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Audiobook6 hours
The Vintage Caper
Written by Peter Mayle
Narrated by Erik Davies
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
()
Currently unavailable
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About this audiobook
Set in Hollywood, Paris, Bordeaux, and Marseille, Peter Mayle's newest and most delightful novel is filled with culinary delights, sumptuous wines, and colorful characters. It's also a lot of fun.
The story begins high above Los Angeles, at the extravagant home and equally impressive wine cellar of entertainment lawyer Danny Roth. Unfortunately, after inviting the Los Angeles Times to write an extensive profile extolling the liquid treasures of his collection, Roth finds himself the victim of a world-class wine heist.
Enter Sam Levitt, former corporate lawyer, cultivated crime expert, and wine connoisseur. Called in by Roth's insurance company, which is now saddled with a multimillion-dollar claim, Sam follows his leads-to Bordeaux and its magnificent vineyards, and to Provence to meet an eccentric billionaire collector who might possibly have an interest in the stolen wines. Along the way, bien sûr, he is joined by a beautiful and erudite French colleague, and together they navigate many a château, pausing frequently to enjoy the countryside's abundant pleasures.
The unraveling of the ingenious crime is threaded through with Mayle's seductive rendering of France's sensory delights-from a fine Lynch-Bages and Léoville Barton to the bouillabaisse of Marseille and the young lamb of Bordeaux. Even the most sophisticated of oenophiles will learn a thing or two from this vintage work by a beloved author.
From the Hardcover edition.
The story begins high above Los Angeles, at the extravagant home and equally impressive wine cellar of entertainment lawyer Danny Roth. Unfortunately, after inviting the Los Angeles Times to write an extensive profile extolling the liquid treasures of his collection, Roth finds himself the victim of a world-class wine heist.
Enter Sam Levitt, former corporate lawyer, cultivated crime expert, and wine connoisseur. Called in by Roth's insurance company, which is now saddled with a multimillion-dollar claim, Sam follows his leads-to Bordeaux and its magnificent vineyards, and to Provence to meet an eccentric billionaire collector who might possibly have an interest in the stolen wines. Along the way, bien sûr, he is joined by a beautiful and erudite French colleague, and together they navigate many a château, pausing frequently to enjoy the countryside's abundant pleasures.
The unraveling of the ingenious crime is threaded through with Mayle's seductive rendering of France's sensory delights-from a fine Lynch-Bages and Léoville Barton to the bouillabaisse of Marseille and the young lamb of Bordeaux. Even the most sophisticated of oenophiles will learn a thing or two from this vintage work by a beloved author.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Author
Peter Mayle
Peter Mayle (1939-2018) spent fifteen years in the advertising business before escaping in 1975 to write books, including his bestselling A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence. His work has been translated into seventeen languages and he has contributed to a variety of newspapers and magazines.
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Reviews for The Vintage Caper
Rating: 3.153488423255814 out of 5 stars
3/5
215 ratings31 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I have a gripe against characters who are completely arrogant and annoying. I absolutely hated Sam Levitt and his know-it-all personality. This is totally on me though, I knew what I was getting into when I read he was a former corporate lawyer, cultivated crime expert, and wine connoisseur. Honestly, it would be a shock if he wasn’t an arrogant a-hole. The only way to enjoy this book would be by enjoying the descriptions of the food and wine Levitt tasted but I’m the kind of person who likes actually eating and drinking wine instead of watching or reading about other people enjoying it.It’s a no from me dog.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Definitely lightweight fluff, but still an enjoyable quick vacation read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like all of Mayle's yarns, this caper was a fun read. A multi-million dollar wine collection is stolen from an LA connoisseur and the investigation moves to France. The exquisite French food and wine described throughout the story was tantalizing.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5(Fiction, Mystery) Peter Mayle, author of the perennially popular A Year in Provence also penned a less well-known four book mystery series featuring former lawyer and wine connoisseur Sam Levitt.In Los Angeles, wine collector Danny Roth engages Sam after he is the victim of a wine heist. Sam follows leads to Bordeaux and Provence. The France and wine details themselves made this worth the read, but there is also a decent mystery. 4 stars
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good easy read
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a fast, enjoyable read. The details of France and wine are what keeps it from being just another detective tale.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A good, quick read. Entertaining and engaging. Enjoyable if you like: good food, good wine, and France. I have always enjoyed Mayle's nonfiction, and this fiction did no disappoint.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this. Yes, it is light, but any good caper story should be light...otherwise it's not a caper story, it's a crime story (at least in my mind.) As with Mayle's other books you feel like making a list of all the wonderful places they eat, so that you could find them and go there!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A quick read that did not disappoint.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What a charming mystery! It's written in a humorous style with a lot of wink and French attitudes. It's starting in Hollywood with a theft of good wine, but the most part of the story is taking place in France. The trio, who is solving the case in unorthodox way, couldn't be more different, but they complement one another perfectly. One should have eaten before starting to read the book because there are such a lot of lovely meals described that one's mouth waters.