Book description
When France's top chef, Marc Fraysse, summoned the world's press to
make a shattering announcement, rumors abounded that he was about to
lose one of his three coveted Michelin stars. Instead, on arrival at his
remote restaurant on a volcanic plateau in central France, they were
greeted with the news that the troubled genius had been murdered, and
the message he intended to deliver was never made. Seven years on, the
identity of his killer also remains an enigma. Enzo Macleod takes on his
fifth cold case and delves into the big business and high stakes of
French haute cuisine. As winter sets in, and snow gathers along a
volcanic horizon, he retraces long cold footsteps across a remote
hilltop. But unraveling the complex web of relationships that surrounded
the brilliant and mercurial chef - a spurned lover, a jealous wife, an
estranged brother, an embittered food critic--also leads to strange
parallels with his own life. And in opening up this celebrated cold
case, he finds himself reopening old wounds from his past. Culinary
heights, human depths, and a surprise romance await Enzo Macleod in the
remote reaches of central France in May's fifth mystery to feature the
Scottish forensics expert (after 2010's Freeze Frame). Scant evidence
and apparent lack of motive stymied the initial investigation into the
murder of celebrity chef Mark Fraysse seven years earlier, but Macleod
soon discovers less than savory secrets, from the late chef's in-house
adultery and gambling addiction to his troubled relationship with older
brother Guy, the current patron of Chez Fraysse along with Fraysse's
widow. The familial dysfunction resonates strongly with Macleod for
reasons he's long repressed, prompting him to take a painful look at his
own life--including his estrangement from the mother of the infant son
he has yet to see. While the action sequences can come across as forced
in this introspective entry, it offers subtle, complex pleasures to the
discerning palate. 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.
