Although I'm a teetotaler, I enjoyed this mystery for the unique premise and fascinating locales. I would definitely read more from the authors.

A story that is so utterly French, focus on the more important elements of the moment, with an eye for appreciating all of the good and minimizing that which does not bring enjoyment. Luxuriant in its wandering, from scenery to scents, taste and texture of food and wine, this is a story that eschews conventional presentation to put the countryside, the feel and taste of France at its center, and leaving the mystery to slowly unfold, almost forgotten in the need to present the next delight for the senses.

There is, however, a mystery: Benjamin Cooker is a vintner and a critic and the main character in our story. A trip to Paris resulted in some unforeseen situations, mugged and nearly succumbing to his injuries, Benjamin’s wine diaries, the notes of all of the tastings he has ever completed, are gone. He is left to convalesce and heal, and wonder who would need his life’s work so desperately as to steal it.

Needing a change of scene, Cooker removes himself to the Tours region and suddenly there is a murdered girl and rare wines have gone missing: and somehow Cooker believes that the three events are connected.

Now, I will admit that the mystery was rather lost on me through the descriptions of wine and food that are positively mouth-watering, and this may not be a book for the more hard-boiled mystery fan, as the reality of the whodunit is rather obvious, but the prose is rich and vibrant: Anne Trager again has done a wonderful translation of the text, keeping the lush feel of the original. This is a fun story to relax with, uncork a bottle, add some cheese or pears and just enjoy!

I received an eBook copy from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review with France Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

sheer, light entertainment with added enjoyment of wine names and places - breezy characerisations, slight if confused crime story are acceptable due to the genial nature of the narrative. colourful French setting adds immeasurably to the novel. in its way a page turner too.

It's no surprise to me that this series is being made into a French television series (check out Le French Book for a preview!) ! Using the same characters, the authors put them in a different setting, but provide the reader with the same wonderful reading experience. Not only do you get to learn a LOT about wine (and vintage vintages), but you get an absorbing mystery that will keep you wondering what the truth is behind what appears to be a straight forward who-dun-it! This book is on the shorter side, but it is a great follow up to Treachery and helps to expand the main characters, and to allow the reader to get to know their quirky personalities better. This is a lovely afternoon read, read with a glass of any of the lovely Malbec wines!

Book three, Nightmare in Burgundy) is already translated and that review will be coming up soon! Check out the book series' webpage for more info on upcoming titles!

Engaging quick read, esp for francophiles

I enjoyed this short (95ish) book, newly released in translation. I especially liked the little details that will tweak the fancy of francophiles...such as the 'do not litter' notice on the bottom of announcements for flea markets and other community events put on your parked cars. The story itself is a quirky little mystery, but it, along with the hero winemaker sleuth, grows on you. You will find yourself wanting to have a nice glass of an unpretentious little red..

I read the first wine detective story, Treachery in Bordeaux and enjoyed the brief foray into the world of wine. Grand Cru Heist is no different. The main character Benjamin Cooker is unique as ever, but ever so slightly annoying. The plot is a simple one and the setting is well suited for this, anything more complex would not work as well.

Car jacked in Paris the wine expert is drawn into a search for stolen vintage wine and the solving of a double murder. Cooker is helped in his investigation by his assistant Virgile. Throughout the story you given a lesson on French wines and regions, which is interesting but could be minimised? Overall a good book to pass a few hours.

Excellent !

A good book should be like a good wine: satisfying but not overpowering and filled with enough character to make it interesting. Uncork this one if you are looking for a quick but enjoyable read.
It probably will take you no more than a day to read partly because it is not long and partly because it is a good tale. The story behind Le French books is also a good tale. The concept was to take some great french novels and translate them into english so that a wider audience can enjoy.
This book is clearly written by someone who knows about wine and from the initial carjacking of our hero to the final resolution of both mystery and murder. it had a full bouquet with a smooth finish.
It was so enjoyable that my next read is going to be another one in the series. Just like wine. One glass is seldom enough.

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you netgalley and Le French Book for this opportunity.
This is not your typical mystery novel. In fact the mystery is quite simplistic and easily deduced; but the real strength of this short novel is the characters and their passion for wines and other things. We get to delve more into the main characters introduced in the first book and how they cope with tragedies in their lives as part of the plot (I would recommend reading the first book in the series as to better understand this one). The writing is also much improved as the authors seem to have come to grip with these characters and their surroundings.

The book starts with Cooker being assaulted and his car stolen in Paris. While recovering in hospital he feels quite depressed and decides to travel to Tours region for vacation and some alone time. While recuperating there he meets a wine broker who seems to have almost the same taste in wine, cigar and cars as Cooker so they enjoy some quality time discussing these. But all of a sudden everything takes a drastic turn for the worse when the wine broker's beautiful companion and the concierge of the hotel are found dead and the wine broker vanishes. Meanwhile his friend Huber de Boüard, owner of the Château Angélus, is suffering from burglaries and receiving clever, cryptic messages from the thieves.The story boils into these two cases as Cooker gets re-energized to solve these crimes with the help of his assistant Virgile, who is also suffering from a personal tragedy.

Once again the characters and the vivid description of the scenery and wines takes a front seat in this adventure. We get to know more about Cooker and Virgile, while faced with a new mystery. Although the mystery lacked depth the execution of the story was precise and the entertaining banter of the main characters with each other and their unique relationship makes up for many shortcomings of the plot. It seems the the authors are well aware of their strong points and sticking with them admirably.

One other minor problem with the book is that it is not really new reader friendly, those who haven't read the first book might find the characters a bit annoying and might feel the plot a bit lacking. I do recommend reading the first before this very strongly to get acquainted with the characters and the style. I think the authors have improved this series much since the first book and liked this one even better as I already am quite familiar with the characters and setting.

This gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Received in ebook format from Netgalley in exchange for a review. This is the second in the series (I have yet to read the first), and it finds Benjamin driving his top end Mercedes one evening, only to be carjacked, and in hospital for over a month to recover.

He is out of sorts when he is discharged so decides to go on a short Epicurean break around the Loire valley to get his mood back. Elizabeth, his wife, agrees to let him get on with it on his own, whilst she returns to their home to look after their dog Bacchus instead.

Benjamin has some lovely food and wine (some meals and drinks expounded to great length in the novel), and comes across another wine merchant who seems to have access to some of the wines - and a car - that Benjamin covets. However, after a heavy eating and drinking session, things go awry when Morton's companion storms out, to be found strangled the following morning. The concierge of the hotel where Benjamin is staying is found dead later the same day, hanging from a tree, the result of an apparent suicide. Meanwhile, whole shipments of Premier/Grand Cru bottles - €100+ each - are being stolen, seemingly to order.

Despite the deaths, Benjamin is excited about life again, and starts to investigate, along with with his assistant Virgile (who gets sent to do the boring job of picking up the stolen Mercedes from Germany). Finally after some investigations, along with minor input from the police, the deaths and the thefts are sorted out. The story being set in the middle of winter, when little is done in the vineyards, allows for little time needed to expostulate on the day to day vine maintenance.

This is definitely a book for those who like the finer things in life (or at least like reading about them). The food and the wine and the cigars makes you want to open a Premier Cru of something lovely, sit back and enjoy a good cigar. The mysteries are secondary to the food and wine, and whilst diverting and entertaining are not the point of the story, so shouldnt be thought about too deeply. Would be interesting to see if this ever gets shown on English TV (either in the original French or a variation of same).

This is the second book in a series, I haven't read the first but it was easy to jump in at this point and as far as I could tell no previous mention of the last case was mentioned with the characters being introduced very well. A few others were spoken of but never actually appeared causing me to think they might have been in the first book. I'm not much on cozy mysteries unless they are golden age British ones, but this absolutely delighted me. A very light-hearted, fast read but completely compelling. I loved the main character and his assistant! The mystery isn't exactly the most involved or that hard to figure out but it is a charming read. The atmosphere of this book and the whole series is wine country, wine connoisseurs, cigars and, fine French dining. I'm not a foodie, but I live in wine country myself (Niagara Valley), my husband works in the industry, I love wine and loved being immersed in the exciting French side of it all. I don't smoke but all the talk of cigars made me imagine them being as exquisite as wine. I read the book in one sitting really surprising myself as I thought this might just be a trifle. However, I adored the characters, the atmosphere and the light mystery. Will certainly continue on with the series!

It's hard not to become increasingly enamoured of this wonderful series of books (of which there are now 8 translated), based in the gloriously described wine regions of France, featuring the curmudgeonly, slightly arrogant, ever vigilant Benjamin Cooker, his assistant Virgile and wife Elisabeth. In THE GRAND CRU HEIST, sadly Elisabeth who is missing in action for much of the novel.

This story starts out with our renowned wine critic being bashed and robbed one night in Paris. Bad enough that the young, violent villains pinched his beloved Mercedes, but it contained his briefcase, which contained his tasting notes. A disaster of monumental proportions, outweighing the distress of his physical injuries. To recover, of course, Cooker heads to a wonderful Chateau hotel in the Tours region for rest, recuperation and wine.

Needless to say, his path quickly crosses with that of a murderer, when two people - the companion of a flamboyant British wine lover, and the concierge of his hotel both end up dead in quick succession. This leads to much conjecture on the possible connections between the victims. Cooker and Virgile, however, soon reunited with the missing Mercedes, are heading to Cooker's dear friend, Huber de Boüard, of Château Angélus fame, who has been the victim of a series of baffling wine burglaries followed by cryptic messages from the thieves.

The matter of murder is undoubtedly important, but the theft of valued wine stocks is also a national catastrophe as far as Cooker is concerned. But the resolution of both of these threads must be pursued in the correct manner, and the tasting and enjoying of various wine varieties along the way is of vital importance. It seems that Cooker thinks best when seated at a tasting table, or that of a much loved local eatery.

Cooker is wonderfully ambiguous - an insufferable know it all, astute observer and solver of many problems, there's a gentle side to him in THE GRAND CRU HEIST which is most touching. His poor assistant Virgile is very often put upon, and the commentary on food, other people, surroundings and everyone else is frequently hilarious, all very much part of the fun of these books. This series has proven to be enormously entertaining, and THE GRAND CRU HEIST, a very short novel, is up there with the rest of the series. Not just because, I hasten to clarify, it's impossible to read them without a glass of something (slightly more local) in your hand.