The Critic (The Enzo Files, 2)

I've loved Peter May's Isle of Lewis books. I was prepared to like this series, but there was so much sexist language and attitudes in his writing. Enzo is constantly sizing women up as attractive or unattractive. He recoils at evidence that a woman is menstruating. He comes across as a driven and subtly misogynistic teen-age boy. There was absolutely nothing sexist in the Lewis books. The women were wonderfully drawn.I liked learning about the obsessions of wine buffs, though that wore thin after a while. But it was Enzo's one-dimensional view of women and his squeamishness that turned me off.

This second entry in the Enzo Files series is even better than the first. The series is best read in order as characters and themes reappear. The book could stand alone, but the reader will understand more with the knowledge of the first book. Once again, Enzo is working to solve an old disappearance. Enzo is a forensic scientist from Scotland who lives and teaches in Cahors, France. This time the victim is a very influential wine critic who disappeared while on a tasting tour. Just as the book begins, the discolored body of the critic appears, partially preserved in red wine and dramatically displayed near a vineyard. New murders are committed as Enzo and his informal team investigate. The ultimate resolution and motivation of the murders is far-fetched, but that does not get in the way of a good story. I enjoy his characters, the settings and the pacing. In this book, I enjoyed learning about wine production, viticulture, and the wine industry. The action is centered in France, but there is a very interesting side view in to the California wine business as well. I will certainly be reading the next one in the series.

This is Enzo Macloed's second attempt to solve a case that the police have given up on. The victim is a famous American wine critic who assigned ratings to wines from around the world. As one French winemaker points out, Gil Petty was the most unpopular man in France, because a bad rating from him could put a vineyard out of business.Enzo's investigative team includes his daughter and her bodybuilder boyfriend, and Enzo's spectacularly well-endowed student Nicole, who is also a whiz at computers. The investigation entails learning all about the wine business and how it differs from winemaking in California. We learn the mechanics of the business along with Enzo.We also watch while Enzo and his helpers do some wine tasting in the name of research. The wine flows, and we can almost taste it. I don't drink, but I was tempted at times to run out buy some of these wonderful wines from Gaillac. Wine lovers should love this book.There's plenty of excitement. Someone keeps trying to kill Enzo. And women cause him both problems and pleasure. I got quite caught up in the plot. Enzo's discoveries of overlooked forensic evidence are interesting. And there are also amusing scenes involving Enzo wearing his kilt.I enjoyed this book more than the first Enzo mystery, Extraordinary People. Peter May is a consistently fine writer.

As a life long TT, a mystery which involved a lot wine making information...not to mention tasting...didn`t really hit the nail for me. The mystery bit was fine & the characters as strong as ever but I found myself glazing over with the wine stuff. I`m a great fan of Peter May books though, so I will continue with the Enzo series & hope that the next one is set around a subject in which I have more interest

This is a real good read. Mr May's research really pays off here. What one learns about wine is revealing. As a person who enjoys a nice glass of it, I really enjoyed learning finer points of enjoying that lovely liquid.. The plot is classic May.You won't be able to put this one down.

This is the second book in this series - and I enjoyed the first one as well. The mystery is well thought out - and gruesome. If you prefer your crime mysteries in the 'cosy' spectrum this is not the book for you. Enzo Macleod is a complex character - a retired forensic scientist and a man on a mission where old crimes are concerned. The setting in southern France is lovely - and you may even learn a good deal about wine making from this book.

As with all the Peter May books I have read I love his writing style, his amazing descriptions of the places where the stories unfold and the characters, as well as his skill at keeping his readers guessing as to who is the culprit. An excellent read..

Let me start by saying I have now completed the first 2 books in this series in a couple of weeks and have become hooked well and truly. Another great read and one which has me twitching for the third one now.

Once more, Peter May gives us the character of 'Enzo Macleod' following up an intriguing murder with links to one 70 years previously. May uses an off-line character as though she was present throughout. It is necessary to read every May's novel to the last page.This is the sort of novel that I can pick up and enjoy reading several times - surely a better sign of quality of writing than the mass-produced 'Cop Murders' from America.

Peter May is a favourite author ,I find his prose descriptions very beautiful.He describes a meal and the wine chosen so vividly that I can almost smell the garlic potato .His stories are convoluted and involve a chase over difficult circumstances and events ,always totally credible .I await his next novel be it in Scotland or France ,two familiar countries he can describe with obvious affectionate knowledge .Laraine Munro

Another five star with a character who is growing more interesting with every story. This book is set in a wine growing area of France and has some interesting historical connections which affects the present. The balance between mystery and MacLeod's family and romantic problems is skilfully handled. These people have become real for me and I care for them...to the extent I could shake Enzo for his continuing insensitivity to his elder daughter. Any man who can say of one 'She is the greatest joy in my life, 'while blithely expecting the other to be okay with that needs a shake. Enzo blunders along getting regularly thumped just to show he may have a super brain but he is no superman. Great dialogue. Great sense of place. The descriptions of France are seductive. The tourist board are well served as are we mystery story lovers. Thoroughly recommended.

The second book in May's Enzo Files series (the first is  Dry Bones  which now seems to have been renamed as Extraordinary People) sees Enzo Macleod tackle another unsolved murder. Wine expert Gil Petty was missing for a year before his body turned up during the grape harvest in the Gaillac region of France. Enzo is soon to discover that Petty's is only one of several disappearances in the region - and it looks like someone wants to stop his investigation by any means available.This plotline gives May the opportunity to delve into the whole subject of wine making and tasting and he does so with a gusto that suggests it might be a favourite subject! As always May's in-depth research shines through - the reader gets a real sense of the whole industry surrounding wine making, tradition fighting with technology to survive in a cut-throat market.I am a big fan of May's books but I have to admit to preferring both his early China thrillers and his current excellent Lewis trilogy to the Enzo Files series. I find his habit of frequently dropping in French words distracting - although it's usually obvious from the context what they mean I find it breaks the flow of reading. Also, Enzo himself is not my favourite May hero. A middle-aged man, he seems to be surrounded by women who find him irresistible while he seems obsessed by their, shall we say, physical charms. His relationship with his daughter Sophie also doesn't ring true - does a 20-year-old really sit on her Daddy's knee and regularly cover his face with kisses? Yeuch!Despite these criticisms, the plotting is good, the descriptive writing excellent and I feel considerably more educated about the subject of wine than I was before. Recommended. Dry Bones

I felt this was predictable and that it was written according to some stock formula.The absolute worst thing about this book was the obsession with the technicalities of wine making, usually I enjoy additional background information in novels ... but this was pedantic in the extreme.I can only assume that huge chunks of the sections on wine making were copied and pasted from public educational pamplets from the French winemakers guild. Dismal writing