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The Enzo Files #2
The Critic
Gil Petty, the worlds number one wine critic, went missing during a tasting tour of the little-known wine region of Gaillac. Four years ago, his body was discovered strung up on a cross in the vineyards of southwest France.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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January 28, 2019
This second novel of six in Peter May’s “Enzo Files” finds Enzo now tasked with a cold case that centres around the wine country two hours south of his home in France. Missing people are showing up years later ‘preserved’ in wine, but also displayed by the killer in a signature pose. Enzo is tasked with finding the murderer, and it is not going to be easy.
Once again, Enzo calls on help from Nicole, his student and computer expert. One of the victims had a daughter, Michelle, who has mixed feelings about helping, but has a ‘thing’ about older men – in this case, Enzo. Charlotte also shows up to help and is not thrilled with Michelle’s presence. Enzo’s daughter Sophie and her boyfriend Bertrand also come to see if they can help – and Sophie isn’t thrilled about Michelle either. Enzo is being Enzo: he drinks too much, is almost killed and then later on drinks too much and is almost killed again. The man never learns. He is also on the verge of succumbing to Michelle’s charms with the excuse that Charlotte won’t commit to a relationship with him. Oh my.
So it’s probably obvious that Enzo is self-indulgently going through a mid-century++ crisis and I expect that will continue through the series. Since I am still a big fan of Peter May’s stories, the pacing, and the scenic tours his writing takes us on, I have chosen to ignore the parts where Enzo acts the fool. He is still a brilliant forensic investigator which adds a bit of balance - or is it ballast?
The Chateaux that are described are amazing – so much history comes through in this story via family’s ancestries and their centuries of wine-making. I had no idea that making wine commercially is such an elaborate process. I also didn’t realize how powerful a wine critic can be – to the extent that he could, should he choose to, bankrupt a wine-making family and/or corporate entity with a bad review.
Since the mysteries are tied in so heavily to various aspects of the wine-making process, I found myself paying very close attention. Not that I could begin to emulate the process even if someone handed me a fully-functioning winery, but I liked learning about it. It is also interesting how cut-throat it can be – how certain wine makers historically used their advantageous location to block other wine makers’ access to exports, and how that blocking continues centuries later - was just one of several stories I found fascinating.
I also found it interesting that what almost all of North America calls an "entrée" is actually an appetizer (entry to the main meal) in most of Europe. How the word came to mean the main dish itself in North America is a mystery.
Enzo does solve the mysteries of the missing and murdered people. However, whoever had tried to kill him in this story was not part of those cold cases he solved at all. We are left with a cliff-hanger in that respect, and it is a good thing that my reading buddy and I are continuing on with this series so we can find out who it is and what this would-be killer's motives are.
Once again, Enzo calls on help from Nicole, his student and computer expert. One of the victims had a daughter, Michelle, who has mixed feelings about helping, but has a ‘thing’ about older men – in this case, Enzo. Charlotte also shows up to help and is not thrilled with Michelle’s presence. Enzo’s daughter Sophie and her boyfriend Bertrand also come to see if they can help – and Sophie isn’t thrilled about Michelle either. Enzo is being Enzo: he drinks too much, is almost killed and then later on drinks too much and is almost killed again. The man never learns. He is also on the verge of succumbing to Michelle’s charms with the excuse that Charlotte won’t commit to a relationship with him. Oh my.
So it’s probably obvious that Enzo is self-indulgently going through a mid-century++ crisis and I expect that will continue through the series. Since I am still a big fan of Peter May’s stories, the pacing, and the scenic tours his writing takes us on, I have chosen to ignore the parts where Enzo acts the fool. He is still a brilliant forensic investigator which adds a bit of balance - or is it ballast?
The Chateaux that are described are amazing – so much history comes through in this story via family’s ancestries and their centuries of wine-making. I had no idea that making wine commercially is such an elaborate process. I also didn’t realize how powerful a wine critic can be – to the extent that he could, should he choose to, bankrupt a wine-making family and/or corporate entity with a bad review.
Since the mysteries are tied in so heavily to various aspects of the wine-making process, I found myself paying very close attention. Not that I could begin to emulate the process even if someone handed me a fully-functioning winery, but I liked learning about it. It is also interesting how cut-throat it can be – how certain wine makers historically used their advantageous location to block other wine makers’ access to exports, and how that blocking continues centuries later - was just one of several stories I found fascinating.
I also found it interesting that what almost all of North America calls an "entrée" is actually an appetizer (entry to the main meal) in most of Europe. How the word came to mean the main dish itself in North America is a mystery.
Enzo does solve the mysteries of the missing and murdered people. However, whoever had tried to kill him in this story was not part of those cold cases he solved at all. We are left with a cliff-hanger in that respect, and it is a good thing that my reading buddy and I are continuing on with this series so we can find out who it is and what this would-be killer's motives are.
May 23, 2017
I think I enjoyed this one more than I did the first in the series, probably because the characters have started to grow on me. Enzo is a bit of an oddity which I assume is what the author intends and his surrounding cast of Nicole, Sophie, Bertrand et al are all good fun. Though I am pretty sure Enzo should dump Charlotte. And probably lose the kilt too.
I have to say that it is one of those books where you feel that the author has done an amazing amount of research on his topic, in this case wine, and then unfortunately feels he has to share all his new found knowledge with his readers. And I mean all of it. Less would have been better in this case.
Still, there was a good mystery, lots of dead bodies drowned in wine vats and some edge of the seat moments as Enzo is particularly good at putting himself in danger.
I enjoyed it and am already looking forward to the next one:)
I have to say that it is one of those books where you feel that the author has done an amazing amount of research on his topic, in this case wine, and then unfortunately feels he has to share all his new found knowledge with his readers. And I mean all of it. Less would have been better in this case.
Still, there was a good mystery, lots of dead bodies drowned in wine vats and some edge of the seat moments as Enzo is particularly good at putting himself in danger.
I enjoyed it and am already looking forward to the next one:)
December 22, 2020
”’Who is it?’ Annie whispers, an odd foreboding descending on her, like the darkness of the night as a cloud momentarily masks the moon. The light from Christian’s lamp pierces it, startling and bright, and finds a face, sunken and wrinkled, and stretched back across an impossibly prominent skull. Black holes where once there were eyes. Skin, teeth, hair, the deep, red colour of grape juice, matching the crimson of the gown. The mouth hangs open as if frozen in some dying screams. But it is Annie’s scream that fills the night, full of the fear of mortality that comes from a first encounter with death.”
