Blowback: The exciting penultimate case in the addictive crime series (The Enzo Files Book 5)

Peter May

Aug 2013 · The Enzo Files Book 5 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE CHINA THRILLERS
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021

'Enzo MacLeod is one of the most unusual crime solvers I have ever met.' BookBrowse
'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of Books

The penultimate chapter in the Enzo Files, sees Enzo enter the volatile and - now, it appears - violent world of haute cuisine.

PUY-DE-DÔME, FRANCE.

A Silenced Man.

Footprints in the snow lead to the murder scene of Marc Fraysse, France's most celebrated chef - brutally shot before he could make the revelation of his career.

A Determined Man.

Seven years on and the mystery still raw, Enzo Macleod, forensic investigator, forays into the heated world of haute cuisine to uncover bitter feuds and a burning secret.

A Hunted Man.

The Fraysse family history is as twisted as Enzo's own. And in his pursuit of truth, the depths of deceit threaten to consume Enzo - and that which he cherishes most.

LOVED BLOWBACK? Read the series finale, CAST IRON
LOVE PETER MAY? Order his new thriller, THE NIGHT GATE

Ratings and reviews

Blow Back is the fifth book in the Enzo Macleod Investigation series by Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. Having achieved more than the French police had managed to with four of Roger Raffin’s cold cases, Enzo Macleod heads to the auberge at Saint-Pierre that houses Chez Fraysse, a Michelin-three-starred restaurant. Unlike the reception he received with earlier cases, he is made welcome by both the young Gendarme, Dominique Chazal, and the victim’s widow and older brother: all claim that their most fervent desire is for Enzo to solve the murder of celebrity chef, Marc Fraysse. On his customary afternoon run, seven and a half years earlier, Marc was shot dead in a buron on the ridge track, his mobile phone missing. But not everyone at Chez Fraysse seems happy with Enzo’s presence. Elisabeth Fraysse maintains that Marc was loved by all, had no enemies except for the food critic who made public a rumour that Marc was about to lose a star. Dominique tells Enzo she was unimpressed with the detective high fliers who came to investigate. Finding Marc’s laptop still in his bureau, Enzo concludes she may be right. Incredibly, it seems that investigators, when they did not find a document stating in 36-point font “My killer is XX”, looked no further. Enzo does, with an interesting result. Enzo has set up someone on staff to helpfully provide inside information, although that backfires in an unexpected manner. The gossip thus garnered does provide three possible suspects; perusal of the draft of Marc’s memoir yields further motives; and a certain compulsive vice of Marc’s points to yet more. As usual, Enzo attracts a woman: this one conveniently owns the sniffer dog that comes in handy later. There’s an attempt on his life, a couple of trips to Paris, some welcome and some unwelcome news about his daughter, Kirsty, and a favour called in from a documents expert. Three young women press Enzo to demand access to the baby son he has not yet seen. While it’s true the setting is a gourmet restaurant with a seventy-thousand bottle cellar, Enzo waxes lyrical about meals and wines so many times that it does get just a bit tedious. And it seems odd that Enzo only reads the earlier parts of Marc’s memoir (which, incidentally set him off on uncomfortable reminiscences of his own) when the most recent might have provided more relevant information. Despite a few plot holes, this is still an enjoyable read: there are plenty of red herrings (not all of them convincing) in the lead up to a dramatic climax that involves guns, quite a bit of spilled wine and broken glass, and the twist is excellent. The next instalment, Cast Iron is eagerly anticipated.

An excellent read with Peter May's usual twists and turns

Lacked the pace of the rest of the series, got carried away in the cuisine details

About the author

Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland's most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels. In 2021, he was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. He has also won several literature awards in France, received the USA's Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy; and in 2014 was awarded the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award for Entry Island. Peter now lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally.