Mayhem in Margaux Read online

  “To be precise, there are three hundred and twenty-six. You forgot the twenty-five steps you have to climb to get to the base of the lighthouse. You counted from the big stone stairway.”

  “Argh! Why do you always have to have to be right?”

  “Because I’m more thick-headed than you are, my child.”

  Margaux let her crutches drop and stood on one foot while she put her arms around her father’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. Benjamin held on tight to keep her from losing her balance.

  “I love you too much, you stubborn old mule. And if that makes you happy, I’m glad to let you have the last word.”

  Benjamin would have given up a lifetime of last words if it meant keeping her from flying off to the other side of the ocean again. But that wasn’t going to happen. So he sighed and treasured this moment, when his little girl was once again tucked in his protective arms.

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  The Winemaker Detective Series

  A total epicurean immersion in French countryside and gourmet attitude with two expert winemakers turned amateur sleuths gumshoeing around wine country. The following titles are currently available in English.

  Treachery in Bordeaux

  Barrels at the prestigious grand cru Moniales Haut-Brion wine estate in Bordeaux have been contaminated. Is it negligence or sabotage? Cooker and his assistant Virgile Lanssien search the city and the vineyards for answers, giving readers and inside view of this famous wine region.

  www.treacheryinbordeaux.com

  Grand Cru Heist

  After Benjamin Cooker’s world gets turned upside down one night in Paris, he retreats to the region around Tours to recover. There, he and his assistant Virgile turn PI to solve two murders and very particular heist. Who stole those bottles of grand cru classé?

  www.grandcruheist.com

  Nightmare in Burgundy

  The Winemaker Detective leaves his native Bordeaux for a dream wine tasting trip to Burgundy that turns into a troubling nightmare when he stumbles upon a mystery revolving around messages from another era. What do they mean? What dark secrets from the deep past are haunting the Clos de Vougeot?

  www.nightmareinburgundy.com

  Deadly Tasting

  In a new Winemaker Detective adventure, a serial killer stalks Bordeaux. To understand the wine-related symbolism, the local police call on the famous wine critic Benjamin Cooker. The investigation leads them to the dark hours of France’s history, as the mystery thickens among the once-peaceful vineyards of Pomerol.

  www.deadlytasting.com

  Cognac Conspiracies

  The heirs to one of the oldest Cognac estates in France face a hostile takeover by foreign investors. Renowned wine expert Benjamin Cooker is called in to audit the books. In what he thought was a sleepy provincial town, he and his assistant Virgile have their loyalties tested.

  www.cognacconspiracies.com

  About the Authors

  Noël Balen (left) and Jean-Pierre Alaux (right).

  (©David Nakache)

  Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen came up with the Winemaker Detective over a glass of wine, of course. 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 won the Antonin Carême prize for his cookbook La Truffe sur le Soufflé, which he wrote with the chef Alexis Pélissou. 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. Coauthor of the series Noël Balen lives in Paris, where he shares his time between writing, making records, and lecturing on music. He plays bass, is a music critic, and has authored a number of books about musicians, in addition to his novel and short-story writing.

  About the Translator

  Sally Pane studied French at State University of New York Oswego and the Sorbonne before receiving her master’s 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 University of Colorado Boulder. She has translated a number of titles in the Winemaker Detective series. In addition to her passion for French, she has studied Italian. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband.

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Praise

  Title

  Info

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Thank you

  The Winemaker Detective Series

  About the Authors

  About the Translator

  More books