Deadly Tasting : Review & Giveaway

My Thoughts



While reading the previous instalment of the Winemaker detective series, I couldn't help wondering if all this wine tasting and drinking wine at all available moments have any effect on Benjamin Cooker's health. Maybe he is one of those, whatever they eat or drink has no adverse effect on their body. Maybe not so. In this instalment, Winemaker Detective can drink as much as he wants, all day, whenever he wants the special cabbage soup Mrs.Cooker concocted to make our Detective a few pounds lighter. Imagine having not to eat anything but cabbage soup for seven days and being called to taste wines. Wonder what he could taste but hunger. If cabbage soup diet in combination with tasting wines can make one queasy add to it the crime scene- all blood and gore, with butchered bodies.

Winemaker detective is called to taste the glasses of wine the killer has left as a calling card in the crime scenes, of victims in their late eighties and early nineties. Who would leave a full glass of wine as a calling card? Why is somebody killing off old men who would die sooner or later anyway? What is the connection between these men and the wine? Can our Winemaker Detective crack the case?

The novel is really short that could be read in a couple of hours but with a heavy dose of history of Bordeaux and its involvement during World War Two. What was the stand of the people of Bordeaux during World War Two? What happened to wine production during these tumultuous years? As usual the mystery gets solved on its own. But that does not take away the pleasure of meeting the Winemaker detective with a sparkling wit again.

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Deadly Tasting

[cozy mystery]



Click on the banner for the rest of the tour!

Release date: October 17, 2014

at Le French Book

144 pages

ISBN: 978-1939474216

Website | Goodreads

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SYNOPSIS

A serial killer is on the loose in Bordeaux. A local chief detective calls wine expert Benjamin Cooker to the crime scene of a brutal murder. The killer has left a strange calling card: twelve wine glasses lined up in a semi-circle with the first one filled with wine. Cooker is charged with the task of identifying the fabulous grand cru and is astonished by what he learns. A second victim is found, with two glasses filled. Is the killer intentionally leaving clues about his victims and his motives? Memories are jogged about the complicated history of Bordeaux during Nazi occupation. It was a dark time: weinfuhrers ruled the wine trade, while collaborationists and paramilitary organizations spread terror throughout the region. In present-day wine country, time is running out. Will Cooker and his young assistant Virgile solve the mystery before all twelve glasses are full? [provided by the publisher]


WATCH THE TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRrqrT44psg


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An episode in a long successful French mysteries series that is a hit television series now in its fourth season and attracting an audience of over 4 million. The series is a huge success in France, Belgium and Switzerland.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS


©David Nakache


Jean-Pierre Alaux is a magazine, radio and television journalist when he is not writing novels in southwestern France. He is a genuine wine and food lover and recently won the Antonin Carême prize.
He is the grandson of a winemaker and exhibits a real passion for wine and winemaking. For him, there is no greater common denominator than wine. He gets a sparkle in his eye when he talks about the Winemaker Detective series, which he writes with Noël Balen. It is a 22-strong series that is a hit on French television and is now being translated into English by Le French Book.


ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Translator Sally Pane studied French at State University of New York Oswego and the Sorbonne before receiving her Masters Degree in French Literature from the University of Colorado where she wrote Camus and the Americas: A Thematic Analysis of Three Works Based on His Journaux de Voyage. Her career includes more than twenty years of translating and teaching French and Italian at Berlitz and at Colorado University Boulder. She has worked in scientific, legal and literary translation; her literary translations include Operatic Arias; Singers Edition, and Reality and the Untheorizable by Clément Rosset. She also served as the interpreter for the government cabinet of Rwanda and translated for Dian Fossey’s Digit Fund. In addition to her passion for French, she has studied Italian at Colorado University, in Rome and in Siena. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband.

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Tour-wide Giveaway

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It’s open internationally. We will have 9 winners: 4 print copies for US residents and 5 digital copies for residents of any country


Disclaimer: I received an ebook from the France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Crossing the Line by Frédérique Molay: Review & Giveaway

My Review

Sometimes the dead leave messages from beyond. Sometimes a written message hidden in a book or someplace that is not very obvious but will eventually be found. A desperate man sure of his impending murder has to leave a message that will definitely be found but will not endanger his family members, where will he hide the message? In a locker with a hidden code? Can the message be hidden in a tooth? That is what the man in this book does. Hide a message "I was murdered" in his tooth and donate his body to Medical Research with the hope of a man "throwing a bottle out to the sea", that somebody would find it. Somebody does find it. Now Chief Nico Sirsky of Criminal Investigation Division of Paris has to solve the case of the tooth with the hidden message. 

The story has a macabre but interesting opening in the University with a senior professor teaching students dentists how to perform wisdom tooth surgery where the tooth with the hidden message is found. With this discovery I was completely drawn into the story and the series of events unfold quickly with more puzzles for Nico Sirsky and us. One mystery leading to another and finally the solution.

