Peter Mayle is part tour guide and part food critic. In The Marseille Caper, he weaves a plausible plot around sleuth Sam Levitt (introduced in Anything Considered) and the gorgeous Elena Morales.
Ultra-wealthy Francis Reboul has called Sam from Los Angeles to help him win the bid on a hotly contested piece of waterfront real estate in Marseille. The catch? Reboul's involvement must remain secret because Patrimonio, the man who heads the committee that will decide the winner, is not a friend of Reboul. After the dummy corporation set up with Sam as its representative wins the contract, Reboul explains, it will somehow mysteriously fall upon bad financial times and he'll swoop in and bail it out. By that time, his presence--and his money--will not be disputed. Sam's group contends for the property against Lord Wapping, who needs this contract to continue his gilded lifestyle.
Reboul's plan--terraced low-rise apartments, retail and a marina--is intended for locals, not tourists. Lord Wapping, on the other hand, envisions a glass and steel high-rise. The committee favors Reboul's plan, endangering Patrimonio's lucrative relationship with Lord Wapping, to whom he has promised success.
Wapping can see the development project slipping away from him, so he puts both money and thugs into play. Danger and intrigue proliferate as Wapping becomes more and more desperate. Before the satisfying conclusion, we have had a Mayle-led tour and history lesson through Marseille and the surrounding area, dined fashionably and simply, sampled grand vintages and eschewed, with Elena, a delicacy made of sheep's intestines. --Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Ore.