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February 1, 2011

Mon dieu! Someone has killed the Great Chef of Europe.

Gendarme Dominique Chazal is called out on a wet winter night in 2003 to examine the body of Marc Fraysse, a bullet hole clearly visible in the middle of his forehead. Fraysse had called a press conference to make an important announcement, but not even his brother and business partner Guy, grieving near the body, knows the content of that announcement, though he does volunteer that Marc had been depressed lately at the prospect of losing one of his three cherished Michelin stars. Dominique declares Marc's Chez Fraysse, in a rustic region of central France, a crime scene. The investigation languishes for seven years until the idiosyncratic Enzo Macleod steps in to solve his fifth cold case (Freeze Frame, 2010, etc.) and Dominique admits that he is her last hope. Enzo travels to the rugged volcanic plain where Chez Fraysse stands to interview potential suspects. He begins with Marc's imperious widow Elisabeth, who may be too cozy with her brother-in-law, a johnny-come-lately to Marc's business; ambitious, stoic chef Georges Crozes, who worked directly under his friend Marc and succeeded him as Head Chef at Chez Fraysse; and his wife Anne, whom everyone believes was having an affair with Marc. Enzo's solution depends on unraveling a coded message, reading parts of Marc's diary and bantering with his effervescent daughter Sophie.

May's flair for narrative, characterization and evocative descriptions of various locales and historic tidbits makes his formulaic whodunit fresh and delightfully readable—catnip for armchair sleuths.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from February 1, 2011

This fifth cold case (after Freeze Frame) finds Enzo Macleod in the volcanic Auvergne region of central France, where a top chef, rumored to be on the verge of losing one of his three Michelin stars, was murdered seven years earlier. Macleod is faced with the task of digging up the victim's secrets while facing his own family issues. May skillfully intertwines Macleod's personal dilemmas (his eldest daughter will not talk to him, his girlfriend will not allow him to see their six-month-old son, and he is forced to face the secrets of his childhood) with his cold case investigations. VERDICT Caught up in the various threads, readers are lulled into a false sense of knowing where the tale is heading until May pulls the rug out from under them. Those who enjoy mysteries with a Gallic flavor will snap this one up.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.