Flambe in Armagnac

Alaux and Balen's seventh Winemaker Detective novel (after Mayhem in Margaux) will appeal to wine buffs and those who dream of visiting a French countryside that is filled with chateaux and rascally nobility, and where all the women%E2%80%94and most men%E2%80%94are superb chefs. It's dotted with history and sprinkled with quotes from French philosophers. It's also a pithy primer on how and where the brandy is made. The mystery? Oh yes, there is one. However, detection is really not the point; the pleasure lies in wallowing in the ambience. Series lead Benjamin Cooker, "the most famous winemaker in France," and his able young assistant, Virgile Lanssien, have come to the Armagnac region of Gascony to assess the value of Armagnac stocks that have been destroyed by a fire at Ch%C3%A2teau Blanzac; they wind up investigating a murder, among other crimes. Readers will look forward to The Winemaker Detective, an omnibus volume that collects the first three Winemaker novels, later in 2015. (Aug.)