Welcome to my stop on the
Virtual Tour, presented by France Book Tours,
for Backstabbing
in Beaujolais by Jean-Pierre
Alaux and Noel Balen. Please leave a comment or question for the
authors to let them know you stopped by.
You can enter the tour wide giveaway, where 2 participants will each win
a copy of this book (Print/digital format for US residents, Digital for all
other residents), by filling out the Entry Form below. You can follow all of the stops on the tour
by clicking on the banner above. The more
stops you visit, the better your chances of winning. My review is running a bit late but will be posted by tonight.
Backstabbing in Beaujolais
By Jean-Pierre Alaux & Noel Balen
Winemaker Detective Series, Book 9
Release Date: November 19,
2015
Genre: Mystery
Format: eBook/Print
Length: 163 Pages
ISBN: 978-1939474537
ASIN: B016J0NXKI
About the book:
Vintage rivalries — A
business magnate calls on wine expert Benjamin Cooker to kickstart his new wine
business in Beaujolais, sparking bitter rivalries. Can the Winemaker Detective
and his assistant keep calculating real estate agents, taciturn winegrowers,
dubious wine merchants and suspicious deaths from delaying delivery of the
world-famous Beaujolais Nouveau?
EXCERPT1The guests were mingling on the lawn of the eighteenth-century manor house as the setting sun cloaked the sky in hues of orange and purple. A mild breeze rustled the leaves of the hornbeams lining the driveway.“We could almost be in Versailles, Virgile,” Benjamin Cooker said. “The place is quite splendid, isn’t it?” He waved his glass toward the buffet. Covered in fine white linen, the table was topped with silver platters of hors-d’oeuvres: mouthfuls of puff pastry, panna cotta au parmesan, seafood delicacies, and sundry other finger foods. To the right of the platters were fine crystal glasses and a selection of wines.“I suspect that’s where Bérangère Périthiard would rather be, boss, not here in Beaujolais, even if she is enjoying a regional cru.” Benjamin, one of France’s most notable wine experts, swirled and sipped the cherry-red Régnié and looked out over the lush vine-covered hills.“You know the Aesop fable about town and country mice: better beans and bacon in peace—”A piercing scream interrupted him. Everyone stopped talking and looked toward the winery. Benjamin and Virgile set down their glasses and started jogging in that direction, the gravel crunching under their feet.Entering the half-lit building, they found Annabelle Malisset throwing up near a concrete tank. They rushed to help her, and she pointed to a maceration vat. Benjamin and Virgile climbed up the stainless-steel steps and peered into the open tank.“There goes that vintage, boss.”“Virgile, I believe we have more important things to worry about right now.”
When the rescue squad arrived and pulled out the body, it was bloated like a goatskin of stagnant wine, its limbs a deep purple, and its hair pasted like a viscous mask over a deformed face.
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©David Nakache
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël
Balen, wine lover and music lover respectively, came up with the idea for the Winemaker
Detective series while sharing a meal, with a bottle of Château Gaudou
1996, a red wine from Cahors with smooth tannins and a balanced nose.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Anne Trager loves France
so much she has lived there for 27 years and just can’t seem to leave. What
keeps her there is a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity.
Well, that and the wine. In 2011, she woke up one morning and said, “I
just can’t stand it anymore. There are way too many good books being written in
France not reaching a broader audience.” That’s when she founded Le French Book
to translate some of those books into English. The company’s motto is “If we
love it, we translate it,” and Anne loves crime fiction, mysteries and
detective novels.
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Wine Region that I would visit and enjoy is Bourgogne. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
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