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Vengeance in the Vineyard #2
Bordeaux: The Bitter Finish
Champagne: The Farewell has the character of a fine wine, sparkling and flavorful, with just a touch of malice.' --Craig Johnson. Now comes Bordeaux, The Bitter Finish, a treat for fans of Peter Mayle Vintage Capers and Ellen Crosby’s The Merlot Murders
NYPD detective Max Maguire returns to France as bodyguard to a famous American wine critic. Max’s mother is French—so Max is not only bilingual but blessed, or cursed, with disapproving (and devious) French relatives. Max is not just escorting the critic, she’s also keeping an eye on a very expensive bottle of wine whose authenticity is in dispute, a pawn in cut-throat wine wars involving critics, wine collectors, and auction houses. Checked into their Paris hotel, it’s not long before Max discovers her client dead in her room and the bottle stolen from the hotel’s safe. So she has no choice but to team up with examining magistrate Olivier Chaumont, the man she had fallen in love with the year before while solving a murder in Champagne. Olivier's sidekick, Commissaire Abdel Zeroual joins in. Max has no police role in France but she stays a step ahead of the French investigators using tactics learned back in New York, while Olivier weaves in and out of Bordeaux society where he is certain the murderer lurks. Is this something local, or is there really a counterfeit wine operation in play? Moving back and forth from Bordeaux to Manhattan among vintners, restaurateurs, auctioneers, collectors, the rich, as well as among less privileged players, everyone is propelled towards a shocking climax.
NYPD detective Max Maguire returns to France as bodyguard to a famous American wine critic. Max’s mother is French—so Max is not only bilingual but blessed, or cursed, with disapproving (and devious) French relatives. Max is not just escorting the critic, she’s also keeping an eye on a very expensive bottle of wine whose authenticity is in dispute, a pawn in cut-throat wine wars involving critics, wine collectors, and auction houses. Checked into their Paris hotel, it’s not long before Max discovers her client dead in her room and the bottle stolen from the hotel’s safe. So she has no choice but to team up with examining magistrate Olivier Chaumont, the man she had fallen in love with the year before while solving a murder in Champagne. Olivier's sidekick, Commissaire Abdel Zeroual joins in. Max has no police role in France but she stays a step ahead of the French investigators using tactics learned back in New York, while Olivier weaves in and out of Bordeaux society where he is certain the murderer lurks. Is this something local, or is there really a counterfeit wine operation in play? Moving back and forth from Bordeaux to Manhattan among vintners, restaurateurs, auctioneers, collectors, the rich, as well as among less privileged players, everyone is propelled towards a shocking climax.
250 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2013
11 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Janet Hubbard
5 books29 followersI was born and raised in a small town in Virginia. I attended a girls' college, Virginia Intermont, for two years, then went to New York City where I completed my education at NYU, and worked in publishing. I moved to Paris for a year and returned to my publishing career. Vermont, where I met my husband, became my permanent home. I had two children, and set up a freelance editing and writing business.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 2, 2024
Fun Read
This was a very informative, albeit convoluted, journey into the deep dark inner world of grand cru wine. In the mix of murder and deceit is the light love story of two of the many “investigators “ involved.
This was a very informative, albeit convoluted, journey into the deep dark inner world of grand cru wine. In the mix of murder and deceit is the light love story of two of the many “investigators “ involved.
March 7, 2014
For me this was a classic recipe for a mystery tale.
Take one zealous and opinionated wine critic.
Mix in a feisty female NYPD officer and a smooth French magistrate in charge of the case – at this point stir vigorously to reignite a former passion.
Finally add some shady suspects, motivated by greed and prepared to go to any lengths to stay ahead.
Set against the gorgeous background of the lush vineyards of Bordeaux and the money oriented auction rooms of Manhattan, the pace changes easily to suit.
The tempting wines and pungent cheeses of the wine connoisseurs and buyers left me hungry for more and with a thirst for a sequel. All puns are intended!
There are many plot twists here and as the reader, you are treated to many possible motives, only then for them to disintegrate and direct you towards another lead. The story is well paced and easy to read, I read this in no time at all. The characters are all interwoven and there are some lovely subplots with Max’s family and Olivier’s sidekick Abdel. I shall be reading the earlier book in the series – Champagne – and will keep my eyes out for a sequel.
Take one zealous and opinionated wine critic.
Mix in a feisty female NYPD officer and a smooth French magistrate in charge of the case – at this point stir vigorously to reignite a former passion.
