A review by kikiandarrowsfishshelf
Cauchemar dans les Côtes de Nuits by Noël Balen, Jean-Pierre Alaux
3.0
Disclaimer: ARC read via Netgalley courtesy of Le French Press
Benjamin Cooker is France’s answer to Jessica Fletcher. If you have ever seen the old(ish) series Murder, She Wrote, you know that when Mrs. Fletcher shows up, someone dies. In real life, people would avoid her like the plague. Cooker isn’t quite so bad, but even when being inducted into the Wine tasters’ knightly order, mysteries follow him around like bad pennies.
Or pieces of cork in wine.
The mystery in this installment surrounds the appearance of graffiti messages in a town so small it doesn’t have a priest or a doctor. It’s got a vineyard though. That’s important thing.
This is book, in terms of mystery, is the weakest of the series so far. The solution to the mystery ( which has a nice change in that no one dies) taps into certain assumptions about mental illness, in particular, depression, that are slightly disturbing. Cooker doesn’t condemn and offers sympathy and understanding. But the mixture of depression and insanity is just as demeaning as the immediate clause of depression and suicide. There are different types of depression, and just because someone is clinically depressed doesn’t mean that they will commit suicide and are crazy. Too often Hollywood does the same thing, and it becomes a bit much. This isn’t to say that there aren’t good looks at mental illness, but a cozy mystery that can be easily read in an hour and a half, really doesn’t have enough space to do the topic justice.
That said, the other elements that make this series are still present – humor, wine, and food. There is something refreshing about mystery that does not involve the finding of a body. There is a wonderful sequence involving train travel and sandwiches. Virigile, Cooker’s aide, gets a little more development.
Benjamin Cooker is France’s answer to Jessica Fletcher. If you have ever seen the old(ish) series Murder, She Wrote, you know that when Mrs. Fletcher shows up, someone dies. In real life, people would avoid her like the plague. Cooker isn’t quite so bad, but even when being inducted into the Wine tasters’ knightly order, mysteries follow him around like bad pennies.
Or pieces of cork in wine.
The mystery in this installment surrounds the appearance of graffiti messages in a town so small it doesn’t have a priest or a doctor. It’s got a vineyard though. That’s important thing.
This is book, in terms of mystery, is the weakest of the series so far. The solution to the mystery ( which has a nice change in that no one dies) taps into certain assumptions about mental illness, in particular, depression, that are slightly disturbing. Cooker doesn’t condemn and offers sympathy and understanding. But the mixture of depression and insanity is just as demeaning as the immediate clause of depression and suicide. There are different types of depression, and just because someone is clinically depressed doesn’t mean that they will commit suicide and are crazy. Too often Hollywood does the same thing, and it becomes a bit much. This isn’t to say that there aren’t good looks at mental illness, but a cozy mystery that can be easily read in an hour and a half, really doesn’t have enough space to do the topic justice.
That said, the other elements that make this series are still present – humor, wine, and food. There is something refreshing about mystery that does not involve the finding of a body. There is a wonderful sequence involving train travel and sandwiches. Virigile, Cooker’s aide, gets a little more development.