Red-Handed in Romanee-Conti — Jean-Pierre Alaux; Noel Balen

The “addictive” Winemaker Detective mystery series returns to Burgundy, France, where wine connoisseurs and amateur sleuths Benjamin Cooker and Virgile Lanssien sniff out wrongdoers during a hazardous harvest.

The perfect wine, the perfect harvest... and the perfect murder?

When world-renowned wine expert Benjamin Cooker's elderly father needs him most, the erudite consultant and his dashing assistant Virgile Lanssien are called away to Burgundy to orchestrate the harvest. More than just picking grapes, the Winemaker Detective must keep a delicate balance between an old-time vintner and his heir as a catastrophic hailstorm endangers some of France's most celebrated wines. Adding insult to injury, the brutal and mysterious murder of a grape picker sends shock waves through the winemaking world and the small-town gendarmes find evidence incriminating Cooker. He and his trusty assistant put their sharp senses to work detecting clues and subtleties in the tight-knit community to find where the real killer is lurking.

In another satisfying wine novel with a French flair, authors Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen give readers a perfectly intoxicating combination French wine, gourmet meals, and mystery in the gloriously described Burgundy 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 read on the international mystery and crime scene: a pitch-perfect, wine-infused, French-style cozy mystery.