The American wine critic, Gil Petty, goes missing during a tasting tour of the wine region of Gaillac. His power with consumers is immense, and a good rating for him means that a small vineyard might find themselves suddenly popular with the world wine drinkers, but a poor rating can mean the death of a winery. It always makes people uneasy when an influencer becomes so popular that his opinion is the only one consumers believe. He has, after all, one palate, and therefore, he has a preference that fits his own taste buds; consumers will like what he likes, but they may also like a plethora of wines that he doesn’t like. In other words, he is a man who simply has too much power.
Plus, there is the added problem that he is an American deciding the fate of French wines. That alone may prove to be a motive for murder most foul.
When his body is found strung up like a scarecrow, pickled in wine, twelve months after his disappearance, the police, of course, suspect that a winemaker may have been involved in his death, but they believe they have no clues to guide them to the killer. His notes may have provided a list of suspects. A vineyard believing he was about to give their wines a low rating may be compelled to...well...bottle up the problem. Fortunately for everyone, Enzo Macleod is on the case. He is fresh off cracking the Gaillard case, a baffling mystery that had the police scratching their heads for years. He specializes in cold cases, and the Petty case is definitely as chilly as a fine bottle of Pinot Grigio.
Enzo doesn’t have an official capacity. He teaches biology at a small college. He is a trained forensic scientist and can’t help but investigate crimes that have stumped the police. He is not a favorite with the police. He is Scottish-Italian, aggressively annoyingly assertive, a smarty pants, and has too many women vying for his attention. He has two daughters, one who loathes him and one who adores him; he has the ex-girlfriend of one of his best friends who seems to be a friend with benefits. He has Gil Petty’s adorable daughter who seems to have a penchant for older men, a judge whom he finds exceedingly attractive but who is unfortunately happily married, and then there is his assistant Nicole with her bodacious bosoms and tight t-shirts who is a constant source of temptations. It is amazing that Enzo can find the time to actually investigate the crime.
It is never easy for one to insert himself into a community, and certainly, there is much distrust of Enzo’s true motives. He nearly finds himself part of the wine process when he is hurled in front of a wine harvester. What is that elusive flavor in the wine this year? Is it the essence of Scottish haggis or a more full bodied Italian flavor?
I really enjoy the discussion of the minerals and elements in wine that provide a fingerprint as to where the grapes were grown that were used to make the wine. I agree with the winemakers of the Gaillac region that one person should never have the power to homogenize our tastes, but murder is murder, and even the most creative killer will find it difficult to escape the permutations of Enzo Macleod. This is my second venture into the Enzo Files and certainly won’t be my last. I do have to find out how he resolves all his personal issues, but I have a feeling that resolve might prove to be the wrong word.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
The American wine critic, Gil Petty, goes missing during a tasting tour of the wine region of Gaillac. His power with consumers is immense, and a good rating for him means that a small vineyard might find themselves suddenly popular with the world wine drinkers, but a poor rating can mean the death of a winery. It always makes people uneasy when an influencer becomes so popular that his opinion is the only one consumers believe. He has, after all, one palate, and therefore, he has a preference that fits his own taste buds; consumers will like what he likes, but they may also like a plethora of wines that he doesn’t like. In other words, he is a man who simply has too much power.
Plus, there is the added problem that he is an American deciding the fate of French wines. That alone may prove to be a motive for murder most foul.
When his body is found strung up like a scarecrow, pickled in wine, twelve months after his disappearance, the police, of course, suspect that a winemaker may have been involved in his death, but they believe they have no clues to guide them to the killer. His notes may have provided a list of suspects. A vineyard believing he was about to give their wines a low rating may be compelled to...well...bottle up the problem. Fortunately for everyone, Enzo Macleod is on the case. He is fresh off cracking the Gaillard case, a baffling mystery that had the police scratching their heads for years. He specializes in cold cases, and the Petty case is definitely as chilly as a fine bottle of Pinot Grigio.
Enzo doesn’t have an official capacity. He teaches biology at a small college. He is a trained forensic scientist and can’t help but investigate crimes that have stumped the police. He is not a favorite with the police. He is Scottish-Italian, aggressively annoyingly assertive, a smarty pants, and has too many women vying for his attention. He has two daughters, one who loathes him and one who adores him; he has the ex-girlfriend of one of his best friends who seems to be a friend with benefits. He has Gil Petty’s adorable daughter who seems to have a penchant for older men, a judge whom he finds exceedingly attractive but who is unfortunately happily married, and then there is his assistant Nicole with her bodacious bosoms and tight t-shirts who is a constant source of temptations. It is amazing that Enzo can find the time to actually investigate the crime.
It is never easy for one to insert himself into a community, and certainly, there is much distrust of Enzo’s true motives. He nearly finds himself part of the wine process when he is hurled in front of a wine harvester. What is that elusive flavor in the wine this year? Is it the essence of Scottish haggis or a more full bodied Italian flavor?
I really enjoy the discussion of the minerals and elements in wine that provide a fingerprint as to where the grapes were grown that were used to make the wine. I agree with the winemakers of the Gaillac region that one person should never have the power to homogenize our tastes, but murder is murder, and even the most creative killer will find it difficult to escape the permutations of Enzo Macleod. This is my second venture into the Enzo Files and certainly won’t be my last. I do have to find out how he resolves all his personal issues, but I have a feeling that resolve might prove to be the wrong word.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
July 17, 2021
Book 2 in the Enzo Files series published 2007.
A slow 3.5 stars.
A murder mystery in a wine making region in France.
The body of an American wine tasting expert turns up a year after he went missing. The body whilst in a state of decomposition was in a much better condition than it should have been given that he was murdered a year ago. The reason for this is the fact that the body had been preserved in wine for all that time. One year later and another body turns up in the same state of pickling. The local police have no idea of how or why.
