Book description
Gil Petty, the world's number one wine critic, went missing during a
tasting tour of the little-known wine region of Gaillac. Three years
ago, his body was discovered strung up on a cross in a vineyard in
southwest France. Dressed in the ceremonial crimson robes of the
Brotherhood of the Order of the Divine Bottle (an ancient society
dedicated to promoting Gaillac wine), the semi-decayed body had been
preserved in red wine before being planted like a scarecrow among the
heavily-laden vines. His murderer was never found. Petty's influence was
powerful. A single good review meant overnight success for a winemaker;
a single bad one spelled ruin. Possible clues to his murder lie in
Petty's reviews, but they are locked behind the seemingly unbreakable
code he invented to keep them secure from prying eyes prior to
publication. A leak to the public would have allowed wine speculators to
reap rich rewards. Scots exile and former forensics expert Enzo Macleod
reopens this well-chilled case to discover that the genteel world of
winemakers hides a business driven by greed, envy, and desperation. In
the idyllic vineyards, Enzo finds no shortage of possible killers,
including some local winemakers, members of the Brotherhood of the
Divine Bottle,?and Petty's daughter, Michelle. Enzo, fortified by
copious quantities of wine, hunts an elusive murderer who is quite
prepared to kill again. Now that Scots forensic expert Enzo Macleod
(The Fourth Sacrifice, 2007, etc.) has moved to France, his attempt to
solve another cold case causes trouble. After famous wine critic Gil
Petty vanishes during a tasting trip to the unheralded Gaillac region,
his wine-soaked body reappears, clothed in the ceremonial robes of a
wine society and hanging in the woods. Determined to find the killer,
Enzo rents a vineyard cottage. His welcome from the police and the local
vintners isn't exactly cordial. But his contact, Gendarme Roussel, has
to admit that mistakes were made when another wine-preserved body
appears in the woods. Enzo's personal life is complicated when Petty's
estranged daughter Michelle, arriving to claim her father's property,
makes a pass at Enzo, arousing the disapproval of his sometime
girlfriend Charlotte, his younger daughter Sophie and his student
assistant Nicole. As they struggle to crack the code Petty used to write
his reviews, Enzo digs up dirt in various vineyards to take to his
chemist pal in California in hope of matching the soil to the wine used
to pickle the bodies. Petit was not a popular man -- his reviews could
make or break a vineyard's reputation -- so there are plenty of
suspects. Enzo's search soon makes him the killer's target, and it takes
all his skills and a bit of luck to escape death. Another oenophile's
tip sheet with the bonus of a finely crafted and surprising mystery.
Peter May won the Scottish Young Journalist of the Year Award at the age
of 21, and had his first novel published at 26. He then left journalism
and became one of Scotland's most successful and prolific television
dramatists. Returning now to novels, his outstanding China Thrillers
series of books are winning critical acclaim. To research the series,
Peter May makes annual trips to China. As a mark of their respect for
his work, The Chinese Crime Writers' Association made him an honorary
member of their Beijing Chapter. He is the only Westerner to receive
such an honour. Peter May is married to writer Janice Hally and lives in
France.
