Alex Cantone's Reviews > Dark Vineyard

The passing tree trunks flared and faded in the yellow light of Bruno’s headlamps, then they were on the bumpy lane up to his cottage.

Second in the series featuring “Bruno” – Benoit Courréges – Chief of Police of the town of St Denis-sur-Vézère in the Perigord region of SW France, The Dark Vineyard opens with a suspicious fire on a building/barn without the necessary legal permits, or legal access to a water main. The pompiers was alerted by an anonymous call from a public phone booth. When Bruno finds a marker there suggesting the site was used for genetically-modified crops, local activists are the initial suspects.

This being the heart of wine-making country the cast of characters, local and outsiders make themselves known: an American heading a conglomerate wanting to invest but turn the local produce from Appellation Controlée into a broader variental to match the wines produced and marketed in Australia, South Africa and California, with the promise of local jobs and for the local producers a chance ‘to buy in’. The Mayor seems impressed but not everyone shares his sentiments. When an elderly producer and a promising young viticulturist are found dead, the old man’s dog missing, evidence points to the hot-shot American. Bruno is unconvinced.

Although I did not enjoy this as much as the first in the series – I guessed the culprit early in the piece – there is much to like here, especially the food and wine, the ancient dog breeds, descriptions of the countryside, and a handy map showing the towns and rivers and the famous Lascaux caves. Always a bonus. With Bruno’s love-interest Isabelle, now a DCI in Paris, romance is taking a new direction. Overall, recommended, and I would especially like to sample the omelette with truffles, and the wine of course.