*****

New Year’s Eve finds Max Mallery and his team celebrating, but the festivities are destined to come to a swift end the following day when a body is discovered at the Saint Margaux Vineyard. Unfortunately, Therese Bisset’s is not the only suspicious death – the apparent suicide of an engineer begins to look like murder and Mallery wonders if the two deaths could be linked. With more suspects than he can shake a stick at, the canny cop and his sidekick must delve into the intimate lives of the deceased to unearth the truth.

I’ve read several books by this author and the Mallery and Hobbs series continues to develop as a murder/mystery with a little extra. What’s always interesting is how the relationships between the main characters adds depth to the stories, as each book charts the police investigation alongside the private lives of the protagonists. Though not necessary to read the previous books in the series (Isobel and Noel), knowing the background to each of the characters is useful, and helps to bring the books alive. One of the nice things about the series is the focus on food and wine, the French phrases peppered throughout the books and the vivid descriptions of the different towns and villages where the action takes place.

An enjoyable addition to a great series.

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