Fast paced fascinating murder mystery set during 1940's!

The Nazis have invaded France and are picking over the spoils. An Alsace winemaker has poisoned twelve of his fabulous Pinot noir wines and gifted them to the Nazi commander, Colonel Riffel, as his cellar is being raided. Riffel in turn gifts them to high ranking officers with whom he wants to curry favor, Generalleutnant Troy Bastick. Bastick then gives a bottle to eleven other elite officers.
After a fatal death, Mads Molnar, a German psychologist-turned detective, is requested (well that's the polite word for it) by the Gestapo to recover the bottles.
Meanwile Mads is trying to gain his exit papers to Sweden. However the Arrow Cross—Hungary’s fascist party, wants him dead. Mads agrees to roundup the bottles for Riffel in return for a pardon and an exit visit.
Hot on his trail is Wolfram Bastick, son of the Generalleutnant, a brutal German detective who is bent on vengeance. The action sweeps from Hungary to France and Berlin.
I found the plot fascinating. Twelve bottles, each with its own story. The character of Mads Molnar reminds somewhat of Bernie Gunther, although an altogether different proposition. I enjoyed this German noir thriller . My impression of Mads is a hard nosed, laconic investigator with a heart, whom Humphrey Bogart could easily play. The action fairly leaps of the page, convincing and intriguing!

An ATS Press ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I love a good story that is based on something that actually happened. This is the case for this World War II thriller/detective novel, written by the grandson of the main character. A French winemaker from Alsace has poisoned a case of his best wine, knowing that the Nazis would seize it. Those bottles are sent as gifts to various Nazi officials by German Colonel Riffel. After the first bottle has done its “job”, the unwitting sender needs to retrieve the other eleven bottles ASAP. He recruits Hungarian Detective Mads Molnar, a former psychiatrist, with the promise of an exit visa to neutral Sweden. Molnar is a reluctant participant in this chase, but he is wanted by the Hungarian Arrow Cross for his resistance activities and feels he doesn’t have much choice. This would make a great movie, as Molnar races all over (from his native Hungary to Germany, France, and Denmark) in an effort to retrieve those bottles (and maybe kill a few Nazis in the process). He meets a lot of shady characters, especially Nazi Detective Wolfram Bastick whose father was the first poisoning victim, along the way. There is definitely a bunch of graphic violence, but there are also some really sweet moment involving a child he rescues. I also really enjoyed the author’s style of writing. His descriptions of people were vivid and unusual, such as describing someone as having a jaw like Mount Rushmore, referring to one of Mads’ pursuers as “the hairy man” or a description of how a man, walking by a store, walks into a telephone pole after catching a glimpse of a beautiful woman in the store trying on a ballgown.

Thank you to NetGalley and ATS Press for the chance to read an advance reader copy of this book.

Mads Molnar III has written a historical thriller/mystery featuring his father in a fictionalized version of an actual event. In 1940 German forces have overrun Alsace and France is a shattered landscape. Against that unsettled backdrop, Nazis raid the cellar of a winemaker who had poisoned a case of his best pinot noir to spite the invaders. Enter two detectives, The convicted Mads Molnar can earn papers to allow transit to Sweden if he finds the missing lethal bottles. The Gestapo detective Bastick runs his own investigation fired by the death of his father from poisoned wine. Each chapter follows one of the bottles to its destination target and the resulting upheaval it causes. I thoroughly enjoyed this short volume for its unusual blend of plot character and setting.

I really enjoyed the unique story told in this novel. I do wish I'd read it in hard copy rather than ebook because it took me several chapters to get the names/characters straight and it's much harder to flip back and forth in an ebook. This isn't the type of novel that kept me up because I needed to keep reading, but I always enjoyed myself while I was reading. I did receive a free copy of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and ATS Press for the chance to read an advanced copy of Pinot noir by Mads Molnar III for a review. I was intrigued by the premise of this story even talking to my sister about it; based on a true story a French winemaker poisons a dozen bottles of his best pinot noir knowing that an Nazi officer would confiscate them during the occupation of France. After the officer distributes the bottles to men he wants to impress, he begins to hear of several deaths due to poison, and discovers the truth, he hires psychologist-turned detective Mads Molnar to recover the bottles.
I enjoyed the true but fictionalized story, and it held my attention throughout. Lots of action. I liked the character of Mads, but I wished the character development had been a bit stronger, more of Mads' earlier life and Marilyn's back story. I think this would make an excellent movie.

I understand that Pinot Noir is based on a true story, but it seems so outlandish and implausible that I could not get through it. I couldn't read past the first chapter because it all seemed so ridiculous.

