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THE CHARLEMAGNE CONNECTION
by R.M. Cartmel
Crime Scene, May 2015
262 pages
$13.95
ISBN: 0992948622


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

THE CHARLEMAGNE CONNECTION is a rare police procedural in that it meanders along in a comforting and calming way, inserting the reader into life in the wine producing Nuits-Saint-Georges village in the Burgundy area of France. It's the second book in a planned trilogy and nearly all of the characters from the first book, THE RICHEBOURG AFFAIR, have returned in this installment. Commander Truchaud has come back to the vineyard his family owns, as his father is descending into Alzheimer's disease and wreaking some havoc on the local vines. Once he's in the village, Truchaud's Paris office releases him to take on the role of local police chief. A significant amount of the book is concerned with the pastoral landscape, the running of vineyards, and the eating of wonderful food and drinking of exceptional wine. The reader looking for a non-stop thriller would do best to look elsewhere, but one who enjoys reading about the small joys of life will appreciate Cartmel's atmospheric writing.

The book is a mystery, though, and it begins with the apparent disappearance in the area of a German tourist, Horst Witter. Horst's sister, Dagmar, and a friend travel from Germany to Nuits-Saint-Georges when they discover some papers linking him to that area. Once there, they find that Horst and Dagmar have connections to one of the vineyard owners and Dagmar begins to make those connections even stronger. To do so, however, a translator is necessary, since neither girl speaks French and no one in the area can understand their German. Truchaud is able to engage in rudimentary conversation with them in English, but more detailed communication is needed. Truchaud calls his much younger investigator, Natalie, to the vineyard to translate the German, setting the stage for relationship issues between boss and employee. By chance, a body is found buried on one of the vineyard hillsides, and the question is: Is the body that of the missing Horst, and if so, who killed him and why?

THE CHARLEMAGNE CONNECTION was a great pleasure to read, but less because of the mystery than because of the engaging descriptions of all things wine-related. Some of the most enjoyable scenes take place amidst the small tower of babel created as French, English, and German swirl together over delectable meals. The relationships between various characters are also dealt with well, and in many ways they created more suspense than the murder. There is an amused tone to the book, and a soothing pace; Cartmel has a unique voice that I found very appealing. It is possible to read this book without having read the first in the series, but if you are going to read both, and I strongly recommend that you do, you will want to start at the beginning. References in this second in the series will act as spoilers to the first. The third is due out in the spring of 2016, and I'll be anxiously awaiting it.

§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.

Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, July 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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