From Hollywood to Marseille with delicious stops in between, Peter Mayle’s latest novel is filled with the culinary delights and entertaining...
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Jun 23, 2010
Rhonda
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This book, from the author of A Year in Provence and A Good Year (with Russell Crowe driving a Smart Car in France, who could resist the movie?) is a delightful little escapist read about wine. It covers the gamut too, with wine snobs and wine collectors but it always elevates wine to the place it needs to be: being enjoyed in good company without posturing.
There are so many wonderful meals associated, I feel as though I gained ten pounds just reading this. Still it is a quick read and More...
There are so many wonderful meals associated, I feel as though I gained ten pounds just reading this. Still it is a quick read and More...
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Mar 29, 2010
Linda
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Sometimes it takes a thief to catch a thief, and Sam Levitt’s the man for the job. Called in by an LA insurance company desperate to avoid paying the claim, Sam goes to France to discover who stole that multimillion dollar wine stash. Because he knows a lot of big time crooks from his former life, it doesn’t take long for Sam to home in on a likely suspect in an international playboy who resides in Marseille, of all places. Proving that he did it is another problem altogether.
The wor More...
The wor More...
Mar 01, 2010
Kevin
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The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle
Alfred A Knopf Publisher, Copyright 2009
Let me start off by saying I am a fan of Peter Mayle’s work so this is slightly, alright an unabashedly biased review. Now that the transparency has been established, The Vintage Caper is an excellent read. It was perfect for a Snow storm day this past weekend, where as the inches of snow accumulated on the ground, I was safely ensconced in the goings on of Sam Levitt and a his friends from Los Angles to More...
Alfred A Knopf Publisher, Copyright 2009
Let me start off by saying I am a fan of Peter Mayle’s work so this is slightly, alright an unabashedly biased review. Now that the transparency has been established, The Vintage Caper is an excellent read. It was perfect for a Snow storm day this past weekend, where as the inches of snow accumulated on the ground, I was safely ensconced in the goings on of Sam Levitt and a his friends from Los Angles to More...
Dec 07, 2009
Leslie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 21, 2009
Denise
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In The Vintage Caper Peter Mayle brings back Sam Levitt, the charming and irascible crook turned PI from Anything Considered. Elena, Sam's beautiful but cantankerous ex, is in a bind. The insurance company she works for will have to pay out on a multimillion dollar claim unless the vintage wines stolen from their client can be found. Sam is a natural for the job, a wine connoisseur who also happens to be a private investigator.
The plot of The Vintage Caper is disappointingly predicta More...
The plot of The Vintage Caper is disappointingly predicta More...
Feb 10, 2010
Erin
rated it: 
This is a thin, silly little mystery by Peter Mayle, who has clearly spent so much time drinking wine in Provence that he's forgotten that mysteries normally contain some element of the mysterious. The Vintage Caper does not. What it does contain are cliches by the boatload (in case you didn't know, every woman in L.A. is gorgeous but stupid and every lawyer is an a-hole) and a story so flimsy it's ridiculous. The characters are empty and uninspired, and if you haven't figured out whodunit by
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Mar 07, 2011
Holger
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Peter Mayle gelingt es in "Ein diebisches Vergnügen", glaubwürdige und interessante Charaktere zu erschaffen, sowohl sympathische als auch unsympathische. In diesem Krimi geht es bemerkenswerterweise mal nicht um einen Mord, obwohl ich in einem Roman daran nichts auszusetzen habe, sondern um den Diebstahl einer teuren Weinsammlung. Genau diese Thematik liegt mir und ist in "Ein diebisches Vergnügen" tatsächlich vergnüglich aufbereitet. Stilistisch durchaus solide und angenehm
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Dec 28, 2009
Allison
rated it:
I am going back and forth about how many stars to give this. 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2 maybe? No matter. There are no 1/2 stars on goodreads anyway. So that will remain a personal battle. I need to say this right off the bat...I listened to this book on CD in the car. Why do I need to say this? Well, you see there was only one reader, who was a man. As such, when he read the female parts, which all had either a French or Spanish accent, he sounded like a bad drag queen from Lucky Cheng's. That did make me
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Mar 16, 2010
Alison
rated it:
If I could give 3.5 stars, I probably would. It's obvious what the author cares a great deal for - wine, food & France.
What I appreciated... all of the descriptions of locations and the wines. It made me long to go visit the area to see if I could experience a fraction of what they did. It also made me wish I was much more knowledgeable about wine.
What I didn't enjoy as much... sometimes the description were a little out of hand. I also found some of the romance/womanizin More...
What I appreciated... all of the descriptions of locations and the wines. It made me long to go visit the area to see if I could experience a fraction of what they did. It also made me wish I was much more knowledgeable about wine.
What I didn't enjoy as much... sometimes the description were a little out of hand. I also found some of the romance/womanizin More...