Finally add some shady suspects, motivated by greed and prepared to go to any lengths to stay ahead.
Set against the gorgeous background of the lush vineyards of Bordeaux and the money oriented auction rooms of Manhattan, the pace changes easily to suit.
The tempting wines and pungent cheeses of the wine connoisseurs and buyers left me hungry for more and with a thirst for a sequel. All puns are intended!
There are many plot twists here and as the reader, you are treated to many possible motives, only then for them to disintegrate and direct you towards another lead. The story is well paced and easy to read, I read this in no time at all. The characters are all interwoven and there are some lovely subplots with Max’s family and Olivier’s sidekick Abdel. I shall be reading the earlier book in the series – Champagne – and will keep my eyes out for a sequel.
October 14, 2015
I had recently watched a documentary on French wine explaining how the prices were being run up by investors, and some of the intrigue involved. So reading Bordeaux: The Bitter Finish was a perfect complement. I liked the main characters. The mystery led the reader through the vinyards and distribution networks for the world's finest wines. Just when I thought the murder had been solved, new complications arose. I will definitely be reading more of this series.
March 10, 2014
It is a very rare occasion when I don't finish a book. Sadly, this is one of those times. I found myself uninterested in the book from the beginning.
July 30, 2019
Вторая часть винной трилогии (честно говоря, я уже далеко не уверена, что добью третью книгу), в которой Макс отправляется в Бордо в качестве телохранителя известного винного критика Элены Джордан, чтобы сбежать от очередных проблем на работе в Нью-Йорке, где она слегка превысила полномочия против одного насильника, и видео с этим избиением попало в сеть. Приехав во Францию, конечно, подопечную Макс убивают, и она испытывая угрызения совести и чувство вины конечно же начинает собственное расследование. А официальное же расследование ведет… вы правильно угадали - Оливье Шомоне, который теперь обосновался в этих краях.
Столкнувшись с очередным "общим" делом между Макс и Оливье, конечно же, с новой силой вспыхивает вялотекущий все это время роман, когда Макс уехала обратно в Америку после дела в Шампани. Как всегда в деле оказывается замешано очень много различных интересов, и у каждого из подозреваемых был мотив свести с ней счеты, но главным оказывается след с контрафактом очень дорого французского вина.
По сравнению с предыдущей книгой сюжет более лихо закручен, хотя многие повороты сюжеты все равно слишком предсказуемы. Под конец книги автор, такое ощущение, вообще решила навести страстей почти как в триллере (осторожно! спойлеры) с неожиданным визитом убийцы в дом Оливье и захватом в заложницы оказавшейся там одной Макс (хорошо, что Оливье возвратился домой вместе со своими помощником Абделем).
В целом неплохо, но хотелось бы лучше. Мне не хватило здесь.. ощущения Франции, перечисления дорогих винтажных вин и изысканных блюд недостаточно, чтобы создать ту непередаваемую атмосферу юга Франции, которую хотелось бы видеть в подобных книгах, у Питера Мейла ее прекрасно удавалось передать.
Столкнувшись с очередным "общим" делом между Макс и Оливье, конечно же, с новой силой вспыхивает вялотекущий все это время роман, когда Макс уехала обратно в Америку после дела в Шампани. Как всегда в деле оказывается замешано очень много различных интересов, и у каждого из подозреваемых был мотив свести с ней счеты, но главным оказывается след с контрафактом очень дорого французского вина.
По сравнению с предыдущей книгой сюжет более лихо закручен, хотя многие повороты сюжеты все равно слишком предсказуемы. Под конец книги автор, такое ощущение, вообще решила навести страстей почти как в триллере (осторожно! спойлеры) с неожиданным визитом убийцы в дом Оливье и захватом в заложницы оказавшейся там одной Макс (хорошо, что Оливье возвратился домой вместе со своими помощником Абделем).
В целом неплохо, но хотелось бы лучше. Мне не хватило здесь.. ощущения Франции, перечисления дорогих винтажных вин и изысканных блюд недостаточно, чтобы создать ту непередаваемую атмосферу юга Франции, которую хотелось бы видеть в подобных книгах, у Питера Мейла ее прекрасно удавалось передать.
August 18, 2019
Great start & well written -first 150 pages. And then, hmmmm-What happened. Writing repetitive & plot going nowhere. Arrrgghh. Forced to continue, but checked out of the predictable thread of it on page 200. I don’t usually continue reading a book that’s slumped- but forced myself. Not good! Not good to force turning the page.
