Le French
Featuring: Virgina; Benjamin Cooker; Virgile
164 pages ISBN: 1939474388 EAN: 9781939474384 Kindle: B00VITWYE2 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
This sixth book in the Winemakers Detective Series has a lot to live up to - so far we've had murders both personal and with historical resonance, wines ranging from classic reds to artisan brandies. Can the vintners of France pull off another great-tasting offering? MAYHEM IN MARGAUX again stars Benjamin Cooker, master vintner, and his assistant Virgile who has an eye for the ladies. One lady strictly off the list would be Benjamin's daughter, Margaux, now studying business.
Summer in wine country means heat, outdoor garden parties and elegance. An unexpected drought causes concern about the grape harvest. However the focus shifts abruptly when Cooker's daughter Margaux is in a serious car accident; the crash may have been deliberate sabotage. Was she the target, or the man who was driving her? Cooker drops everything for his family and can count on Virgile's aid to help him get to the bottom of the situation.
I find it ironic that Cooker asks if the driver had been drinking, when in earlier books we've seen him drive after being well wined and dined. Maybe this is the two authors' way of making a point - that they don't advise behaving recklessly. In other ways too we see modern standards intruding on the old country of the Medoc region. Winemakers here treasure their secrets, traditional methods and family employment, but the new commercial owners of an estate want to sweep clean and produce more economically. This has certainly produced enemies, whatever about wine.
Amid debate on whether to replace corks with metal screw- caps, and exploitation of migrant workers, we find a determined, human face to our senior vintner. Virgile too patiently spends time with the injured Margaux, reassuring her that there will still be a good life for her. While wine tasting takes a back seat in this snappy novella, and the weather's too hot for much but salads, MAYHEM IN MARGAUX is classic vintage from the team of Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen. You won't want to miss this exciting chapter in the lives of Cooker and Virgile.
Itโs summer in Bordeaux. Thereโs a heat wave, the
vineyards
are suffering, vintners are on edge, and wine expert
Benjamin Cookerโs daughter is visiting. A tragic car
accident draws the Winemaker Detective and his assistant
Virgile into a case where the stakes are very personal,
and
they uncover some dirty secrets hiding behind some of
Bordeauxโs finest grand cru classรฉ wines from Margaux.
EXCERPT
Benjamin drove at a moderate speed to enjoy the moment
and let Margaux take in the landscape of her childhood.
His daughter had been living in New York for three years,
and even though she was sometimes homesick, she didnโt
regret her decision. Her position as manager of a company
that imported gourmet foods from southwestern France had
been an opportunity seized at just the right time. The
salary was more than decent. Her two-room Greenwich
Village apartment was charmingly furnished, and she had
acquired close friends who made her feel at home in a
huge city where every moment was lived with intensity.
They passed through the villages of Cussac- Fort-Mรฉdoc,
Arcins, and Soussans and turned left toward Chรขteau
Margaux. Benjamin slowed down as he passed the sign and
kissed Elisabethโs neck. Margaux! How many bottles had
borne her name! A name that for centuries had resonated
throughout Bordeaux and beyond like the promise of
ecstasy.
The building loomed at the end of a road lined with tall
plane trees. Its sumptuous Palladian faรงade was a Greek
temple lost in a sea of emerald vines. It had been built
at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the same
architect who had designed the Bordeaux opera house.
Benjamin parked the convertible beside dozens of other
cars and gave Elisabeth and Margaux a few minutes to
brush their hair. They got out and followed the lamps
that lit their way to the gardens flanking the east wing.
With glasses in hand, guests were chatting happily.
Beyond the tables covered in ecru linen, gold-rimmed
dishes, and candelabras, a quartet was playing Baroque
music at a volume that complemented the atmosphere, a
sure sign that the musicians were experienced and highly
skilled in the art of providing background music. Every
member of Bordeauxโs elite winemaking society was here on
this night.
Benjamin could see Elisabeth and Margaux relax as they
took in the sea of guests and realized that they had
dressed appropriately for the occasion. The hosts had
wanted this dinner affair to be lovely but also
comfortable. Few men were wearing ties, and the women
were in light-colored linen suits and summer dresses with
modest necklines.
Benjamin was immediately surrounded by property owners
who politely asked how he was doing but mostly wanted his
advice. Elisabeth greeted some of the wine merchantsโ
wives she had met at dinner parties and soon found Hubert
de Boรผard and his wife, who were close friends and the
owners of a premier grand cru estate.
After managing to escape a paunchy banker who was worried
about his heavy investment in grand crus, Benjamin beat a
path to his wife, who was taking a glass of Champagne
from a server.
โAre you bored, my sweet?โ
โNot in the least. Did you know that the Boรผards are
leaving for Cap Ferret two days from now, just like us?
Weโll have to have dinner together.โ
โIโll leave all the planning in your capable hands,โ
Benjamin replied as he waved to a couple whose names he
couldnโt remember.
โWho is that handsome young man hanging around Margaux?โ
Elisabeth asked, nodding in the direction of the
orchestra.
Benjamin looked over and tensed. A man who appeared to be
in his thirties was casually sitting on a table and
whispering in his daughterโs ear.
Margaux let out a laugh, revealing her perfectly white
teeth. For the first time, Benjamin was witnessing his
daughter in a game of seduction he could never have
imagined.
โI think itโs Antoine Rinetti,โ he murmured, his jaw
tight. โThe new manager of Gayraud-Valrose.โ
โHeโs rather young to be in charge of such a chรขteau,โ
Elisabeth said. Benjamin picked up a hint of admiration
in her voice.
โA Swiss insurance company bought the estate. They
brought him in to get the finances in order.โ
โHeโs not from here?โ
โFrom Nice. Canโt you tell? Flashy suit, a tie that looks
like it cost close to a thousand euros.โ
โYou sound jealous, Benjamin. But your daughter is a
young woman now. And I think she has pretty good taste.โ
Benjamin looked at Elisabeth and tried to smile. โStop
teasing,โ he said.
Although he had accepted Margauxโs transition to
adolescence and knew, at least intellectually, that she
was now a young woman, she was still his little girl. To
him, Margaux would always be the child with bright eyes,
rosy cheeks, and pixie nose hugging her teddy bear and
whimpering over the slightest boo-boo. The insistent gaze
of this young man in an Italian suit seemed indecent and
would have even been repulsive, were he not so handsome.
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