NetGalley ARC | WWII historical fiction based on a true story and WINE? Sign me up! If you are looking for a thrilling, suspenseful, and well-written new book set during WW2 and across Europe, I wouldn't skip Pinot Noir. This one is especially great if you enjoy detective stories paired with a little romance.

Mads Molnar III creates a captivating and fast-paced WW2 thriller plumped with twists, turns, lies, and deceit. Every well-rounded person we meet has a significant story and personality. No character is too small.

Uncover enthralling romance, massive egos, corruption, and of course, wine sealed with a deadly kiss. Unique to this WWII novel, Mads Molnar III examines life, death, greed, anger, and loss from a psychological standpoint.

You can find my full review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/november-2020-book-releases/

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A brilliant storyline that was very well written, would have liked a bit more historical information to give the book full context.

I loved this. As I expected, it was a bit of a romp, but this is exactly what I wanted for the current moment. It's a clever premise and one that had my rooting for the characters through every page. A great read.

i really enjoyed reading this mystery, it had what I enjoyed from the World War 2 era mystery and I enjoyed the characters. I hope there is more in this series.

This was a strange little book. It had a lot of action, it had a lot going on. There’s a whole bunch of characters flitting through the book. At times I wondered who was good and bad. Parts of the book were good and some parts a bit too wordy.
I think historical fiction fans will enjoy this book
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

I quite liked this story. The idea alone was intriguing, chasing down 12 bottles of wine that contain poison. Mads Molnar has executed the idea well, I found a lot of the questions I had about the motives behind certain aspects were addressed which helped create a well formed story. Different take on the world war 2 setting, it was interesting to watch the characters struggle between what was right and doing what they need to survive. Would recommend for anyone who likes a world war 2 story and for any Pinot fans!

Pinot Noir review
In 1940 the Nazis had invaded France and were occupying it. One of the Nazi tactics was to loot anything valuable in the occupied countries. A French winemaker decided to get his revenge by putting poison in 12 bottles of his highly rated Pinot Noir knowing that the wine would be confiscated by the Gestapo. The 12 bottles were sent to influential Germans by an ambitious German colonel. Soon two of the recipients died after drinking the wine. The colonel called Mads Molnar, a psychologist turned private detective, and asked Molnar to retrieve the other bottles before the recipients could drink them. Molnar was offered an exit visa out of Nazi occupied territories if he completed the task. He also was wanted by the Arrow Cross, the Hungarian racist party and hoped to avert capture by fleeing to Sweden.

As Mads began the search for the bottles, he witnessed some of the atrocities that the Nazis were accused of committing. The book is a fast paced Historical novel based on a true incident. The author uses the pseudonym Mads Molnar III and claims to be the grandson of the first Mads. Readers interested in WW II novels as well as vintage detective stories, will enjoy this book.

This ARC was provided by Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A good read overall. I would have liked some more historical detail and context. I would also have liked to know some more about the characters as well.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Pinot Noir by Mads Molnar III
Publication Date: November 1, 2020
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Description from NetGalley...
“In 1940, the night before Nazis raid his cellar, a French winemaker poisons a case of his best pinot noir to spite the invaders. The Nazis take the bait and the adventure begins. Every chapter of Pinot Noir tells the story of one of the 12 poisoned bottles in that case and the lives they change forever.

When Mads Molnar, a psychologist-turned detective, gets a call from the Gestapo, they make it clear that his own life depends on his recovering the bottles. He’s already been given the death penalty by the Arrow Cross—Hungary’s fascist party—but the Gestapo will grant a pardon and exit papers to neutral Sweden if he succeeds.

But Molnar has a 300-pound problem. Wolfram Bastick, a brutal Nazi detective whose father was killed by the wine, is also on the case. As Bastick races to find his father’s killer, Molnar scrambles to foil him. Meanwhile, Bastick’s mesmerizing fiancé, Marilyn Ghetz, is plotting to murder him for reasons of her own.