Nov 01, 2010
Carol
rated it:
This story slowly, slowly builds from a robbery in L.A. to a surprise ending in France. Danny Roth has nearly three million dollars worth of wine stolen from his home and demands payment by the insurance company.Elena Morales is vice President of the insurance company and she hires Sam Levitt. Sam enjoys a good bottle of wine, has a distant past of some lightweight crime himself, and loves France. He enjoys the idea of having to eat and drink wine in France and so he agrees to try and find wh
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Jul 16, 2011
Alyssa
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This was the only Peter Mayle book I hadn't read, so I had pretty high expectations because I enjoyed everything else so much. But now I look back on when I read them (in high school, summers off during college) and wonder if my tastes have changed or what. It could very well just be this book...which is a mystery and it's basically a mystery where all the planning is executed successfully without obstacles and everyone lives happily ever after. This makes for a pleasant feeling normally, but I
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Jul 02, 2011
Stefan
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The Vintage Caper was a brilliant novel and I loved Peter Mayle's awesome writing style. The humor in this cheerful, light but intelligent thriller was right on and there was always a constant element of tension. I've never read a thriller that mixed so many rich themes (wine, food, French culture, the flaws of American consumerism and importance of simple but contended living, among many others) so seamlessly and effortlessly with a thriller narrative (about the wine heist of the century). The
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Oct 27, 2009
Cecilia
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The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle is a fun, light wine mystery set mostly in the South of France that will get your taste buds all set for a good bottle of vino! Not really a true “mystery” (there is a caper element towards the end of the book) but rather more of a breezy whodunit where the end result is no where near as much fun as the finding-out-who part. Mayle (of A Year in Provence fame) knows how to write great characters with wonderful inter-play and chemistry…making this almost as much f
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Jan 22, 2010
salinthebay
rated it: 
Fluff!
This takes an explanation because I loved Mayle's Provance series. when a friend passed this book on to me, while vacationing in Southern California, I thought I would give it a try. But, I returned promptly before finishing it. Perhaps it was the LA, California setting where this non-caper takes place, that left me wondering about concepts of warped reality.
I thought his character development was stiff and silly, leaving no mystery or thought provoking challan More...
This takes an explanation because I loved Mayle's Provance series. when a friend passed this book on to me, while vacationing in Southern California, I thought I would give it a try. But, I returned promptly before finishing it. Perhaps it was the LA, California setting where this non-caper takes place, that left me wondering about concepts of warped reality.
I thought his character development was stiff and silly, leaving no mystery or thought provoking challan More...
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Aug 16, 2010
Ron
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Like all of Peter Mayle's books, The Vintage Caper is more fun and frolic then serious crime book - and thankfully so!
As in other Peter Mayle books, you will fall in love (again) with France and you'll want to vacation in Marseille - staring tomorrow!
There are some wonderful descriptions about the delicious food and wine, incluing some recipes and wine pairings. I would have bought the book just for those!
The caper involves the theft of wine - not just any wi More...
As in other Peter Mayle books, you will fall in love (again) with France and you'll want to vacation in Marseille - staring tomorrow!
There are some wonderful descriptions about the delicious food and wine, incluing some recipes and wine pairings. I would have bought the book just for those!
The caper involves the theft of wine - not just any wi More...
Sep 26, 2010
Julie
rated it:
If you expect anything more of this than light caper and heavy gastronomy, you haven't done your homework. Mayle writes with no other purpose than to entertain and to wave the tri-color with unabashed enthusiasm. For a Francophile who loves reading about food and wine almost as much as she does consuming it, this was a pleasant lark. Plot? Bah. Character development? Snort. Believability? Oh, honestly! Who would waste time in the south of France looking for the real world? A world to which I now
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Oct 11, 2010
Cynthia
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I really enjoyed the first few chapters, but then it got bogged down in the details of fabulous meals and show-offy wine one-upmanship — without irony or even awareness. After a while, I just couldn't stand to read another exquisitely detailed description of another exquisite meal (always with little barbs thrown in about what cultural barbarians the Americans are) with endless snobby, "Only three people in the world even have HEARD of this wine" comments. It made me feel like the auth
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Jan 30, 2012
Anne
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This was a fun and easy read for me. The way the author described the protagonist's travels through France and its cuisine was once again sublime. The mystery tale was simple and was by no means to be compared to top mystery writers like Sue Grafton or James Patterson. A good book to take to the beach and relax under an umbrella. The only problem I had with the book was the author's attempt to use American vernacular. For me, it was just too obvious that a non-American was trying to sound A
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Aug 16, 2010
Justin
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True to reputation, Mayle is not shy about dropping so many wine and food references on you that it is hard to keep track. But that is also the point: sensual descriptions of Provencal cafes, high end Bordeaux wine tastings, and other aspects of living the good life are meant to wash over and envelop the reader. Plot intricacies are more fodder for details to be discussed over the next wonderful meal as opposed to standing on its own. But it's a fun experience, and that's good enough for a su
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Sep 28, 2011
Noni
rated it:
An important Hollywood figure's priceless wine collection is stolen which means his insurance company either solves the crime or pays the multimillion dollar settlement. The police are far too busy with more important matters leaving the insurance company no option but to hire Sam Levitt, a former lawyer and wine connoisseur who was the perfect choice for such a case. His search takes
him to some of the best wine cellars and restaurants in California and France. A light read that is both More...
him to some of the best wine cellars and restaurants in California and France. A light read that is both More...
