The Critic

The second in Peter May's "Enzo Files" series set in France centers on the murder of an American wine critic whose body was found in bizarre circumstances a year after he disappeared. Another body turns up during the course of the investigation and there have been additional disappearances. The investigation uncovers a lot of information about winemaking, terroir, GMOs and was very interesting to me but would be even more so to someone who actually drinks the stuff!I liked this book better than the first Enzo mystery and will definitely seek out the rest of the series. They are not exactly cozies, but are good books to spend a pleasant afternoon with; perhaps to cleanse the palate between two heavier, denser tomes.

I was very disappointed. The characters were flat stereotypes and the mystery was too convoluted.

The second Enzo book is not quite as intricate as the first (Extraordinary People). But, it was as good a read. There is a puzzle to solve: Enzo has to work out the first murder victim's system of rating wines from his encrypted files on his computer. I have decided that Enzo is Peter May's alter ego. He is smart, lucky, drinks like a fish, can't keep the women off, and is deservedly guilt-ridden. Despite all his flaws, he is likeable. But someone is trying to kill him. I will keep reading until I find out who.

The second volume in the Enzo Macleod series was also exciting. This time Enzo is investigating the Gaillac wine region, where a renowned American wine critic disappeared ten years ago and reappeared as a corpse during a night harvest. What's behind that? When even more missing 'dead' appear, Enzo too has to fear for his life. Fortunately, he has strong support from his daughter Sophia, her boyfriend Bertrand and the student Nicole. For a long time he could not expect anything from the authorities because he is not accepted as a recognized forensic expert in France.

What's not to like about Peter May's books? They are set in (at least to me) exotic locales, have intriguing main and secondary characters, use contemporary forensic science methods to solve the crime, and the main detective knows he needs the assistance of others to solve the puzzle. Enzo Macleod is a Scotsman transplanted to France where he teaches biology and solves unsolved crimes on the side. In this book he is in the Gaillac region of France looking into the death of an American wine critic, Gil Petty, who disappeared four years ago while he was tasting wines of the region. His body has just recently come to light having been preserved in wine for the intervening years. Enzo is staying in the same little cottage that Petty stayed in and he wants to get a job picking grapes to do some undercover investigation. Even before he can get started someone tries to kill him by knocking him out and leaving him in the path of a grape picking machine traversing a wine field at night. Soon Enzo has help in his search. He calls in his student Nicole, a computer whiz; then his sometime lover, Charlotte, shows up from Paris; Gil Petty's daughter, Michelle, from California arrives in France to retrieve her father's effects; rounding out the team are Enzo's daughter Sophie and her boyfriend Roland. Michelle seems to be very attracted to Enzo who wouldn't mind exploring this relationship since Charlotte can't commit to anything but they always get interrupted before anything can go too far. When another wine-soaked body shows up in the same area as Petty's the instructing judge makes Enzo's involvement official. That means he can see the evidence collected previously and ask for tests. Michelle gets her father's laptop which initially doesn't have anything too interesting but then Nicole suggests that Petty might have stored his information in the cloud. Enzo knows someone in California that can examine the wine from Petty's body in conjunction with soil samples from vineyards that Petty visited and determine where the wine was produced. (First Enzo has to get the soil and wine samples to California which involves some skulduggery in order to get them past customs.) He knows he must be getting close because someone attempts to kill him (after killing his dog and stringing it up--a piece of information I really didn't need) when he arrives back in Gaillac from the USA. Fortunately Sophie and Roland arrive just in time to chase the killer off. Enzo will undergo one more attempt on his life before the case is over; I guess that's just par for the course in the life of a private detective. Enzo's love life doesn't seem to be getting any better but it seems that Nicole has found a man that suits her (and her father). Sophie and Roland seem to be matched up well. Maybe Charlotte will finally succumb to Enzo's charms. And maybe Enzo will survive the people who are out to kill him because it seems there is more than one.

Lots of great background on wine-making and wine criticism - but great background does not make a great novel - I'm doubtful about Enzo's appeal as a lead character. The book just felt a bit "clunky"

Enzo Macleod is an unusual character. Coming from a mixed Scottish-Italian background he had formerly served as a highly qualified and respected forensic scientist in Glasgow before decamping to France where he now lectures in biology at the university of Toulouse. His personal life is complicated and he has two daughters (both predictably beautiful, feisty and drawn to men whom Enzo distrusts) by different mothers.In the previous (first) novel in this series ('Extraordinary People') Enzo had solved a famous cold case, one of seven detailed in a book by journalist Roger Raffin. Following on from that success Enzo now turns his attention to the murder of world-renowned wine critic Gil Petty who had been found dead in the grounds of a vineyard in the Gaillac region. Peter May clearly does a lot of research for his books, and in this one he manages to convey a huge amount of information about the history and techniques of commercial wine production, though he handles his material deftly, and never lets the stream of facts detract from the flow of the narrative.I felt that this was, perhaps, a little weaker than the previous novel, but it still held my attention closely and very enjoyable.

I think it probably helped to have read the first in the series, EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE, which gave biographical background to Enzo McLeod, how a Scotsman comes to be in France, lecturing at a university in biology when he is in fact a forensics expert (although essential details emerge in the narrative).The first in the series also gives the background to Enzo's quest to solve some unusual cold cases.I haven't read many crime fiction titles set in the wine industry and thought that would be interesting too.Before long Enzo finds out that there are a number of people who are not keen on him solving this particular cold case and attempts are made on his life.For those who know little about the wine industry, the author has done plenty of research and I think you will learn quite a lot.A good read.