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Book Summary and Reviews of The Critic by Peter May

The Critic by Peter May

The Critic

The Second of the Enzo Files

by Peter May

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Readers' Rating (18):
  • Published:
  • Nov 2007, 300 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Gil Petty, the world's number one wine critic, went missing during a tasting tour of the little-known wine region of Gaillac. Three years ago, his body was discovered strung up on a cross in the vineyards of southwest France.

Dressed in the ceremonial crimson robes of the Brotherhood of the Order of the Divine Bottle, the semi-decayed body had been preserved in red wine before being planted like a scarecrow among the heavily-laden vines. Petty's murderer was never found.

Scots exile and former forensics expert, Enzo Macleod reopens this well-chilled cold case to discover that the genteel world of winemakers hides a business driven by greed, envy, and desperation. In the idyllic vineyards, Enzo finds no shortage of possible killers: local winemakers, The Brotherhood of the Divine Bottle - an ancient society dedicated to promoting Gaillac wine, and Petty's daughter, Michelle. Will this elusive killer strike again?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Oenophiles and fans of CBS's Cold Case will relish May's slightly far-fetched second outing to feature France-based Scottish sleuth Enzo Macleod (after 2006's Extraordinary People)." - Publishers Weekly.

"Another oenophile's tip sheet with the bonus of a finely crafted and surprising mystery." - Kirkus Reviews.

This information about The Critic was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Peter May Author Biography

Photo: Domi Photographe

Peter May won the Scottish Young Journalist of the Year Award at the age of 21, and had his first novel published at 26. He then left journalism and became one of Scotland's most successful and prolific television dramatists. By the age of 30 he had created two major TV series, The Standard and Squadron, for the British television network, the BBC. He went on to gather more than 1000 TV credits in fifteen years, creating and writing major drama serials for both BBC and ITV in the UK: including the ground-breaking Gaelic serial Machair, which he also produced.

Returning now to novels, the six novels in his outstanding China Thrillers series have won critical acclaim. To research the series, Peter May makes annual trips to China. With an extraordinary network of contacts, he ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Peter May's Website

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