fourth season. Deadly Tasting is the story that launched the series on TV.

Praise
"Will whet the appetites of lovers of Iron Chef and Murder, She Wrote." -Booklist
"Its celebration of fine wine, food and cigars charms." -Publisher's Weekly
"Quite clever, enjoyable and nuanced in all the right ways."
"In part, this is true tourism in France and in part it is true murder mystery fiction. Lovers of either or of both these subjects will be well served."
"Reminded me of why I fell in love with mysteries in the first place. What a gem."

Other books in the series already in English
The first in the series, Treachery in Bordeaux (9781939474025) introduces the characters and revolves around a mystery in a prestigious winery. This journey to Bordeaux takes readers behind the scenes of a grand cru wine estate that has fallen victim to either negligence or sabotage. World-renowned winemaker turned gentleman detective Benjamin Cooker sets out to find out what happened and why. Who would want to target this esteemed vintner?

The second, Grand Cru Heist (9781939474049) navigates from the Loire Valley to Bordeaux. In between a glass of Vouvray and a bottle of Saint-Émilion, the Winemaker Detective and his assistant Virgile turn PI to solve two murders and very peculiar heist. Who stole those bottles of grand cru classé?

In the third, Nightmare in Burgundy (9781939474056), the Winemaker Detective leaves his native Bordeaux for a dream wine-tasting trip in Burgundy, France's other key wine region. Between Beaune, Dijon and Nuits-Saint-Georges, his stay turns into a troubling nightmare when he stumbles upon a mystery revolving around messages from another era. What do they mean? What dark secrets from the deep past are haunting the Clos de Vougeot? Does blood need to be shed to sharpen people's memory?

About Le French Book
Le French Book (http://www.lefrenchbook.com) is a New York-based publisher specialized in great reads from France, with a growing catalog of top contemporary mysteries and thrillers with a French touch. An IPS publisher.

©2014 Le French Book, Inc. All rights reserved. Information is subject to change without notice.

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