The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle
I think the title of this one is perfect. Vintage refers to the wines that are stolen from a hot-shot Hollywood lawyer. Sam Levitt, a former crook turned PI, is hired by his ex-girlfriend who works for the insurance company to find the bottles. The caper follows the wine’s trail from Hollywood to Bordeaux and Marseille in the south of France, where Sam and his French colleague make some questionable decisions, skirting the law a little, but for the right reasons.
As a mystery, it doesn’t hold up too well. The plot is fairly predictable, no twists or turns to speak of. The clues are more long-shot guesses that turn out helpful.
As a fun romp though, it’s thoroughly enjoyable. And the sumptuous wines, delicious meals and gorgeous scenery are what truly carry the book. It really is a book for wine-lovers, not necessarily mystery-lovers. And the characters are delightful to spend some time with.
I actually listened to the audio version. It happened to grab my eye while I was looking through our library system’s available audiobooks. I liked hearing the various wines and foods pronounced. If I had been reading it, I would have just read over the names of the different vineyards and the French phrases, so hearing them made it more enjoyable.
On a side note, when thinking about a concierge at the hotel where he is staying, Sam mentions that Jeeves would have been proud, which struck me since I recently listened to my first Jeeves book. I love when I get references.
Published in 2009
6 hours 48 minutes
Challenges: 100+, A to Z, Thriller and Suspense
My copy was borrowed from the library and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate.
I thought this was a book about wine, oh how a cover can make me not wanna read a book
The cover never made me think of a mystery, but this sounds like something I might like.
Is Peter Mayle the author who wrote A Year in Provence? I loved that book, but had no idea he’s written fiction.
I don’t know that this is for me, but I would still give it a go.
http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/02/to-z-starts-with-c.html
Ooo la la. Sounds fab.
I love wine books and combined with a mystery and travel sounds like one I’d enjoy. Haven’t read any Jeeves!
Thanks for the review, I dont’ think I will be reading this one but I love the cover.
Well anything with wine catches my eye, but I might need a better mystery.
That’s an interesting comment about the benefits of listening to a book on CD — I agree nice to know how to correctly pronounce things!
Yes, it’s the same Peter Mayle who wrote A Year in Provence. I haven’t read it or any of his other works, though.
Thankyou for visiting my Blog, I am returning the compliment 🙂
I have not read anything by Peter Mayle since the mid nineties as I found his fiction somewhat disappointing after ‘A Year in Provence’
Not sure I would enjoy this from your review but maybe for a sunny afternoon, if it ever came my way, doubt I will add to My Wishlist though.
Peter Mayle is better known as a travelogue writer specially for his work titled “A Year in a Provence” but he has also written a brilliant book on the working of advertising agencies called Up The Agency. It is hilarious and so true that during my career as an advertising agency professional, I always got the feeling that he has written about our agency and our clients. Globalisation, may be, even when it comes to idiocyincriocies!