Death in the Vines by M.L. Longworth

Death in the Vines by M.L. Longworth ISBN-13: 9780143122449 Trade Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Penguin Books Released: May 28, 2013 Author's Blog

Source: Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Olivier Bonnard, the owner of Domaine Beauclaire winery, is devastated when he discovers the theft of a priceless cache of rare vintages. Soon after, Monsieur Gilles d’Arras reports that his wife, Pauline, has vanished from their lavish apartment. As Judge Antoine Verlaque and Commissioner Paulik tackle the cases (with a little help from Marine Bonnet), they receive an urgent call: Bonnard has just found Madame d’Arras--dead in his vineyard.


My Review:
Death in the Vines is a "detective"/cozy mystery. While Judge Verlaque has the legal right to investigate the murder, the level of everyday detail was more like in a cozy mystery. The "cozy" aspect was about them enjoying fine food, fine wine, fine cigars, and talking about expensive cars. This novel is the third in the series, but it didn't spoil the previous mysteries. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one.

Interesting details about France, vineyard-tending, etc., were nicely woven throughout the search for whodunit. The mystery was clue-based, and I had some accurate suspicions about (though no firm idea of) whodunit before the reveal. The characters were likable, interesting, complex, and reacted realistically to the various situations. The suspense was from curiosity about whodunit and relationship tensions.

There were no sex scenes. There was some explicit bad language (including a few British bad words and written-in-French bad words). Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Excerpt using Google Preview.