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Thoroughly enjoyable fluff. Main characters are one-dimensional but not quite stock, don't have any underlying hangups that color their activities or thoughts, aren't eccentrics or jerks. Beside which, plot and subject (French wine and food) are the important elements, not character. The plot is free of risk, so straightforward as to verge on simplistic, and fairly predictable: but for all that, I enjoyed it very much, perhaps because it doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, doesn't attempt to misdirect the reader, and doesn't require any care in the reading. Brain candy, I suppose.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A light mystery heavy on the food and wine. I enjoyed some of the quirky characters, the mostly French setting and the detailed descriptions of dining in Marseilles. A fun read to distract me from my current heavy reading list.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5found it as audiobook in the library. listened to it during my commute. entertaining but not a book I would read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pleasantly diverting. The best parts were the descriptions of the French countryside, Marseilles, restaurants and food.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hollywood mogul has his $2.3 million wine cellar stolen while on vacation and insurance company doesn't want to pay out so they hire Sam Levitt to find the wine. His investigation takes him to Marseille and with the help of a couple of new friends finds the wine and devises a plan to get it back. Very exciting ending.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A clever little caper. Mayle's typical style comes through loud and clear. I'm always hungry and thirsty after reading one of his books. And someday I'm going to retrace his steps through Provence.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A very light book, but ultimately an enjoyable and well written read. Don't expect much heft to this "mystery", but it is perfect for afternoon on an airplane. Good dialogue and descriptions of places, wines, restaurants and food. Interesting characters -- the book "wanted" to be longer and more complex.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A light hearted romp, easily read and enjoyed.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ineresting to the oenophile but not up to his portraits of Provence.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A theft of some very expensive wines leads to an insurance investigation all the way to France. The outcome was predictible yet a good quick read. Better be a wine lover to enjoy this mystery.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I loved all the Peter Mayle memoirs and I enjoyed his earlier novels, but I had to force myself to finish The Vintage Caper. I kept waiting for something to happen, for some conflict, but it never materialized. The plot was step-by-step predictable and I cared nothing about the characters. I really wanted to give up and re-read A Year in Provence instead.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In 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 predictable and bland. A few more twists and surprises would have livened things up. However, you don't read Peter Mayle for plot, you read for the gorgeous descriptions of gourmet meals, rare wines, beautiful scenery, and the playful, sparkling dialogue between characters. As always, the characters themselves are pitch perfect - charming rogues and smart, beautiful women whose company you will enjoy. Reading this book is like taking a lovely, relaxing and fun-filled vacation to France. If you liked Peter Mayle's other novels you will surely enjoy this one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5*The Vintage Caper* is another work of charm and temptation by Peter Mayle. Detective Sam Levitt eats and drinks his way through Marseilles to solve the theft of five hundred bottles of rare wine belonging to an obnoxious Hollywood collector. The mystery is less the point of the novel than an excuse to write about life in southern France and to introduce us to some engaging characters. There are some nice little twists — the victim is more villainous than the perpetrator of the heist — but delightfully, there were no fraught car chases or moments of unbearable tension. The book is merely a joy from start to finish, and I am quite happy that it is the first in a series. I look forward to renewing my acquaintance with Mr. Levitt and friends in the next installment.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Vintage Caper is one of the books that was choose by our mystery book club; however, it is not a mystery in the usual sense, perhaps not at all. Whatever it is in a genre-sense, it did prove to be fun light reading with likable characters and a well developed sense of place, but then again that was where Mayle first made his stand.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Not much good to say about this book. Clearly, the author has good knowledge about wine so he has dressed up a very weak story with extra data about wine. One has to ask is there value in reading about wines the vast majority of us could never afford to sniff to say nothing about sipping?
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Digital audio performed by Eric Davies3.5*** This is book #1 in the Sam Levitt series. Sam's a former corporate attorney and now something of a crime expert; he's also a lover of good food, good wine and beautiful women. When he's asked by his former girlfriend, and lead insurance investigator, to help discover the truth behind a $3 million wine heist, Sam agrees. After all, it involves an expenses-paid trip to France. Mayle has given the reader a crime caper with a plausible (if fantastic) plot, a wonderful cast of characters, and mouth-watering descriptions of food and wine. (Fair warning: You may find that you are constantly hungry when reading this.) Mayle’s love of France shines through; I could practically smell the aromas from a restaurant’s kitchen and feel the sun on my face. And I love that twisty ending! A fast, fun, delicious read. Eric Davies does a fine job reading the audiobook. He sets a good pace and has the skill to differentiate the characters. I loved his interpretation of Reboul.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed it! The characters were well written, the scenery gorgeous and the story very clean and enjoyable.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I hated the two-dimensional, stereotypical wine snob characters. Barely three stars.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5kind of dumb but i finished it. good reader
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Wine
France
Mystery
Peter Mayle
What's not to enjoy !
Light, easy reading.
Read in 2010.