At first Benjamin
and Elizabeth Cooker are excited about being invited to accompany
Claude Nithard, his publisher. and Claude's girlfriend on a trip to
Hungry. Even before they leave, things go awry. Alexandrine,
Benjamin's lab assistant, is attacked and badly injured. Benjamin
hates to leave her, but Elizabeth convinces him to let Virgile, his
assistant, handle it.
Benjamin agrees to
go to please Elizabeth and because he wants to taste the wines from
the Tokay region. However, things become more difficult when Claude
arrives with a much younger woman. Consuela is more interested in
shopping than wine tasting and not a good match for the Cookers.
Even the cruise on
the Danube is not as romantic as envisioned, but Benjamin tries not
to be discouraged. His main objective is to taste the Tokay wines.
This addition to the
Winemaker series has several positives. Alexandrine and Elizabeth
play larger roles in this novel. I particularly enjoyed seeing
Elizabeth come out of the kitchen and take charge. As usual the food,
wine, and scenery are beautifully described. In spite of the
difficulties, a cruise on the Danube sounds like a great adventure
and the descriptions of Budapest were fantastic.
However, this is
still not a serious mystery. The book moves slowly through the
Cooker's travels. The action begins about halfway through the book
and concludes very quickly. As usual, Benjamin doesn't do much
traditional detecting. Explanations seem to fall into his lap.
If you want a fast
paced detective story, this is not for you, but if you enjoy fine
wine, delicious food, and exotic settings, you'll love this book.
I received this book
from Le French Book for this review.
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