If you're interested in mysteries and wine making in France, this is the novel for you. The story is laced with wine making and tasting history.

Narrator James Adams is no Simon Vance. I deeply missed Vance's facility with accents and character changes. Adams is fine, and I have no qualms, but he's just not Vance.

The second warning is the dog dies. The death does serve a plot point, so it's not gratuitous, but that doesn't make it any less troublesome. The same plot point could have been made by killing off one of the stupid women around McLeod.