Tainted Tokay

Real Rating: 3.75* of five

The Publisher Says: In between enjoying sumptuous food and wine, the Winemaker Detective grapples with deceit and deception in Old World Europe.

France’s top wine expert Benjamin Cooker sets off to enjoy the delights of Vienna, a romantic ride down the Danube, a gourmand’s visit to Budapest, and a luxury train through the enchanting Hungarian countryside. All too soon, stolen wallets, disappearing passports, guides who are a bit too obliging, and murder mar the trip. Meanwhile, in Bordeaux, Cooker’s assistant handsome Virgile faces an annoying rival and a mildew crisis in the vineyards just as Cooker’s lab technician is the victim of a mugging.

If you love cozy culinary mysteries, amateur detective show more stories, international mysteries with French flair, or anything wine-related, this made-for-TV series offers armchair travel at its best with gentle mysteries.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Vienna? Hungary?!

What the actual. I was not expecting this, nor was I bargaining on Benjamin leaving Virgile in Bordeaux to make this lucullan journey. And does Virgile ever get the short end of the stick! All the practical problems are his to figure out and then to solve.

Benjamin, meantime, is spending time with his much-loved Elisabeth as they take in the scenery of the
wine world along the Danube. It is genuinely the main pleasure I had in this story, their charming interactions. The authors make it clear these are soul mates, real genuine friends married and very devoted to each other. The tribulations of the murders around them merely make that clearer; they handle the different challenges with the sangfroid of long-established couples.

Back in Bordeaux, the disasters plaguing Benjamin's premises are affecting his every asset. Alexandrine, whose tenure with Benjamin exceeds Virgile's (I think; could be wrong about that), has hitherto kept her distance from Virgile which makes her more interesting, frankly.

Well, that's over.

Too bad, that, she went from mildly interesting in a greyscaled-Moneypenny way to just being another woman on Virgile's cosmic rapsheet. It was here that I determined the series and I were parting company. I'm just not able to gin up much interest in Virgile's exploits in bed, they outnumber the times he's taken the investigative lead, and...well...Vienna? I'm not very interested in the Danubian plains, and it's usually a sign we're going to spend more time outside the wine-world of France when we get time in foreign places back-to-back.

I had an excellent time with Benjamin, Elisabeth, Virgile, and the crew. I'd prefer to leave smiling so that's what I'm doing. show less

Splitting Holmes from Watson would have been a risky move for Doyle, but Balen and Alaux made the right call letting Virgile and Alexandrine have time away from Benjamin Cooker so that we can forge a stronger relationship with their characters. At the start of this most recent installment in the Winemaker Detective series, Alexandrine is horribly, viciously attacked, but Benjamin has a lovely and well-deserved vacation awaiting him and Elisabeth, and he chooses not to change his plans. I recognized my attachment to these characters from the irritation I felt toward Benjamin for leaving her like that in her time of need! At any rate, after the initial excitement of Alexandrine's attack subsides, the pace slows down for a spell as we show more follow Benjamin and co. through the streets of Budapest where the real adventure lies.

Of course, murder follows Benjamin like red beans follow rice, and the winemaker finds himself surrounded by chaos, one result of which is that we get to see a surprisingly fierce side of Elisabeth. Yet even that pales by comparison to what is going on back home with Virgile and Alexandrine. I always knew there was more to her than meets the eye, and the revelation of deeply held secrets paint her in a truly sympathetic light and make my heart go out to her, which added an unexpected emotional depth to the novel and wove me to her character.

Overall, I enjoyed the book thoroughly despite Florence and her dilemma having a "tell, don't show" feel. Nonetheless, while I see that as a minute flaw, it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel, which is based largely on my overwhelming empathy for Alexandrine.

Character development is a strong point in Tainted Tokay, and I'm glad Virgile got the chance to show us his mettle. Thumbs up to the authors for their decision to let readers get to know both Virgile and Alexandrine out of the shadow of Benjamin Cooker. show less

I received my copy of this book free of charge from the publisher, through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program.

I think I'm getting hooked on this series. I've read one of the earlier books, Backstabbing in Bojolais, and while I enjoyed that one well enough, I didn't think it was an experience I'd want to continue. Obviously, I was wrong about that because after finishing Tainted Tokay, I'm already looking forward to my next encounter with Benjamin Cooker, his assistant Virgile, and all their friends and enemies.

This one started out a little "iffy" -- the narrative was divided between Cooker and his missus on a vacation cruise on the Danube, and Virgile back in Paris keeping the wine business running smoothly and also dealing with the show more mysterious attack on fellow employee Alexandrine. I kept waiting for the two story lines to come together, which was a problem at first. But once I abandoned those expectations and just let myself enjoy the read, I had a great time.

The only real criticism I have is that from time to time, Benjamin (and to some extent, all the other characters as well) sounds like he's quoting from a Wikipedia article. He seems to have massive amounts of information on wine (and every other subject, really) stored in his amazing memory banks, and he's only too happy to quote huge chunks of it for us. Have to admit, I skimmed through a lot of that.

But I did manage to pick up a lot of info about wine that was interesting and new to me. In fact, the wine and winemaking are almost like another character in the books -- well, actually the central character; the character that all the action revolves around. It's an intriguing idea and more enjoyable than I would have imagined. But I'd still welcome a little more action and suspense. show less

2.5* rounded up...

While I enjoyed reading this book, there really was little "detecting" (and that little was done by Benjamin's wife Elizabeth!). This entry in the series was actually 2 short stories entwined - one involving Benjamin during a trip to Hungary with his wife & his publisher and the other involving Virgile and Alexandrine back in France. It felt a bit like the authors couldn't come up with a full-length plot for either so decided to make a book by joining them. In particular, the wrap-up at the end felt quite rushed (especially for the French part of the story - I was shocked by the almost casual way Alexandrine's step-father's end was related with no discussion of how she reacted or felt about it.)

I have not read any of the rest of the series but was able to follow along with this one pretty well. I'm not really into wine and series about wine, but I enjoyed this one set against the foreign background and enjoyed the wife's involvement which is apparently not a usual occurrence.

I really enjoyed it! The depictions of scenery in Hungary and along the Danube as well as the restaurants and vineyards is exquisite. I appreciated learning the history of the wines and the areas involved, as well.
This is my first exposure to the series, and I assure you that it is far from the last! The publisher's blurb will give you hints without spoilers.
As mystery novels go, I found it to be quite intriguing and the twists and interweaving are very well done. Thanks to the translator and publishers for making it possible for me to be able to read a good story written in a language not my own.

It could be called The Winemaker Detective goes to Hungary: Benjamin Cooker travels to Vienna and on to Budapest enjoying fine food and good wine. Trouble strikes while in Hungary's wine country.

It's light entertainment on the mystery side of things and educational on the food and wine side. All and all, its an enjoyable read.

This is the first of this series that I have read and I'll keep the others in mind when I want something light to read.