When Enzo McLeod, an ex-patriot Scot, a professor of forensic sciences and who now lives and teaches in France, hears of these bizarre deaths he has to go look for himself. At first the local police don’t welcome Enzo with open arms but Enzo soon manages to convince the locals that he really does know what he is doing and could help with solving these cases.
This part of the story was well told and held me intrigued. But I have to say that the story unfolded at a pedestrian pace. Part of the reason for the pedestrian pace was the amount of time devoted to the science of wine making and the tasting there of. Pages and pages of holding the glass of wine just so so that the bouquet could be appreciated to its fullest. Sipping the wine and rolling it slowly from the front of the tongue to the back. Inhaling deeply through the nose and then slowly letting the wine slip over the throat, holding your breath for a moment then exhaling and discovering the after taste. As interesting as all this is it really did slow things down a lot.
At time it felt like the mystery was secondary to the education on wine appreciation.
Not a bad read but not one I will want to revisit.
A slow 3.5 stars.
A murder mystery in a wine making region in France.
The body of an American wine tasting expert turns up a year after he went missing. The body whilst in a state of decomposition was in a much better condition than it should have been given that he was murdered a year ago. The reason for this is the fact that the body had been preserved in wine for all that time. One year later and another body turns up in the same state of pickling. The local police have no idea of how or why.
When Enzo McLeod, an ex-patriot Scot, a professor of forensic sciences and who now lives and teaches in France, hears of these bizarre deaths he has to go look for himself. At first the local police don’t welcome Enzo with open arms but Enzo soon manages to convince the locals that he really does know what he is doing and could help with solving these cases.
This part of the story was well told and held me intrigued. But I have to say that the story unfolded at a pedestrian pace. Part of the reason for the pedestrian pace was the amount of time devoted to the science of wine making and the tasting there of. Pages and pages of holding the glass of wine just so so that the bouquet could be appreciated to its fullest. Sipping the wine and rolling it slowly from the front of the tongue to the back. Inhaling deeply through the nose and then slowly letting the wine slip over the throat, holding your breath for a moment then exhaling and discovering the after taste. As interesting as all this is it really did slow things down a lot.
At time it felt like the mystery was secondary to the education on wine appreciation.
Not a bad read but not one I will want to revisit.
December 3, 2020
This series can be either very good or....
Let's say this wasn't good!!
Let's say this wasn't good!!
April 7, 2019
This is the second book in the Enzo McLeod series and as enjoyable as the first.
Enzo is investigating the disappearance and subsequent murder of a wine critic Gil Petty. It appears that the critic may have upset a vigneron in the Gaillac region of France with his reviews.
It soon becomes apparent that there will be more victims and potentially one of those will be Enzo himself.
Enjoyable , but be sure to have a good bottle of red on stand by as you will soon be craving a glass or two.
Enzo is investigating the disappearance and subsequent murder of a wine critic Gil Petty. It appears that the critic may have upset a vigneron in the Gaillac region of France with his reviews.
It soon becomes apparent that there will be more victims and potentially one of those will be Enzo himself.
Enjoyable , but be sure to have a good bottle of red on stand by as you will soon be craving a glass or two.
May 24, 2020
I finished this book because a) I really did want to know the identity of the murderer, and b) because we are in coronavirus lockdown and all the bookshops and libraries are closed. However, when I had turned the last page, I threw it across the room. Story - yes, ok, interesting wine country setting. But oh my god the main character, Enzo, is the worst. Absolutely loathed him and his controlling, aggressive, smug, paternalistic, lecherous, pervie manner. I wondered if perhaps the author had written this book many years ago in his sweaty hormonal teen years, then left it in a drawer for publication decades later. Enzo describes every single woman he comes across sexually, and his 19 year old assistant Nicole is basically nothing but an ambulant pair of tits. I laughed out loud at the line “She thrust defiant breasts at him” which is so close to “she breasted boobily” that it verges on self-parody.
Also, can we PLEASE have an end to the trope of the magic changing eye colours? Please?
Also, can we PLEASE have an end to the trope of the magic changing eye colours? Please?
December 3, 2020
This series can be either very good or....
Let's say this wasn't good!!
Let's say this wasn't good!!
October 8, 2017
This is the 2nd book in the Enzo files series by one of my favourite authors Peter May. I can only believe it is me because I have always been captivated by this author and enjoyed his work, but I just couldn't get into this book at all. I had read and enjoyed the previous book in the series so was looking forward to starting this one but felt so disappointed. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I started reading it on a flight home after a very enjoyable holiday.
I enjoyed the 1st book enough to give the 3rd one in the series a chance but will maybe give it a while.
I enjoyed the 1st book enough to give the 3rd one in the series a chance but will maybe give it a while.
February 5, 2019
Enzo MacLeod’s foray into the unsolved murders of the book that led to the action of Extraordinary People, has now led him to the wine country of France where the body of a wine critic, missing some four years, has finally “surfaced.” And all signs indicate his death was related to his work.
Once again, Enzo moves along the assumed path of the victim, this time through a countryside of vineyards and chateaux both elegant and crumbling. Alongside Enzo we learn the intricacies of winemaking, wine tasting, the wine trade and the potential for feuds and infighting between neighboring vineyards. I never would have believed that any wine could have such flavor as described but then I’ve never bought an expensive wine either.
There are also more murders as Enzo again enlists Nicole for her computer tech expertise and his daughter Sophie arrives with beau Bertrand looking to help out. Even Charlotte shows up briefly and continues to confound him romantically. And there is the added presence of Michelle, daughter of the deceased critic, who seems interested in more than Enzo’s detection skills.
There is a lot happening in this story of murder and wine, with two attempts made on Enzo himself. And we are left with a question: is there someone outside this crime who is trying to get rid of MacLeod?
Another really good story. May obviously enjoys researching then teaching through his novels and makes interesting learning experiences through his mysteries.
Once again, Enzo moves along the assumed path of the victim, this time through a countryside of vineyards and chateaux both elegant and crumbling. Alongside Enzo we learn the intricacies of winemaking, wine tasting, the wine trade and the potential for feuds and infighting between neighboring vineyards. I never would have believed that any wine could have such flavor as described but then I’ve never bought an expensive wine either.
