Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise Book Review
I am not sure now what inspired me to pick up this book originally for it has been in my reading pile for awhile. I expect that I was looking for something entertaining. I would like to say that I was not drawn in by the cover artwork of spaghetti and wine but that might not be true.
The back of the book says that it is Ruth Reichl's "delicious and compulsively readable account of her exploits as a New York Times food critic" and I can tell you that the book lives up to that promise.
It tells the story of food critic Reichl's move from being food critic at Los Angeles Times to being food critic at the New York Times in New York City and it is funny. You can imagine that a food critic needs a certain amount of anonymity. However, Reichl was known in Los Angeles and that visibility carried over to her work in NYC, which necessitated her visiting restaurants incognito. As the Washington Post says, "at times laugh-out-loud funny."
Garlic and Sapphires was my kind of book. It was a great break from normal life and one that kept calling my name when I tried to stop reading. Hopefully, it will not keep you up past your bedtime the way it did me but, if it does, at least you will be having fun.
I can HIGHLY RECOMMEND Garlic and Sapphires. I believe that anyone who loves food will enjoy it. I also think that someone who has NYC on their bucket list, who lives in that city or who once lived there would enjoy it whether or not they can afford to eat at the restaurants that Reichl visits. Finally, anyone who has followed Reichl's career will likely enjoy this record of her time at the New York times.
I am sharing my copy with my book-loving friends and I have added more of Reichl's books to my book list. If you read it, I am sure that you will feel the same when you put it down.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
I
live in wine country and I love to read mysteries. This mystery takes
place in the Santa Ynez wine country that I often drive through on
the way to Santa Barbara. So, of course, I had to read it.
Why I Chose to Read This Book
I love reading mysteries, and I love living in wine country,
surrounded by vineyards. I even had the opportunity to observe my
neighbor's wine making process after harvest. So when I was
searching the mystery section at the library for a new book to
read, Deadly Vintage by William Relling Jr.
immediately caught my eye. As I scanned the dust jacket, I became
even more interested. When I actually read the book, all I had
learned about the wine industry brought the book to life for me. I'd
seen the machines that process the grapes in action (as you will if
you follow the link above.) I am personally acquainted with the
owners of many local vineyards.
Before reading Deadly Vintage, I had just returned
from a trip through the Santa Ynez valley, so I was able to visualize
all the places mentioned, including those in Southern California,
where I was raised and spent a good part of my life. I have driven
the same Los Angeles and Orange County freeways and experienced the
traffic exactly as Relling, who lived in Los Angeles when writing the
book, described it.
A Review of Deadly Vintage
This book is set in the Santa Ynez Valley in the fictional town of
San Tomas. If you click that link, it will bring up a map that will show you the scenery Jack saw during his investigation. The protagonist, Jack Donne, a former Treasury agent, is
now a vintner. He works with his father, Raymond Donne, referred to
as Dad in this first person narrative, who had been an architect in
nearby Santa Barbara, before retiring to make wine. They have one
full-time employee, Jesus Fonseca, who was born in Mexico. The other
important family member is Uncle Gerry Donne, Dad's brother, a
financial lawyer in Santa Barbara who handles the Donne Vineyards
account, besides being a partner in the business.
The action begins when Ozzie Cole the son of another wealthy
winery owner, Perry Cole, now retired, barges in on Jack unexpectedly
and implores him to investigate the possibility that someone is
counterfeiting his expensive wine and selling it in Southern
California. Jack does not want to get involved. He has never liked
Ozzie, though he respects him as a wine maker. Ozzie's two brothers,
June (short for Junior) and Grant, are working together and competing
with Ozzie, who has his own operation and produces expensive boutique
wines. June and Grant make cheaper wines.
Uncle Gerry finally convinces Jack to work for Ozzie by sharing
with Jack a possible connection between the person selling the
counterfeit wine and a mobster who is well-known to all of them. A
couple of days later, Perry Cole, who is living in a nursing home and
is assisted by his long-time servant, Zeke Carlin, an ex-boxer, is
murdered on Carlin's day off.
Ozzie is arrested for the murder, since Brad Fitch, the Lieutenant
investigating the case, thought Ozzie had the knowledge, opportunity,
and motive to kill his father, the motive being money. The Perry
family lawyer, Daniel Wikert had let it slip to police that Ozzie
stood to inherit almost all of Perry's sizable estate. Ozzie had also
been trained as a medic in the National Guard, giving him the
knowledge it took to kill Perry in the way he had died. Jack had also
witnessed Perry leaving his father, still arguing loudly, the night
before Perry was murdered.
Jack doesn't like Ozzie much, but he doesn't believe he killed his
father. Jack smells a rat in Wikert, and also learns that the sleazy
lawyer has connections with the underworld. Jack continues his
investigation to not only uncover the counterfeiting operation, but
also to find the real murderer.
The characters in this book are developed just enough to make me
care about them. The plot moves in such a way that I'm not really
surprised by the outcome, since the author dropped just enough clues
to enable me to think with him. In fact, I was pretty sure who had
killed Perry before Jack seemed to catch on. I don't like it when
I've been trying to think with a detective or investigator and then
at the end all kinds of new elements appear that change everything
that seemed to follow logically before. I'm looking forward to
reading the next and only other book in this series. There won't be
any more, because the author committed suicide in 2004 when he was only
49.
I have linked to both formats of the book below, should you want to read it.
Croad Vineyard owner Martin Croad invited me to tour his winery
during harvest day in 2011. He showed me all the machines used to
process the wine, and I have included them, along with his
explanation of what they do and a demonstration of each. Watching
this video will help you to understand the plot of Deadly
Vintage better, since the process of wine making, and the
machines used, are important in the plot.
Recommendation
I recommend this book to mystery loving wine aficionados or anyone who enjoys thinking along with investigators to solve murder mysteries. The book is even more fun if you are familiar with the Southern California area and can visualize where the action is happening.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