Original, thought I’d read her other two books-now-I’ll pass.
Original, thought I’d read her other two books-now-I’ll pass.
September 20, 2021
Bitter finish with hints of boredom.
March 7, 2017
This was a romantic/mystery book. it kept my interest...main character of book was female, strong and independent.
April 9, 2014
Vintages and Murder! A great combination.
Travelling from New York to Bordeaux as a bodyguard for the famous wine critic and friend of her mother's Ellen Jordan, Max Maguire is not expecting her charge to be dead before the trip has barely started. The searing question, apart from the guilt Max feels is, did Ellen die of asphyxiation or was she murdered?
Max has a french mother. Her father is a New York detective.
Max is also a detective, although she's supposed to be chilling out whilst the controversy over her latest antics, caught on video, die down.
France has further problems for Max.
There's the fact that her mother and consequently Max have been estranged from their French relations for many years. Only now is that fence being mended. Max does make contact with her grandmother, but her uncle, the Minister of Justice Philippe Douvier, is somewhat unnerved by this contact.
Maybe more tellingly, there's the renewal of her acquaintance with the investigating magistrate, Olivier Chaumont, whom she just happened to have an affair with last time she was in Bordeaux.
So we have a murder and wines that are being re bottled and passed off as highly expensive vintages by an international counterfeiting ring and a stalled love affair. The counterfeiting problem is exacerbated by the fact that of none of the high flying vintners wants to admit this is occurring as this could negatively affect the wine sales of the region.
The descriptions of the various wines, their bouquet and taste, are intriguing.
There are interesting sidebars where Hubbard contrasts the traditional family life and approaches to life in general of the French over and against the more brash Americans.
A story well played!
A NetGalley ARC
Travelling from New York to Bordeaux as a bodyguard for the famous wine critic and friend of her mother's Ellen Jordan, Max Maguire is not expecting her charge to be dead before the trip has barely started. The searing question, apart from the guilt Max feels is, did Ellen die of asphyxiation or was she murdered?
Max has a french mother. Her father is a New York detective.
Max is also a detective, although she's supposed to be chilling out whilst the controversy over her latest antics, caught on video, die down.
France has further problems for Max.
There's the fact that her mother and consequently Max have been estranged from their French relations for many years. Only now is that fence being mended. Max does make contact with her grandmother, but her uncle, the Minister of Justice Philippe Douvier, is somewhat unnerved by this contact.
Maybe more tellingly, there's the renewal of her acquaintance with the investigating magistrate, Olivier Chaumont, whom she just happened to have an affair with last time she was in Bordeaux.
So we have a murder and wines that are being re bottled and passed off as highly expensive vintages by an international counterfeiting ring and a stalled love affair. The counterfeiting problem is exacerbated by the fact that of none of the high flying vintners wants to admit this is occurring as this could negatively affect the wine sales of the region.
The descriptions of the various wines, their bouquet and taste, are intriguing.
There are interesting sidebars where Hubbard contrasts the traditional family life and approaches to life in general of the French over and against the more brash Americans.
A story well played!
A NetGalley ARC
April 25, 2015
This was a choice of our mystery club and we read one mystery related to wine before we meet once a year @ a local winery. There were a few things I didn't like about this book: the variety of locations made it hard to follow (several in France, New York, New Jersey) and the main character's disregard for following police policy & getting away with it because she had family/friends in high places. In real life, she wouldn't remain a police officer for long & she would have been killed several times because of her stupidity. It was too much fantasy and not enough reality for me. Don't waste your time on this one.
April 17, 2015
Far too many characters - most not adding anything to the plot. Some parts of the book were truly entertaining, especially the wine references - and who doesn't like smelly cheese, but as it drew to a close I was less and less interested. The action bogged down with irrelevancies. The pacing was uneven. The writing laborious. A good idea, let down in execution. Two stars seems too mean, and three stars a little generous. 2.5stars would be about right.
February 2, 2015
I thought that this novel was quite superior to the first in the series. I found it riveting entertaining and I was truly sad when it was over. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in a mystery sat in a beautiful location with priceless wine.
October 28, 2014
Very good story and entertaining about wine French country murder mystery; again pairing up a French magistrate and NY cop; with romance included.
January 30, 2016
The second in this new series. I like Olivier and Max a lot (even though she reminds me a bit of Sara Paretsky's impetuous Chicago cop). Looking forward to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews