Book Review: The Critic by Peter May Tipplers of wine, grape lovers, or indeed anyone who enjoys a damn good book read on!

This is the second of May's Enzo MacLeod series, but is the first one I've read.

Within two pages May gives a beautifully poetic introduction to death followed by an equally beautiful description of the Medieval Basilica of Saint Cecile Cathedral.  Beautifully steeped in history and tradition though the French wine producing setting is, it is nonetheless the scene of a murder.

 Gil Petty widely respected (and feared) wine critic disappears without trace whilst on a wine tasting trip , where he could make or break the area’s reputation as wine producers.

A year later his body is displayed prominently, wearing the robes of a strange mystic wine brotherhood.  It is soon discovered that the body had been stored in a  full wine vat for the year. 

Enzo MacLeod a Scot in France is determined to solve the case of Gil Petty’s death regardless of his daughter’s determination to collect her father’s things and move on.  With the help of his own daughter and her partner and Nicole his assistant Enzo embarks on an investigation that places not only himself but his friends and family at risk and takes him from France to the USA as he investigates the different wine growers in the area to see who would benefit from Petty’s death.

There are many things I loved about this book, but the first one that struck me was how different it was in tone from The Lewis Trilogy (the only other May books I’ve read).  I loved the Trilogy but was pleased that Enzo MacLeod was a unique and complete character in his own right.  I loved the Frenchness of the book and chuckled to hear the gruff Scot communicating with the French.  May’s characterisation of Enzo as a fallible hero, I think, made the book realistic, yet tongue in cheek at the same time.  The other characters were beautifully characterised from Nicole’s poor working class father to the female Justice, to the gruff male Police Officers. 

This was for me a thoroughly enjoyable read, with some really funny scenes (the most funny being one involving a kilt)

I'll definately be reading more Enzo MacLeod and I think we should raise a glass to the continuance of the MacLeod series