PETER MAY
The Critic
(Poisoned Pen, $24.95)

This is the second in the Enzo series (Extraordinary People). Enzo Macleod is half-Scottish, half-Italian. A former forensic scientist, he now lives in France and works as a university professor in Toulouse. As the result of a wager, he becomes involved in solving old French 'cold cases' using the latest technology. "...After famous wine critic Gil Petty vanishes during a tasting trip to the unheralded Gaillac region, his wine-soaked body reappears, clothed in the ceremonial robes of a wine society and hanging in the woods. Determined to find the killer, Enzo rents a vineyard cottage... Petty was not a popular man -- his reviews could make or break a vineyard's reputation -- so there are plenty of suspects. Enzo's search soon makes him the killer's target, and it takes all his skills and a bit of luck to escape death. Another oenophile's tip sheet with the bonus of a finely crafted and surprising mystery," said Kirkus Reviews. And Publishers Weekly said: "...tidbits about wine production and the art of wine tasting make this a full-bodied, satisfying read."

PETER MAY
The Killing Room
(St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95)

The newest 'China' book brings together Beijing detective Li Yan and American pathologist Margaret Campbell for the third time. When the mutilated and dismembered bodies of eighteen women are discovered in a mass grave in Shanghai, Li is sent to establish if the corpses are related to an unsolved murder in Beijing, and he finds the most horrifying catalog of killings ever uncovered in the Middle Kingdom. Once more, Margaret is unsure of her mercurial relationship with Li, and if it will threaten their professional collaboration. "[Martin] Cruz Smith meets Cornwell and it won't take many pages of his latest to find out why... Raw, like sushi, and recommended," said Publishing News (U.K.). And The Herald said: "Peter May opens a window on a vision of the modern Chinese political climate ... a tremendous collision of cultures." Scotsman Peter May has been winning praise for his vibrant portrayal of contemporary Chinese life and attention to scientific and medical detail. He is the only westerner to be made an honorary member of the Chinese Crime Writers' Association.