There are also more murders as Enzo again enlists Nicole for her computer tech expertise and his daughter Sophie arrives with beau Bertrand looking to help out. Even Charlotte shows up briefly and continues to confound him romantically. And there is the added presence of Michelle, daughter of the deceased critic, who seems interested in more than Enzo’s detection skills.
There is a lot happening in this story of murder and wine, with two attempts made on Enzo himself. And we are left with a question: is there someone outside this crime who is trying to get rid of MacLeod?
Another really good story. May obviously enjoys researching then teaching through his novels and makes interesting learning experiences through his mysteries.
November 14, 2015
This is such a hard one to rate and review. A part of me wanted to give it just three stars but, in the end, I was not able to do such a thing. In general, I love Peter May’s work far too much to do that. Moreover, certain aspects of this book improved upon factors I disliked with the first. That being said, certain things I enjoyed with the first in the series vanished. Ergo, it’s a complicated one.
I’ll start by saying you should probably read Extraordinary People before reading The Critic. Whilst it is easy enough to follow – we’re given details relating back to the first one – quite a bit of understanding will be lost. So much happened in the first book, without reading it you will be lacking in the background information and unable to enjoy the overall story.
So, if you have gone back and picked up the first one – and you now want more – I will go on.
The Critic follows on with the intriguing premise from Extraordinary People, following Enzo Macleod as an earlier wager leaves the once forensic expert on a quest to solve notorious unsolved crimes of France. Onto the second of seven cases, we have a bit more fun this time around. After all, people are now aware of Macleod and his antic meaning people are less than willing to play his little game.
I now hear you asking what makes it such a mix of good and bad, something that is rather difficult to explain in the linear way I was hoping for.
Once again, Peter May is wonderful at setting the scene. The detail was on par with the first one – so a little bit too much at times – yet it seemed to work better in this book than it did the first. Perhaps it was simply that I had grown accustomed to it, or maybe it was merely more necessary. Either way, the scene is set in the usual Peter May way.
Fortunately, the details of the surroundings and the journey down memory lane were not overshadowing the story to the same degree this time around. We have more on the mystery-solving element. It is still far from the near perfect level we are given in his Lewis Trilogy, but it is a massive improvement on the first.
That being said, the wine details. Oh my gosh… over the top is an understatement. That is where I lost it with this one. I’m not a wine drinker. To me wine tastes like vinegar. I do not understand why so many people enjoy it. I have tried one kind of wine and it was enough to put me off for life. To make it worse, that one sip of wine was of French wine (don’t ask me for the kind as I cannot say, all I know is that my flatmate brought it over with her when she headed home for Christmas and let us all try it). So, as you can imagine, my one taste of French wine was enough to put me off it for life and this book is based upon the French wines. There is endless talk of taste testing. They can taste this, they can taste that, there is a hint of these things… For me, it wasn’t enjoyable. I forced my way through these parts. I had to silence my ‘but it all tastes of vinegar’ mental commentary on more than one occasion.
Still, if you’re a wine lover you may enjoy this. I merely go against the grain through being a wine hater.
I could rant about the wine for a while, though, so I’ll move on.
The mystery for this one was a better-paced one than the last. Moreover, we follow more characters this time around. Interesting characters from the first are fleshed out more as they work towards solving the mystery. To make it even better, the whodunit was not as blinding obvious as it was in the first book. We’re given plenty of traps to fall into again, and even if you don’t fall for them (as I managed not to this time), we’re still given plenty of questions to ask ourselves.
The ending is a nice preparation for what else is to come, too. A more satisfying ending than that in the first book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I disliked the first (there were a number of aspects I enjoyed more with the first), I merely found this one to have a more satisfying impact at the end – if only because it left me wanting to read on to the next one.
Overall, a nice addition to the series. The Enzo Files are still no Lewis Trilogy, but they’re decent enough reads for Peter May fans.
I’ll start by saying you should probably read Extraordinary People before reading The Critic. Whilst it is easy enough to follow – we’re given details relating back to the first one – quite a bit of understanding will be lost. So much happened in the first book, without reading it you will be lacking in the background information and unable to enjoy the overall story.
So, if you have gone back and picked up the first one – and you now want more – I will go on.
The Critic follows on with the intriguing premise from Extraordinary People, following Enzo Macleod as an earlier wager leaves the once forensic expert on a quest to solve notorious unsolved crimes of France. Onto the second of seven cases, we have a bit more fun this time around. After all, people are now aware of Macleod and his antic meaning people are less than willing to play his little game.
I now hear you asking what makes it such a mix of good and bad, something that is rather difficult to explain in the linear way I was hoping for.
Once again, Peter May is wonderful at setting the scene. The detail was on par with the first one – so a little bit too much at times – yet it seemed to work better in this book than it did the first. Perhaps it was simply that I had grown accustomed to it, or maybe it was merely more necessary. Either way, the scene is set in the usual Peter May way.
Fortunately, the details of the surroundings and the journey down memory lane were not overshadowing the story to the same degree this time around. We have more on the mystery-solving element. It is still far from the near perfect level we are given in his Lewis Trilogy, but it is a massive improvement on the first.
That being said, the wine details. Oh my gosh… over the top is an understatement. That is where I lost it with this one. I’m not a wine drinker. To me wine tastes like vinegar. I do not understand why so many people enjoy it. I have tried one kind of wine and it was enough to put me off for life. To make it worse, that one sip of wine was of French wine (don’t ask me for the kind as I cannot say, all I know is that my flatmate brought it over with her when she headed home for Christmas and let us all try it). So, as you can imagine, my one taste of French wine was enough to put me off it for life and this book is based upon the French wines. There is endless talk of taste testing. They can taste this, they can taste that, there is a hint of these things… For me, it wasn’t enjoyable. I forced my way through these parts. I had to silence my ‘but it all tastes of vinegar’ mental commentary on more than one occasion.
Still, if you’re a wine lover you may enjoy this. I merely go against the grain through being a wine hater.
I could rant about the wine for a while, though, so I’ll move on.
The mystery for this one was a better-paced one than the last. Moreover, we follow more characters this time around. Interesting characters from the first are fleshed out more as they work towards solving the mystery. To make it even better, the whodunit was not as blinding obvious as it was in the first book. We’re given plenty of traps to fall into again, and even if you don’t fall for them (as I managed not to this time), we’re still given plenty of questions to ask ourselves.
