The critic - 2016

Gil Petty, the world’s number one wine critic, went missing during a tasting tour of the little-known wine region of Gaillac. Three years ago, his body was discovered, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Brotherhood of the Order of the Divine Bottle and preserved in red wine before being planted like a scarecrow in a vineyard in southwest France. His murderer was never found. Scots exile and former forensics expert, Enzo Macleod reopens this well-chilled cold case to discover that the genteel world of winemakers hides a business driven by greed, envy, and desperation. In the idyllic vineyards, Enzo finds no shortage of possible killers: local winemakers, The Brotherhood of the Divine Bottle - an ancient society dedicated to promoting Gaillac wine, and Petty’s daughter, Michelle. Will this elusive killer strike again? Shortly after Enzo reopens the case, another wine-saturated corpse is found. Gil Petty had made countless enemies in the wine world, and his ex-wife and daughter had few kind words to say about him, but what connects him to the second killing? Possible clues to Petty’s murder lie in his reviews. Petty’s opinions about the quality of the wine that he tasted could make and break the fortunes of winemakers. Is it possible that he was about to publish a review that could have damaged the reputation of a local winemaker? In order to keep his reviews secret before publication, Gil Petty invented a seemingly unbreakable code since a leak to the public would have allowed wine speculators to reap rich rewards. In order to crack Petty’s code and find out what he wrote in his reviews, Enzo discovers that he will also have to taste a lot of wine, but Enzo is prepared to make sacrifices for his work. In the idyllic vineyards Enzo discovers several suspects for the critic’s death. And along the way, a very serious attempt is made on Enzo’s life. This is a story that is steeped in wine. Motives, clues, and the solution to the crime all revolve around viticulture and the business of making and selling wine, as well as the history of the wine-making region of Gaillac. May was meticulous in his research for this book, getting to know many of the vineyards and even picking grapes at Domaine Sarrabelle. He made many trips to the region, getting to know the wine makers, their wines, their processes and the struggles of surviving in a crowded marketplace. When the book was published in the United States, he took Gaillac wines on a coast-to-coast tour with him to allow his readers to get the chance to taste the wines he had written about. As a result of his work, he was rewarded with induction into L’ordre de la Dive Bouteille de Gaillac.