Ever wondered what happens to the body donated to Medical Research, about how the whole process works. This police pocedural gives detailed information from filling out the form to finally how it is used in advancement of Medical science. Marcel the body processor at the University is an interesting charcter with his macabre sense of humour. Though this is the second book in the Paris Homicide mystery series, it works as a standalone. It is a fast read. I finished it in a couple of sittings. Interesting Police procedural. Looking forward to other Nico Sirsky books.

Crossing The Line

[police procedural / thriller]

(translated by Anne TRAGER)

Release date: September 23, 2014

at Le French Book

224 pages

ISBN: 978-1939474148

Website | Goodreads

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SYNOPSIS

It’s Christmas in Paris and Chief of Police Nico Sirsky has an uneasy feeling that something is very wrong with the case he’s investigating. He and his team of crack homicide detectives follow the clues from an apparent suicide, to an apparent accident, to an all-out murder as an intricate machination starts breaking down. Just how far can despair push a man? How clear is the line between good and evil? [provided by the publisher]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Called, “the French Michael Connelly,” Frédérique Molay graduated from France’s prestigious Science Po and began her career in politics and the French administration.
She worked as chief of staff for the deputy mayor of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and then was elected to the local government in Saône-et-Loire.
Meanwhile, she spent her nights pursing a passion for writing she had nourished since she wrote her first novel at the age of eleven.
The first in the Paris Homicide series, The 7th Woman,
won France’s most prestigious crime fiction award and went on to become an international bestseller,
allowing Molay to dedicate her life to writing and raising her three children.

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ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Anne Trager loves France so much she has lived there for 27 years and just can’t seem to leave. What keeps her there is a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine. In 2011, she woke up one morning and said, “I just can’t stand it anymore. There are way too many good books being written in France not reaching a broader audience.” That’s when she founded Le French Book to translate some of those books into English. The company’s motto is “If we love it, we translate it,” and Anne loves crime fiction, mysteries and detective novels.

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**GIVEAWAY**

This giveaway is open internationally, five print copies for U.S. residents and five digital copies for residents of any country. Giveaway ends 10/7/14. Click Here To Enter The Giveaway. Click Here to view the full tour schedule and see the list of participating blogs.

Disclaimer: I received an ebook from the France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

The Greenland Breach by Bernard Besson: Review & Giveaway

Review
When any new land is discovered, there is always a scramble for who gets control over the place. The rare metals, oil and gas underneath dazzle us with their brilliance so do the chance for a viable human settlement, it could be on Moon or even Greenland. Greenland is not a new land, but with the climate change it could be the answer to all humanities problem. In 'The Greenland Breach' by Bernard Besson, as a young Independent nation Greenland has to deal with the American, Canadian, French, Norwegian, Danish and Chinese companies and governments that wants access to its rare earths and secrets. Its not just with these scavengers they have to deal with, but also with Global Warming, which is no longer a thing of distant future but a very happening present, that is melting away their Great Island.

The book starts with a huge tidal wave that starts in Greenland with the breaking away of a great mass of land that is moving towards the coast of United States. Fermatown, a French Security company run by an ex-agent, John Spencer Lariviere, his wife Victoire, along with Luc, a hacker with killer edge technology in their hands, is contacted to provide security to the heiress of North Land, a scientific and excavating company with stakes in Greenland. The Trio get involved in events that impact the world. Terre Noire, a rival for North Land in Greenland, is holding immense secretive knowledge about Earth core that could change the very course of our life on Earth. Somebody is out to kill John. Who wants to kill John? Is it connected with what is happening in Greenland? Why would such big stakeholders in such a 'climate' be interested in a minuscule agency like Frematown?

There is intrigue, conspiracy, assassins, killer blondes, catastrophe, a world-wide disaster, the kind of things that you find in a Michael Crichton book, that would hook me to a book. The kind of things that would hold my attention from beginning to end, the kind of things that would make me read a book in a sitting or two. Unfortunately, I found myself drifting away every few pages in the first two thirds of the book. I couldn't help wondering if something is lost in translation.There were things that held my interest like the Captain of Bouc-Bel-Air who seems to be inspired by Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, to history of Greenland and incorporating Inuit mythology into the story. It was the last one third that did really hold my attention with John's visit to Great Wound of the Wild Dog and Luc's visit to the Terre Noire, with all the twists and turns, and surprises that made the book worth reading.