Jan 10, 2010
Martha
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Tommy and Tuppence, er, Sam and Sophie go to Provence (surprise!) and find stolen vintage wine. The main characters are flat and uncomplicated, the minor characters are well drawn and aimiable. The scenery is very Mayle, and his compare / contrast of LA vs. Marseille is interesting.
The real star, fully explored and indulged in, is the food and wine. Swoon.
With the exception of drinking wine that some parents might frown on, the story is pretty chaste, and might be fun More...
The real star, fully explored and indulged in, is the food and wine. Swoon.
With the exception of drinking wine that some parents might frown on, the story is pretty chaste, and might be fun More...
Jan 03, 2010
Suzanne
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This was a fun read in Peter Mayle style, pleasant enjoyment and intriguing glimpses of French life. It was a light mystery, tracking down a stolen cache of wine. I have never been a fan of the Mystery genre until I encountered the Cara Black novels set in Paris, but have found I enjoy the French background of those novels, as well as that of this one. But I find the same troubling issue in all of them--namely, is it OK to lie and even steal if the goal is "justice?" Or--the classic
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Jul 12, 2011
Ina
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I think Peter Mayle is a wonderfully descriptive writer, which works well for his books about his time in Provence, but not so well for a mystery. He obviously knows a great deal about food and wine, and provides the reader with mouthwatering descriptions of the food eaten by the characters and provides loads of details about wine, both what the characters drank throughout the book and the rare stolen wines that provide the mystery that must be solved. That level of detail here, interferes wit
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Feb 08, 2010
Joanne
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I liked A Year in Provence, and Mayle has kept that breezy style and upper crust European expat setting in this short little mystery. The plot is a little like Oceans 11 -- liberate some bottles of wine from someone who liberated them from an LA businessman first -- but with a whole lot less suspense. The criminals are charming but the plot is a bit of a yawn.
Jan 14, 2010
Les
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Not sure what to make of this book. I've loved Peter's past books so I picked this up and jumped into right away with anticipation.
****SPOILERS*********
I came away from it disappointed. I felt that perhaps Peter was a bit lazy with this book. I realize that some of the characters were being re-introduce from previous books, but the character development was very weak. The so called mystery was solved way to easy and neat.
In some regards I felt that the only More...
****SPOILERS*********
I came away from it disappointed. I felt that perhaps Peter was a bit lazy with this book. I realize that some of the characters were being re-introduce from previous books, but the character development was very weak. The so called mystery was solved way to easy and neat.
In some regards I felt that the only More...
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Feb 24, 2010
Carrie
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I've never read a book by Peter Mayle before, but I greatly enjoyed this one. I nearly put it down in the first chapter...I thought the hateful characters we are first introduced to might be who we stuck with through the whole book, and honestly,that might be a trend right now, but I have no interest in indulging it. Fortunately, I pressed on and the book improved. Quirky, fun. I didn't know it was a sequel. It definitely makes me want to seek out the previous books.
Nov 09, 2011
Alistair
rated it:
Unless you love the author or enjoy reading about France, wine and good food, give this book a miss. The title of the book is a misnomer...."Vintage" when talking about wine is reserved for the best and "Caper" often means something is done that is exciting or interesting. None of these words represents what is in the novel. It is boring, no mystery, no caper, no daring do, bland characters, who are not well developed. They just float from breakfast to lunch to dinner and
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Nov 04, 2010
Lauren
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When three million dollars worth of wine disappears from a cellar in Los Angeles, the insurance company hires a former thief to locate the missing wine. This is a mystery, but it’s a laid-back mystery without many twists and full of French wine and food. This book is simply begging to be turned into a movie, what with beautiful women, wealthy men, and lots of breathtaking French landscape shots. Recommended if you want an extremely relaxed read.
Sep 22, 2010
Colleen
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I picked this up because after two books with extreme violence toward women, I needed something light. This was not just light, it was bubbly. Sam Leviett is called in after Danny Roth's wine celler is robbed of some rare and expensive vintages. To get them back, Sam goes to France and teams up with the alluring Sophie, who works for the insurance company that is trying NOT to have to pay out a settlement, and her "louche" cousin, Phillipe. A really fun time!
Dec 07, 2009
Jean
rated it:
I have read all of Peter Mayle's books and really enjoy them...he is funny, light and keeps my interest. This is a mystery of sorts, but it is not hard to figure out the culprit...As with all his books, he gives such an enjoyable peek into the French culture and lifestyle. This is particularly interesting to those who love fine wine. It's a fast read, one for the beach or an airplane ride. Cute and fun is the best descriptor.
