Winemaker and wine connoisseur Benjamin Cooker and his assistant Virgile are back solving crimes in “Deadly Tasting ”. This time they are dealing with a serial killer with a strange calling card: twelve wine glasses lined up in a semi-circle wherein the number of victims is the same number of wine glasses filled with wine.
Consulted by the police, Benjamin Cooker has one job – identify the wine with the hope that it will lead to the killer.
“Deadly Tasting ” is another great mystery from authors Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen with a poignant touch as our amateur sleuths look into crimes committed about 70 years ago.
As always Messieurs Alaux and Balen description of the wines, their vintage and history was impeccable. In fact, I learned so much about wines from the series). And, as if this was not enough, a little bit of history of Bordeaux and how the French wine industry suffered during World War II.
Interspersed in the story are several laughs out loud moments which gave readers a glimpse of the writers’ great sense of humor. And though I appreciate those funny moments, I also got a feeling that those were segued into the story to lighten the mood a bit because of the seriousness of the subject matter in this book.
Again, a great read and a great mystery!