The ending is a nice preparation for what else is to come, too. A more satisfying ending than that in the first book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I disliked the first (there were a number of aspects I enjoyed more with the first), I merely found this one to have a more satisfying impact at the end – if only because it left me wanting to read on to the next one.
Overall, a nice addition to the series. The Enzo Files are still no Lewis Trilogy, but they’re decent enough reads for Peter May fans.
May 15, 2019
‘I love this place. I love the wines we make. My father made wine here before me, and it’s my son who is maître de chai. There’s poetry in the grape, you know. The essence of Man, of civilisation, of sophistication. We’ve done all manner of things. We have circumnavigated the globe, sent spaceships to Mars. But there’s no higher achievement than the making of a fine wine, no greater pleasure than to drink it.’
The Enzo MacLeod series has as its central character a feisty Scotsman and former forensic expert, lecturing at the University of Toulouse. He has taken on a bet against Roger Raffin, a Parisian journalist who has published a book on famous unsolved murders in France that Enzo is determined to solve. The second book finds him in the south of France, staying at a gîte beside a chateau in the wine growing region of Gaillac, where American wine critic, Gil Petty - a man who could make or break a vineyard’s reputation - disappeared four years earlier, his body later turning up as a wine-sodden scarecrow, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Ordre de la Dive Bouteille, a masonic-type organisation of wine growers. Within hours of his arrival Enzo narrowly escapes an attempt on his life, and then a second body turns up in similar circumstances.
Aside from the murder mystery and copious amounts of wine and information on terroir, the fermentation process and wine tasting, Enzo faces personal and family issues. He and Raffin are widowers, and Enzo has an on/off relationship with Charlotte, a Paris-based psychologist who lived with Raffin for 18 months. His older daughter Kirsty, from his Scottish marriage, is now in a relationship with Raffin, which Enzo does not approve of. His younger daughter Sophie, born in France, is in a relationship with Bertrand who owns a fitness centre in Cahors. And then Gil Petty’s daughter, Michelle, turns up from the States to collect her late father’s effects, including a laptop which holds information on his wine tasting in coded form. Enzo is heavily reliant on one of his students, Nicole, to help him break the code, but she is enamoured of a saturnine winegrower named, Fabien, who is also a suspect.
I enjoy all of Peter May’s books for descriptions of the landscapes, medieval buildings and the weather, interspaced with French words that I vaguely remember from my trips there, and in this case, had me digging out the Road Atlas of France, buried in a cupboard, to look up locations. The plot was well-paced and characters all well drawn, especially Enzo, with his dry, one-liners.
(Madame le Juge) tipped her head to one side and regarded him carefully. ‘They told me you were someone who likes to speak his mind. It can get you into trouble, you know.’
‘Oh I do. But diplomacy is not an attribute that has ever been associated with the Scots.
The Enzo MacLeod series has as its central character a feisty Scotsman and former forensic expert, lecturing at the University of Toulouse. He has taken on a bet against Roger Raffin, a Parisian journalist who has published a book on famous unsolved murders in France that Enzo is determined to solve. The second book finds him in the south of France, staying at a gîte beside a chateau in the wine growing region of Gaillac, where American wine critic, Gil Petty - a man who could make or break a vineyard’s reputation - disappeared four years earlier, his body later turning up as a wine-sodden scarecrow, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Ordre de la Dive Bouteille, a masonic-type organisation of wine growers. Within hours of his arrival Enzo narrowly escapes an attempt on his life, and then a second body turns up in similar circumstances.
Aside from the murder mystery and copious amounts of wine and information on terroir, the fermentation process and wine tasting, Enzo faces personal and family issues. He and Raffin are widowers, and Enzo has an on/off relationship with Charlotte, a Paris-based psychologist who lived with Raffin for 18 months. His older daughter Kirsty, from his Scottish marriage, is now in a relationship with Raffin, which Enzo does not approve of. His younger daughter Sophie, born in France, is in a relationship with Bertrand who owns a fitness centre in Cahors. And then Gil Petty’s daughter, Michelle, turns up from the States to collect her late father’s effects, including a laptop which holds information on his wine tasting in coded form. Enzo is heavily reliant on one of his students, Nicole, to help him break the code, but she is enamoured of a saturnine winegrower named, Fabien, who is also a suspect.
I enjoy all of Peter May’s books for descriptions of the landscapes, medieval buildings and the weather, interspaced with French words that I vaguely remember from my trips there, and in this case, had me digging out the Road Atlas of France, buried in a cupboard, to look up locations. The plot was well-paced and characters all well drawn, especially Enzo, with his dry, one-liners.
(Madame le Juge) tipped her head to one side and regarded him carefully. ‘They told me you were someone who likes to speak his mind. It can get you into trouble, you know.’
‘Oh I do. But diplomacy is not an attribute that has ever been associated with the Scots.
October 26, 2018
Woooooow. More cantaloupe breasts, running around and getting chased by equipment, grovelling women, swinging male ponytails, and unrealistic mystery solving.
April 25, 2021
The Critic is the second book in the Enzo Macleod Investigation series by Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. The prospect of raising funds for his new forensic department at the university where he teaches biology spurs former forensics expert Enzo Macleod to travel to Gaillac to investigate a second case from Roger Raffin’s best-selling book of notorious unsolved murders. But on his very first night there, Enzo almost dies twice and, the second instance, he is certain, was an attempt on his life.
Until his disappearance in 2003, Gil Petty was described as “the most influential wine critic in the world”. A year after he went missing, his body was found by pickers in La Croix Blanche vineyard, posed in the ceremonial garb of an exclusive wine fraternity. He had been pickled in red wine. It is soon apparent that he was unpopular with some winegrowers, and they weren’t the only ones with motive.
It’s quickly clear that Enzo’s investigation is not well received by all the locals. When he visits the young gendarme who investigated Petty’s disappearance and murder, he meets with resistance to the point of obstruction, but when another body is discovered in similar condition, the gendarme unbends enough to allow Enzo to assess the scene. After Enzo is invited by the juge d’instruction to consult on both investigations, the young man’s resentment as Enzo exposes his unwitting incompetence is evident.