Molnar must recover the wine, win over Bastick's fiancé, escape the Nazis and make it out of Germany without getting killed.”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @ibpalovesindies and ATS Press for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
This book was based on true events that involved the author’s grandfather, Mads Molnar. The author shared that his grandfather was a psychologist before and during WWI. After serving in the front lines, his grandfather became a detective. This book was based on one of the stories his grandfather told him. The book was easy to read and written simply and straightforward. Don’t expect an intellectual type of detective story, as it was more tough guys and violent type of “investigating.” Don’t expect it to be the dour historical fiction, although it had a touch of that, it was not too serious. It started slow, then the actions started a quarter of the way and an ending I found satisfactory. It’s kinda like Sam Spade, Dick Tracy and Indiana Jones all blended together. It made for a funny and theatrical read with a bit of noir fiction. See what I did there? 🤣

What an intriguing premise! During the Nazi occupation of France, a famed French winemaker poisons 12 bottles of his best pinot noir to spite his country's invaders. The Nazi officer who takes the case of wine distributes the bottles to others he wishes to impress, but when he begins hearing that a couple of these men have died, presumably poisoned, he begins the quest to recover the remaining bottles. Each chapter of this novel then details the search for one of these bottles, with the search being led by the detective Mads Molnar.

Overall, this was an intriguing story, one which reminded me of detective novels written in what some consider the golden age of detective fiction: the 1940s and 50s. I did, however, find parts of the plot line somewhat unbelievable, and I wish the novel was a bit heavier on character development. All in all, though, a decent read.

An action-adventure, romancy, historical fiction crime novel with bits of paranormal stuffs.
Ummmmmmm.
I enjoyed the basic premise, but there were a bit too many other pieces pulling focus.
I wish the author had spent more time on developing the main characters and root plot rather than adding all the other (mostly pointless) side dishes.
Thanks to NetGalley & ATS Press for my DRC.

Fatal Bottle of Wine

A winemaker raided by the Nazi's poisoned twelve bottles of wine and sent them with gift wrap ribbons and a kiss on the seal to a Nazi commander. The Nazi Commander sends them out to influential Nazi's and the story begins. This is the tale of every one of the twelve bottles of Poisoned wine.

Mads Molinar is a Psychiatrist turned detective. After serving as a psychiatrist to soldiers during the war he changed his career and became a Private Investigator. He is being hunted by the Arrow Cross a Hungarian branch of the Nazi's. The Commander that sent the bottles out finds out they are poisoned and hires Mads to find all the bottles and destroy them, if he does this he is to be given safe passage to Sweden. He should have known better than to trust a Nazi. He is pursued by Wolfram Bastick whose father was poisoned by the first bottle of wine. Bastick also has a fiancée that Mads takes a liking to named Marilyn who is secretly looking to murder Wolfram to avenge her brother.

So as the story unfolds, across Germany, and into Denmark Mads goes searching for the bottles of wine, figuring out how to get them from the Nazi's and stay alive while evading the Yellow Cross and Wolfram Bastick.

The story was very slow to begin and about half way through the book it started getting good. It had good characters, and some action in the second part of the book. I did have a hard time getting into the book without falling asleep when I first started reading it.

Thanks to Mads Molinar III, Ats Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy for an honest review.

This is very enjoyable. A great mix of history and mystery with interesting characters and a great premise. The author obviously had fun writing this. The plot is engaging and fast-paced, and the story is told in an interesting way.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Murder Uncorked!

The plan was hatched out of desperation and fear and the Alsatian vintner couldn’t believe it one warm summer night in June when it all fell into place! He watched as the greedy German officers left with one case of poisoned Pinot Noir. Owning a vineyard in war-torn Alsace, France in 1940 meant that the enemy was likely to barge into your cellar and take what they believed was rightfully theirs and Rene Neuf wasn’t going to have any of that. Over his dead body. He nervously watched as the 12 bottles of his best vintage left with the Nazis. How ironic that it bore the black kiss mark branded into the wooden case!

The Gestapo, becoming aware of the deadly contents, hired detective Mads Molnar to track down the bottles and discretely dispose of them. If he succeeded, Mads would be pardoned for murder and given exit papers allowing him to leave for Sweden. You see, the 12 bottles were gifted to top Nazi officers and it is imperative they are returned. Each chapter is dedicated to one of the dozen bottles and the life it taints. You’ll find yourself whisked through Nazi-occupied Europe as the detective dodges bullets and races against time. Those bottles can’t be uncorked! To make matters worse, there is another detective who’s hot on his heels; the son of victim number one. I enjoyed this novel concept and was flipping the pages as my heart pounded and my body tensed; however, to my palate, bottle 7 and 8 were corked. I found it difficult to read about the psychological horrors of the regime. Regardless, after I quickly scanned over the atrocities, the mystery picked up again and I had to keep reading to see if all the bottles were recovered. This was a fantastic novel and I have no doubt it would make an excellent movie.

Pinot Noir by Mads Molnar III is a delightfully unique blend of historical fiction and mystery with subtle notes of noir fiction. Look for this vintage on the shelves come November 1st, 2020.