Requiem in Yquem — Jean-Pierre Alaux; Noel Balen

One of those rare breaks in the daily hubbub, offering a relaxing journey through French wine country peppered with reflexions on greed, remorse, and friendship.

In the mist-covered hills of Sauternes, where the wine is luscious and the landscape beguiling, the brutal murder of an elderly couple intrigues the wine expert Benjamin Cooker and awakens memories for his dashing assistant Virgile Lanssien. Drawn into the investigation, the two journey through the storied Sauternes countryside, where the Château d'Yquem has reigned for centuries. Will the murder go unexplained and the killer remain free? The Winemaker Detective's discernment and incessant curiosity push investigators to look deeper, while Virgile rekindles memories of his days at school and questions the meaning of his life.

In another satisfying wine novel with a French flair, authors Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen give readers a perfectly intoxicating combination of French wine, gourmet meals, and mystery in the gloriously described Sauternes wine region with all the scenery, scents, and sounds of France. This light, fun mystery combines amateur sleuths, food, and wine in a wonderfully French mystery novel that doubles as a travel guide. It is a new kind of read on the international mystery and crime scene: a pitch-perfect, wine-infused, French-style cozy mystery.