The tiny gîte in which Enzo is staying is the former home of an eighteenth-century Petty ancestor, and also where Petty was living when he disappeared. It becomes increasingly cramped as his student and assistant, Nicole Lafeuille arrives with her gear, then Petty’s estranged daughter, Michelle, Enzo’s erstwhile lover, Charlotte Roux, and his daughter Sophie with her boyfriend Bertrand all crowd in.
After they manage to break through the security on Petty’s computer, Enzo decides they need to decode the cipher in which Petty wrote his tasting notes, reasoning this might point to motive as, while a high Petty rating would guarantee success for the vineyard, a low one would spell ruin. The way they go about this is terribly clumsy, but they do all get their fill of good wine.
Enzo’s other avenue of investigation, apart from the source of Petty’s death garb, is to trace the origin of the wine in which the victims were pickled using a wine fingerprint, which necessitates a plane trip to California in a kilt.
The mystery is intriguing enough to keep the pages turning: even if the murderer’s method is obvious by halfway, the motive and the identity are not. There are several red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and multiple attempts on Enzo’s life, at least one of which remains unresolved at the conclusion. That “I’ll just go to the murderer’s place to see if I can find the bodies, but I won’t bother to let anyone know where I’m going” trope is wearing a bit thin, though.
Enzo does seem to be juggling beautiful women in this instalment, shamelessly flirting even as he really has too many women around him, all giving each other black looks. May also demonstrates that the French bureaucracy has the same fondness for acronyms as other nations do. It will be interesting to see where #3, Blacklight Blue takes our transplanted Scot. At times blackly funny and also filled with winemaking facts, this is a page-turner.
Until his disappearance in 2003, Gil Petty was described as “the most influential wine critic in the world”. A year after he went missing, his body was found by pickers in La Croix Blanche vineyard, posed in the ceremonial garb of an exclusive wine fraternity. He had been pickled in red wine. It is soon apparent that he was unpopular with some winegrowers, and they weren’t the only ones with motive.
It’s quickly clear that Enzo’s investigation is not well received by all the locals. When he visits the young gendarme who investigated Petty’s disappearance and murder, he meets with resistance to the point of obstruction, but when another body is discovered in similar condition, the gendarme unbends enough to allow Enzo to assess the scene. After Enzo is invited by the juge d’instruction to consult on both investigations, the young man’s resentment as Enzo exposes his unwitting incompetence is evident.
The tiny gîte in which Enzo is staying is the former home of an eighteenth-century Petty ancestor, and also where Petty was living when he disappeared. It becomes increasingly cramped as his student and assistant, Nicole Lafeuille arrives with her gear, then Petty’s estranged daughter, Michelle, Enzo’s erstwhile lover, Charlotte Roux, and his daughter Sophie with her boyfriend Bertrand all crowd in.
After they manage to break through the security on Petty’s computer, Enzo decides they need to decode the cipher in which Petty wrote his tasting notes, reasoning this might point to motive as, while a high Petty rating would guarantee success for the vineyard, a low one would spell ruin. The way they go about this is terribly clumsy, but they do all get their fill of good wine.
Enzo’s other avenue of investigation, apart from the source of Petty’s death garb, is to trace the origin of the wine in which the victims were pickled using a wine fingerprint, which necessitates a plane trip to California in a kilt.
The mystery is intriguing enough to keep the pages turning: even if the murderer’s method is obvious by halfway, the motive and the identity are not. There are several red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and multiple attempts on Enzo’s life, at least one of which remains unresolved at the conclusion. That “I’ll just go to the murderer’s place to see if I can find the bodies, but I won’t bother to let anyone know where I’m going” trope is wearing a bit thin, though.
Enzo does seem to be juggling beautiful women in this instalment, shamelessly flirting even as he really has too many women around him, all giving each other black looks. May also demonstrates that the French bureaucracy has the same fondness for acronyms as other nations do. It will be interesting to see where #3, Blacklight Blue takes our transplanted Scot. At times blackly funny and also filled with winemaking facts, this is a page-turner.
January 17, 2022
If you want to look into the mind of a deluded middle aged man then this is the book for you. I bought this series (6 books) for £10. The first book in this series had a decent story and the main character, Enzo, wasn’t quite as full on obnoxious as he is in this book, so I thought I’d give him another chance. Big mistake, Enzo, is extremely unlikable. He is sexist, chauvinistic, arrogant and fat phobic and yet we, the readers, are supposed to accept this and find him endearing! Every woman is described from his pervy point of view, reduced to breasts, hips, calves and so on; and of course they virtually all find Enzo to be irresistible and are desperate to have sex with him.
The story itself is ok but it should have been a novella as it was padded out with tediously long, pages on how to make wine and wine tasting techniques etc, yawn! Very little of this was necessary to tell the story, better authors find ways to incorporate what is needed without resorting to regurgitating lectures on the subject.
My advice: give this book a wide berth and feel for me because having bought the series as a set I feel obligated to read them all . . . eventually!
The story itself is ok but it should have been a novella as it was padded out with tediously long, pages on how to make wine and wine tasting techniques etc, yawn! Very little of this was necessary to tell the story, better authors find ways to incorporate what is needed without resorting to regurgitating lectures on the subject.
My advice: give this book a wide berth and feel for me because having bought the series as a set I feel obligated to read them all . . . eventually!
July 30, 2017
2.5 stars. A moderately enjoyable read, although at the end I found the murderer's motive totally beyond belief! Hard to believe this is the same author that wrote the Lewis Trilogy...
June 24, 2020
This book made me very dissapointed. I really liked his Lewis series and the other books with a scottish theme and even the first Enzo book. But this one seems only have the purpose in getting the authour to sample good vines and be able to write them off on expenses account. And it is totally sexistic- women are described only as sexual beings, how desirable or undesirable they are as , amazingly, evey woman , from custom officer to judge, is filled with desire for Enzo. The plot is really thin and very implausible-relenting to insanity as the cause is making it all too easy for the author. But he treads in old tracks as I spotted the murderer the first time he/she appeared in the book. And the author seems to hate dogs as he cruelly treats a lovely puppy to a gruesome death- just that fact alone , apart from all the other shortcomings, justify my one star review!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2022
This entry to the Enzo Files was a very enjoyable read for me as the main character was wine. Enzo showed up as competent, willing to learn new things, caring toward his student helper, able to enjoy his daughter's company along with proving to have nine lives after many threats to his life in this action filled book. A leading wine critic (Robert Parker level) is killed and his daughter wants Enzo's help.
