Blowback

January 24, 2011
Culinary heights, human depths, and a surprise romance await Enzo Macleod in the remote reaches of central France in May's fifth mystery to feature the Scottish forensics expert (after 2010's Freeze Frame). Scant evidence and apparent lack of motive stymied the initial investigation into the murder of celebrity chef Mark Fraysse seven years earlier, but Macleod soon discovers less than savory secrets, from the late chef's in-house adultery and gambling addiction to his troubled relationship with older brother Guy, the current patron of Chez Fraysse along with Fraysse's widow. The familial dysfunction resonates strongly with Macleod for reasons he's long repressed, prompting him to take a painful look at his own life—including his estrangement from the mother of the infant son he has yet to see. While the action sequences can come across as forced in this introspective entry, it offers subtle, complex pleasures to the discerning palate.