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SYNOPSIS

A stylish, fast-paced spy thriller about the intrigue, economic warfare and struggles for natural resources promised by global warming. The Arctic ice caps are breaking up. Europe and the East Coast of the Unites States brace for a tidal wave. Meanwhile, former French intelligence officer John Spencer Larivière, his karate-trained, steamy Eurasian partner, Victoire, and their bisexual computer-genius sidekick, Luc, pick up an ordinary freelance assignment that quickly leads them into the glacial silence of the great north, where a merciless war is being waged for control of discoveries that will change the future of humanity.
A plausible vision of climate catastrophe combines with French freelance spies and Bond-like action forming a gripping page-turner of a thriller.[provided by the publisher]
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E-Release date: October 30, 2013
Print release: April 30, 2014
from Le French Book
113,000 words/285 pages
Author’s page | Goodreads
Buying Links

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AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR

Award-winning thriller writer Bernard Besson, who was born in Lyon, France, in 1949, is a former top-level chief of staff of the French intelligence services, an eminent specialist in economic intelligence and Honorary General Controller of the French National Police. He was involved in dismantling Soviet spy rings in France and Western Europe when the USSR fell and has real inside knowledge from his work auditing intelligence services and the police. He has also written a number of prize-winning thrillers and several works of nonfiction. He currently lives in the fourteenth arrondissement of Paris, right down the street from his heroes.

Julie Rose is a prize-winning, world-renowned translator of major French thinkers, known for, among other works, her acclaimed translation of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, which was published by Random House in 2008. She has translated twenty-eight books, including many French classics, and writes on the side. She lives in her hometown of Sydney, Australia, with her husband, dog and two cats.

Website | Facebook | Twitter @LeFrenchBook




Disclaimer: I received an ebook from the France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own. Giveaway is sponsored by France Book Tours.

Paris, Rue des Martyrs- Review and Giveaway

Review

We meet many people everyday. Some more often that we know enough for a nodding acquaintance. Among those there are some we have a connection even unknown to us. Suddenly you realise that somebody you see everyday at the cafe is your boyfriend's father. After all we live in a very small world. So what is the connection between these strangers whose lives intersect in Rue des Martyrs.

Young Rafael is an Emerald trader from Bagota in search of his birth mother in Paris. Mira, an artist, leaves her unfaithful fiancé in Naples and moves to Paris with her friend. Cecile is bored with her life, her children don't need her and her husband is unfaithful. Andre is an actor whose career is at an end after an accident. What are the connections between these varied people?

It is an easy and fast read. Though I haven't read many books with this premise, I have seen lot of movies with this strangers meeting situation, and so it is the connections and how it is handled that would make it novel and interesting. The connections start appearing in the beginning itself and what I like most are the surprises and everything is not as it seems.

I found Cecile's situation quite interesting. When you are young and you are caught in mischief, and you are compared to the prefect little young lady. You do get irritated. Why does she have to be so perfect? But her mother would be proud, wouldn't she to have taught her daughter to be a young lady with grace and charm? What if the perfect little young lady's mother is a plain woman with no charms? Her husband is involved with somebody else. Her perfect little daughter needs no mothering. She is lonely and bored. Has Cecile decided to embark on an affair because her husband is unfaithful or she feels that her perfect little daughter doesn't need her?

I found some of the character tracks similar in the beginning. Aren't Cecile and Mira facing the same kind of situation- unfaithful partner? Aren't Hugo and Rafael on the lookout for their biological parents with whom they shared nothing else? But as the story progresses the similarity between the situations and the reality behind it is revealed, you realise that how different they are. And I couldn't help wondering if Rue des Martyrs is actually Rue des Artists with the book brimming with artists of all kinds from portrait artists, actors, Jewellery designers, and an upcoming writer too. An interesting easy read for the weekend.

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SYNOPSIS

There are encounters that make a difference. The paths of four strangers cross amid the beauty, squalor, animation and desolation found on a Parisian street called the Rue des Martyrs.
Each one faces some sort of struggle:
A young man’s search for his birth mother leads him to love and grim family secrets.
An unsatisfied housewife finds her world turned upside down by the promise of a passionate liaison.
An aging actor, troubled by the arrival of the son he abandoned years ago, must make a choice: either lose him forever or put aside pride and seek redemption.
A young woman, betrayed by her fiancé, travels to Paris to begin a new life and forget about love… at least that is her intention.
Four stories entwine, four quests become one. [provided by the author]


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Author Bio

Adria J. Cimino worked as a journalist for more than a decade at news organizations including the Associated Press and Bloomberg News. Adria, who grew up in the sunshine, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida. She now lives in Paris and enjoys sharing her adventures in the city and thoughts about the writing life in her blog “Adria in Paris.” Her first novel, “Paris, Rue des Martyrs,” released on Feb. 10, 2014.

Website | Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter @Adria_in_Paris

The Winner of the Giveaway is Judy Tretin! Congrats Judy!

Disclaimer: I received an ebook from the France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own. Giveaway is sponsored by France Book Tours.

