Description:
In Bordeaux: The Bitter Finish, thirty-year-old, NYPD detective Max Maguire returns to France as bodyguard to a famous American wine critic. But when her client turns up dead in her hotel room, and a precious bottle of wine goes missing, Max has no choice but to team up with examining magistrate and former lover, Olivier Chaumont.
Max, using aggressive tactics learned from her homicide detective father, stays one step ahead of Olivier in the investigation. Olivier's more elegant approach takes them into the heart of Bordeaux society where he is sure the murderer and some fine dining lurks. Is a counterfeit wine operation with ties to New York somehow connected to the critic's murder? Readers are introduced to the fascinating world of fine wine, and to a cast of characters (and suspects) sure to keep even the most discerning critic on the edge of her seat.
Brief description: Janet Hubbard is author of Champagne: The Farewell, the first book in her Vengeance in the Vineyards series. She has also written more than twenty nonfiction books for teens. She divides her time between Vermont, Virginia, and France. www.janethubbard.com
Review Quotes:
"An NYPD detective, in France to attend a wedding, finds herself investigating a murder as well. Max Maguire, the daughter of a legendary NYPD detective, has spent her life trying to replace the brother who was killed in an accident. The reluctant sleuth is half French, but her mother's aristocratic family disowned her when she married an Irish cop. Even during her school years in France, Max avoided them. Now she's visiting the gorgeous Marne Valley, an area known for producing champagne, for her school friend Chloé Marceau's wedding at the family's estate. Ever since the death of her much older spouse, Chloé's beautiful aunt, Léa de Saint-Pern, has run the family vineyards and champagne company. But that ends when she's found dead late on the night of the wedding. Marceau family friend Olivier Chaumont, a sophisticated examining magistrate, becomes Max's lover and even more unwilling partner in solving the murder. Max soon learns that several people had been interested in buying Léa out, among them a German whose French father was a collaborator during the war. Marc, Chloé's new husband, is an ambitious young man with plenty of ideas of his own who's worked for Léa. His mother is a woman of mystery; his father is unknown. Chloé's alcoholic uncle, the first police suspect, is the second victim. Max and Olivier combine their many talents to root among long-buried family secrets to catch a killer. First in a planned series inspired by the author's many trips to France. The mystery is less complex than the heroine, who's nearly as appealing as the descriptions of the wine district."--Kirkus Reviews, Champagne
"This is a great summer read. Just wish the recipes were part of the book. This book kept me reading to confirm who murdered whom. Looking forward to the next installment."--NetGallery, Champagne
"Hubbard's agreeable debut, the first in a series devoted to different French wine regions, takes Max Maguire, a feisty though occasionally insecure New York City detective, to Champagne, France, for the wedding of Chloé Marceau, an old friend. When Chloé's aunt and vineyard owner Léa de Saint-Pern is murdered on the night of the wedding, Max finds herself involved professionally and personally with the older Olivier Chaumont, a juge d'instruction, and, coincidentally, a friend of the Marceaus. Along with Olivier's appealing protégé, Det. Abdel Zeroual, the two set off to negotiate the complexities of French bureaucracy and a second murder, that of Chloé's likable but good-for-nothing uncle. Hans Keller, a German who's rather aggressively trying to purchase the vineyard, and Ted Clay, an American friend of Max's who was engaged to the lovely Léa, are likely suspects. A creative solution makes up for a not entirely graceful ending. Agent: Kimberly Cameron, Kimberly Cameron & Associates. (Aug.)"--PW, Champagne