The locations were described wonderfully and much was shared about wine making. The number of women in Enzo's world is a humorous theme in this book as he never gets a moment alone with any of them.
Enzo's quick trip to US in his Scottish kilt provides another bit of welcome humor.
The locations were described wonderfully and much was shared about wine making. The number of women in Enzo's world is a humorous theme in this book as he never gets a moment alone with any of them.
Enzo's quick trip to US in his Scottish kilt provides another bit of welcome humor.
August 31, 2014
This book falls into the mediocre box for me sadly. I wanted more from it than what it delivered. I have not read anything by Peter May before so went in with a really open mind, hoping for a gripping read, uncovering a killer and enjoying the journey. Sadly, it was not to be.
What's it about?
GAILLAC, SOUTH-WEST FRANCE
A bottled-up secret
Gil Petty, America’s most celebrated wine critic, is found strung up in a vineyard, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Divine Bottle and pickled in wine.
A code to crack
For forensic expert Enzo Macleod, the key to this unsolved murder lies in decoding Petty’s mysterious reviews – which could make or break a vineyard’s reputation.
A danger unleashed
Enzo finds that beneath the tranquil façade of French viticulture lurks a back-stabbing community riddled with rivalry – and someone who is ready to stop him even if they have to kill again.
So Enzo Macleod is keen to find out who murdered wine critic Gil Petty, who died a most unusual death, he lived his life revolving around wine and his death indeed also revolved around wine. Death reflecting life.
The pace of this book is slow, there is a lot of descriptive wording about everything from the bricks of the chateau to the features on somebody's face, I found it also annoying the amount of French words used (yes, I know it IS set in France) in italics peppering the page, of course unless you speak French you won't know them all as I didn't so spent time highlighting on my Kindle to look for the meaning, after a while I just skipped the words and carried on, but it left gaps I am sure in the paragraphs.
Do you like wine? Talk of wines? Details about how wine is made? In depth scientific knowledge of wine? Wine? Wine? Wine? I hope you do as this book reads almost like a "how to" on becoming a wine maker and expert, there is a LOT of text about the wine makers, the process, the taste, the texture, the top notes, the flavours. Great for the wine lover, but really a bit too much for the average reader, not necessary descriptions to my mind. So yes, I am having a whine about it.
I did not connect with any of the characters much, although Enzo did grow on me towards the end of the book. If you are looking for a gritty fast-paced insightful crime read I don't think this is the one. It's more like a meandering murder mystery. I was sincerely hoping that the end was going to be spectacular but was shocked and disappointed at the way the book was finished off, it just seemed a very strange way to leave the reader after all that has gone before. Very frustrating.
Positively, Peter May's writing is clear and solid, he's clearly a talented writer, but the plot and pace of this book just did not hit the mark, possibly other books of his may resonate with me more, I would be willing to try another.
I didn't hate the book, I didn't love it, I sort of liked parts of it but the rest just made me want to get it over and done with. I have to be honest that the book just did not hit the right spot for me.
I received this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks for the opportunity.
What's it about?
GAILLAC, SOUTH-WEST FRANCE
A bottled-up secret
Gil Petty, America’s most celebrated wine critic, is found strung up in a vineyard, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Divine Bottle and pickled in wine.
A code to crack
For forensic expert Enzo Macleod, the key to this unsolved murder lies in decoding Petty’s mysterious reviews – which could make or break a vineyard’s reputation.
A danger unleashed
Enzo finds that beneath the tranquil façade of French viticulture lurks a back-stabbing community riddled with rivalry – and someone who is ready to stop him even if they have to kill again.
So Enzo Macleod is keen to find out who murdered wine critic Gil Petty, who died a most unusual death, he lived his life revolving around wine and his death indeed also revolved around wine. Death reflecting life.
The pace of this book is slow, there is a lot of descriptive wording about everything from the bricks of the chateau to the features on somebody's face, I found it also annoying the amount of French words used (yes, I know it IS set in France) in italics peppering the page, of course unless you speak French you won't know them all as I didn't so spent time highlighting on my Kindle to look for the meaning, after a while I just skipped the words and carried on, but it left gaps I am sure in the paragraphs.
Do you like wine? Talk of wines? Details about how wine is made? In depth scientific knowledge of wine? Wine? Wine? Wine? I hope you do as this book reads almost like a "how to" on becoming a wine maker and expert, there is a LOT of text about the wine makers, the process, the taste, the texture, the top notes, the flavours. Great for the wine lover, but really a bit too much for the average reader, not necessary descriptions to my mind. So yes, I am having a whine about it.
I did not connect with any of the characters much, although Enzo did grow on me towards the end of the book. If you are looking for a gritty fast-paced insightful crime read I don't think this is the one. It's more like a meandering murder mystery. I was sincerely hoping that the end was going to be spectacular but was shocked and disappointed at the way the book was finished off, it just seemed a very strange way to leave the reader after all that has gone before. Very frustrating.
Positively, Peter May's writing is clear and solid, he's clearly a talented writer, but the plot and pace of this book just did not hit the mark, possibly other books of his may resonate with me more, I would be willing to try another.
I didn't hate the book, I didn't love it, I sort of liked parts of it but the rest just made me want to get it over and done with. I have to be honest that the book just did not hit the right spot for me.
I received this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks for the opportunity.
October 21, 2014
The second cold case that Enzo MacLeod sets out to solve involves, first, the death of an American influential wine critic who was drowned in a vat of wine. He went missing 4 years ago but the body has only recently been uncovered by the killer for display. Soon, the body of another missing local man shows up dead, killed the same way. Enzo digs up forensic evidence to try to track down the murderer.
Good story, but There were a few things that annoyed me while reading the book. First was Enzo's vehicle. It is a Citroen 2CV. You know that because he refers to the 2CF constantly. There is never ever a reference to a "car", or a "vehicle" or even a Citroen. Ok, I get it, he drives a 2CV (take an old Volkswagon Beetle and make it kind of boxy looking and that's what it looks like). The other annoying feature is the writer's description of every single female in sexual terms. One has "quivering breasts" and another's breasts are "defiant". There are sensual hips, long legs and trim thighs, none of the women have flat chests. It gets tiresome.
