Mayle uncorks a winning wine caper in the tradition of To Catch a Thief. When a hot-shot Hollywood lawyer's most treasured and expensive wines are stolen, his insurance company calls in Sam Levitt, a gourmand and lawyer-of-all-trades with a varied background, to investigate. The investigation takes Sam to Paris and Bordeaux, where he hooks up with the elegant insurance agent Sophie Costes, a fellow wine and food snob. The trail finally leads them to a man named Francis Reboul in Marseille, and soon, with the help of Sophie's journalist cousin, Phillipe, they get an in with Reboul and close in on closing the caper. While the plot may be predictable, the pleasures of this very French adventure-and there are many-aren't in the resolution, of course, but in the pleasant stroll through the provinces and in the glasses of wine downed and decadent meals consumed. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

FOR nearly 20 years, Peter Mayle has entertained foodies, Francophiles and armchair travelers with his adventures in the South of France. After the success of "A Year in Provence," which captured the initial foray - restoring an 18th-century farmhouse in the Luberon - the trips became a franchise. Mayle has been publishing follow-up travelogues, food guides and even novels ever since. In "The Vintage Caper," a new work of crime fiction, he returns once again to the country that both enchants and vexes him, only this time he's chasing suspects deep into fine-wine territory. Danny Roth, a wealthy entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, has amassed all the trappings of a flamboyant yet shallow existence: a "young, blond, fashionably gaunt wife"; homes in New York and Aspen; and a killer wine collection, including more than 500 bottles from classic vintages like the '61 Latour and '83 Margaux. But there's a problem: Danny feels underappreciated. Not enough people know about his $3 million cellar, so he works his connections and scores a full-page interview in The Los Angeles Times - with photo - that also runs in The International Herald Tribune (headlined, of course, "The Grapes of Roth"). Bad idea! Shortly after the article runs, while he's on vacation in Aspen, all his Bordeaux is stolen. As Roth fumes, his insurance company hires a private investigator, Sam Levitt, and the whodunit moves into high gear. Levitt considers the likely culprits - the caretaker of the property, rival wine collectors - and the possibility that Roth himself might have stolen the bottles for the insurance money. When none of these theories pan out, he decides he must seek the answers in France. As soon as Levitt begins his sleuthing - first in Paris, then in Bordeaux and Marseilles - the pace, tone and rhythm of the book shift. Suddenly, Mayle's descriptive powers move into cinematic overdrive: meals are lovingly described, scenery comes to life, paragraphs take long floral detours. And everyone is blessed with hypersensitive taste buds. Unlike most novels, this one lets you hear what dishes everyone orders at restaurants. In between plot and menu development, Mayle peppers the narrative with wry observations, often in the form of his trademark one-liners. "Inside every self-respecting Frenchman lurks the soul of a Formula One driver," Levitt notes, "conducting animated phone conversations while smoking and, if there was a hand free, steering." Even wine writing is skewered, especially for its tasting notes ("Hints of pencil shavings - and what's this? Do I detect just a soupçon of tobacco?") and flamboyance (" 'Fat, rich and luscious' . . . never failed to conjure up images not of a glass of wine but of the kind of statuesque woman Rubens liked to paint"). At times, the characters become caricatures: the rich and rude Americans versus the flirtatious and jingoistic French. Mayle's women, though smart and sophisticated, all experience some form of sexual frisson when in Levitt's presence. A bar owner in Marseille, described as "an impressive sight" with a "truly monumental bosom, much of it visible, with the rest struggling to escape from an orange tank top two sizes too small," fixes her eyes on Levitt and propositions him in French. Readers may also be surprised at how well every hunch and scheme works out. We'd all be wine thieves if crimes were this easy. For Mayle fans and oenophiles, however, these shortcomings may not matter: wine is clearly the main character. And the book generously flows with vinous minutiae. By the time Levitt returns to America, readers will have learned much about the history of winemaking, the key wine regions, various auction houses, critics and books - and even how to lift fingerprints from bottles. Yes, Levitt solves the mystery, but a twist at the end sends the characters on an unexpected mission that throws the whole sense of right and wrong, good guys and bad guys, into question - and suggests the possibility of a sequel. Mayle returns once again to the country that both enchants and vexes him. James Oliver Cury is a Web director at Hearst Magazines Digital Media Group.

The celebrated author (A Good Year, 2004, etc.) introduces a wine-savvy sleuth who traces an L.A. cellar heist back to France. Light, slight and very tidy, Mayle's sixth novel wastes no time on superfluous characters or subplots. Its pared-down story line features vain Hollywood entertainment lawyer Danny Roth, whose pride in his $3 million wine collection leads to a boastful article about it in the L.A. Times and then its theft. Attractive insurance agent Elena Morales hires ex-boyfriend Sam Levitt, a hunk with a nose for fine vintages, to track it down. The trail leads to Marseille via Paris and Bordeaux, affording Mayle many opportunities for travel guidetype asides: "High on the Corniche Kennedy, the restaurant offers an irresistible combination of fresh fish, fresh air and a glittering view of the Frioul islands." Levitt's companion is another insurance agent, attractive Sophie Costes, whose presence makes Elena jealous. Sam, suspecting billionaire tycoon and wine-collector Francis Reboul of the theft, pretends to be a publisher working on a book on private cellars, gains access to Reboul's vast collection, discovers Roth's fingerprints on some of the bottles and steals the stolen wine back. No hitches, no glitches, and Sam gets the girl too. The term "easy read" was surely invented for this amiable but scorchingly efficient amusement that comes with the added benefit of menu and wine-list recommendations. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Never was a novel more aptly titled than this latest effort by Englishman Mayle, who has staked out the south of France not only as his personal stomping grounds but also as the setting for numerous delightful books, both fiction and nonfiction, beginning, of course, with A Year in Provence (1990), a delectable account of Mayle's experiences in his adopted homeland. The vintage part of this title refers to rare and expensive wine. The caper part adds the element of stolen rare and expensive wine. Danny Roth is a Hollywood lawyer whose wine collection is his pride and joy. One day a major portion of that collection turns up missing, and his insurance company before handing over the $3 million Roth feels the bottles are worth hires an investigator to look into the matter. The California setting soon gives way to Mayle's trademark south of France, and the trail to resolving the case provides a richly atmospheric ride for the reader. Mayle delivers what is almost a French version of Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels: good, clean writing; a sophisticated and mouthwatering use of food and wine as the story's upholstery; and a quick yet captivating plot, well sprinkled with humor. This novel is a special invitation for newbies to begin appreciating Mayle's talent as a writer.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2009 Booklist