Wolf Wood by Mike Dixon

The story starts in 1436 in England. What happened in 1436? The Hundred years war has been raging between England and France, with each making some loses and gains. Young King Henry VI sits on the throne of England and England is gearing for both interesting and dangerous times.

In Sherborne, the people have more pressing concerns. The Abbey is tyrannical and had taken over the parish's Baptismal Font and loses no opportunity to get money from the poor peasants. Harlad Gascoigne is facing a strange case over the paternity of his son William. Harald's wife's relatives are asking her dowry back as they believe that the child is not Harald's . Now Harald has to prove the paternity of his son in a court.

Alice, the matron of the almshouses, has moved recently from Shaftesbury. Alice though had a sheltered life in a covent, is a free thinker who not only knows several languages but also uses the wisdom of several non-christian cultures to heal using herbs and potions. When the Church is a mighty force, it is dangerous to be a free thinker especially one who is very popular and undermines the power of church by baptising dying babies herself and one who dabbles in herbs and potions can easily be burned at the stake as a witch. Will that be the fate of our Alice? How will Harald prove his paternity? How will the dispute over the Baptismal Font end? How do these things affect greater events? What is the role of these players in the greater things?

I couldn't help wondering why the story is set at that particular time, when interesting times are not far off. The War of Roses or the War of the Cousins with its conspiracies and intrigues is definitely a more interesting time, isn't it? Well, this book serves as a prelude to those interesting times.

It takes some time to get absorbed into the story. The dispute over the font is not very clear in the beginning, the difference between the Abbey and All Hallows is not that clear. All Hallows is introduced as a Church-like building, it would have made more sense to me, especially one not very aquainted with various denominations, if it had been explained as the Parish Church, and the Abbey also has a Church, by taking away the Baptismal Font from the Parish Church to its own Church the Abbey is making people pay for Baptism that they normally would not pay. Also the historical setting had not been spelled out clearly in the beginning. We get to know the setting sometime into the story. I did a google search to find out about who was the King and what was happening in England and elsewhere in the beginning. The story would have made more sense to me if the story had a prelude with the historical setting. After the initial bumps the story moves more smoothly and very fast. Alice is an interesting character despite her convent background she is a free thinker and has no hassles about breaking some rules. Interesting Prelude to more interesting times!

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Here is the Synopsis provided by the Author with Author Bio

Synopsis:

(Some violence, family and political intrigue, quite a lot of romance, some sex but never explicit.)

In 1436 a dispute arose between the people of Sherborne and their abbot over the ownership of a baptismal font. Before it was settled, the abbey was burnt down and a bishop murdered. Some saw the hand of evil at work and blamed a newcomer to the town, accusing her of being a witch. Others saw her as a saint. Wolf Wood is set in the turbulent years of the late middle ages. The old feudal aristocracy is losing control, a new middle class is flexing its muscles, the authority of the church is being questioned, law and order have broken down and England is facing defeat in France. Wolf Wood is a work of fiction based on actual events.

Release date: June 14, 2013
Self published

Part One, IBSN 978-0-9875989-0-5.
Part Two, IBSN 978-0-9875989-1-2. - not part of the Tour

PURCHASING INFORMATION
On the author's website:

Amazon pages.
Part One URL
Part Two URL:

Author's bio:

I was born in Sherborne (Dorset) and attended school there and (as an exchange student) in the Medoc region of France. I studied physics at Oxford and received a PhD degree in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge. Following teaching and research appointments in South Africa, Scotland and Australia, I joined the Australian Government Service and worked, for a while, as a ministerial assistant. I entered the tourist industry through public relations and scuba diving and established one of Australia's first backpacker resorts. I have a keen interest in medieval history and I am a frequent visitor to Britain and France.

As a boy, growing up in Sherborne, I heard about the famous fire of Sherborne Abbey and was told that a priest shot a flaming arrow into the tower and set the building on fire. The marks of the fire are visible today, over five hundred years later. And there is a lot more to tell us what happened.
There was an inquiry into the dispute that led to the fire and the surviving documents tell of a bitter feud between the abbot and the townspeople. It's highly dramatic stuff and it inspired me to write my Wolf Wood novels.

My books are fiction. Some of the characters are based on real people; others are entirely imaginary. I have done my best to be faithful to the main course of historical events and fill in the gaps with the sort of things that could have happened to my characters.

Here is the rest of the tour

Monday, Aug 26

Review at The Most Happy Reader

Tuesday, Aug 27

Review + interview at

at Musings of a Writer And Unabashed Francophile

Wednesday, Aug 28

Review at I Am, Indeed

Thursday, Aug 29

Review by author Paulita Kincer

at An Accidental Blog

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Disclaimer: I received an ebook copy from the author and France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.