Almost all of the women seem to find Enzo, a middle aged, balding university professor irresistably attractive. That gets tedious as well. I read May's Lewis trilogy and they were excellent, not written along this line at all. I don't know if it's his way of making MacLeod a sort of "hard boiled" investigator but it doesn't work for me.
As I said, the story itself was good and the other annoying bits may not put me off reading another but then again, it might.
Good story, but There were a few things that annoyed me while reading the book. First was Enzo's vehicle. It is a Citroen 2CV. You know that because he refers to the 2CF constantly. There is never ever a reference to a "car", or a "vehicle" or even a Citroen. Ok, I get it, he drives a 2CV (take an old Volkswagon Beetle and make it kind of boxy looking and that's what it looks like). The other annoying feature is the writer's description of every single female in sexual terms. One has "quivering breasts" and another's breasts are "defiant". There are sensual hips, long legs and trim thighs, none of the women have flat chests. It gets tiresome.
Almost all of the women seem to find Enzo, a middle aged, balding university professor irresistably attractive. That gets tedious as well. I read May's Lewis trilogy and they were excellent, not written along this line at all. I don't know if it's his way of making MacLeod a sort of "hard boiled" investigator but it doesn't work for me.
As I said, the story itself was good and the other annoying bits may not put me off reading another but then again, it might.
December 20, 2015
I struggled my way through this book. Through the pretentious use of italicised French words (just to show that the author speaks French, I presume). Through the author's even more pretentious descriptions of the intricacies of the wine making process (I drink the stuff, I don't want to know how it's made). Through the tedious plot red herrings. Through the cliché'd language of the main character's sexual exploits (This is the 21st century, not the 19th). Why? I just wanted to FINISH IT. To be done with it, so I didn't have to read another Peter May book.
**Spoilers in the next paragraph**
Like the previous book, there were too many times when the Enzo just jumped to conclusions without any reasoned argument. The trip to America wearing a kilt was surely meant to be a joke, wasn't it? Is US airport security really that lax? With the amount of buckles on a kilt, he would have triggered the metal detectors and would have had to be patted down. Simple things like that let the book down in my opinion.
Like I said in my previous review of the Enzo series, the Lewis Trilogy was great. This was dire. Worse than Enzo 1. It was only just worth two stars.
We are left wondering who whacked Enzo. I wish it was me.
**Spoilers in the next paragraph**
Like the previous book, there were too many times when the Enzo just jumped to conclusions without any reasoned argument. The trip to America wearing a kilt was surely meant to be a joke, wasn't it? Is US airport security really that lax? With the amount of buckles on a kilt, he would have triggered the metal detectors and would have had to be patted down. Simple things like that let the book down in my opinion.
Like I said in my previous review of the Enzo series, the Lewis Trilogy was great. This was dire. Worse than Enzo 1. It was only just worth two stars.
We are left wondering who whacked Enzo. I wish it was me.
May 20, 2021
I feel as though I have read one of the Lewis books and quite enjoyed it but this was horrendous - so bad it was almost a 1970s parody. Every woman is basically a talking pair of breasts and no matter what age they are they are supposedly drawn to this priapic, charmless, pony-tailed-past-an-acceptable-age, arrogant, deluded, middle-aged Scotsman.
By the end I was rooting for whoever was trying to murder him.
By the end I was rooting for whoever was trying to murder him.
October 8, 2020
Andra boken i serien om Enzo Macleod. Denna serien utspelar sig i Frankrike och i just denna boken är det ett mordfall ute vid vindistriktet i Gaillac. Spänningshistorian är riktigt intressant och originell, miljöbeskrivningarna är som vanligt i Mays böcker väldigt målande. Men jag fastnar inte jättemycket för alla karaktärer och så är det lite svårt med alla franska namn. Men trots de små negativa sakerna så kommer jag absolut att fortsätta läsa serien.
December 19, 2025
given 3 stars as I didn't get very far before deciding to read the other book available here, A Small Weeping, which has me hooked straight away 😊
January 9, 2019
Not a bad little mystery and as a bonus, I learned a lot about wine. A Scotsman living in France who is a forensic expert was a really unique take on the genre. I love "traveling" when I read mysteries, so I'm sure I will check out his other books.
January 3, 2013
Much prefer the writing in the Lewis trilogy. Find Enzo an irritating character.
January 24, 2018
Too much information about Enzo and his women, and not enough focus on the crimes. The information about wine making was interesting, but not to the extent that it was covered here.
January 23, 2021
Book 2 in Enzo MacLeod series. Great cast of characters great plot. Role on book 3
June 16, 2023
The Critic is book two in the Enzo Files series by Peter May. Forensic Expert Enzo Macleod caught a cold case of Gil Petty, who died at a local vineyard. First, Enzo Macleod needs to find the motive for the killing inside Gil Petty's reviews. What he found was a community where everyone had a reason to kill. The readers of Critic will continue to follow Enzo Macleod to discover what happens.
The Critic is another fantastic book by Peter May. I enjoy reading Peter May's books, and The Critic did not disappoint me. I engage with the story and the characters from the start. Peter May excellently promotes the importance of forensic science for the Law enforcement community. I love Peter May's portrayal of his characters and how they intertwine throughout this book. The Critic is well-written and researched by Peter May. I like Peter May's description of the settings of The Critic, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.
The Critic's readers will learn how forensically to investigate a cold case. Also, the readers of the Critics will understand the role of Forensic Experts in a criminal investigation.
I recommend this book.
The Critic is another fantastic book by Peter May. I enjoy reading Peter May's books, and The Critic did not disappoint me. I engage with the story and the characters from the start. Peter May excellently promotes the importance of forensic science for the Law enforcement community. I love Peter May's portrayal of his characters and how they intertwine throughout this book. The Critic is well-written and researched by Peter May. I like Peter May's description of the settings of The Critic, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.
The Critic's readers will learn how forensically to investigate a cold case. Also, the readers of the Critics will understand the role of Forensic Experts in a criminal investigation.
I recommend this book.
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