Anne Trager's Blog

A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of attending Lisle Noir, a French mystery and thriller festival in Lisle-sur-Tarn. I mostly hung around with my writer buddies and bought a bunch of French mysteries with my daughter, so I have some new authors to discover. I also translated for Roger J. Ellory, who participated in a round table and needed some help with the French. I also met Lilja Sigurdardottir, an Icelandic author who also spoke English. Great fun, and a reminder of why I started...

An op-ed in The New York Times (“He Helped Jews Escape the Holocaust. He Died Unknown”) tells the story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat, who in 1940 saved tens of thousands of lives only to be punished for this heroism by his own government.

Here, at Le French Book, it reminded of us Deadly Tasting, one of the mysteries in the Winemaker Detective series, in which an investigation into a series of murders in Bordeaux jogged memories about the complicated history of Bordeaux...

Foul Play in Vouvray is now available. In another fun wine-infused mystery with a French flair, authors Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen skillfully combine French wine, gourmet meals, and mystery in Vouvray, one of the most diverse wine regions in the world. To give you a feel for the scenery, scents, and sounds of France conveyed in this translation, I wanted to share some excerpts that highlight the wine region.

Wine tasting and mystery

The winemaker was taking in the earthy smells when Franç...

Foul Play in Vouvray was such fun to adapt. There are some real gems in the story. Lovers of the series will recognize the characters and see them grow. Newbies will get a taste of France and learn some things along the way as they discover these likable heroes and follow their adventures in this foreign land. Here are some excerpts to meet the main characters.

Dashing, confident Virgile outside his comfort zone

“You don’t think we look like country bumpkins, boss?” Virgile asked, adjusting th...

I’m so thrilled to reveal the cover of our Winemaker Detective novel: Foul Play in Vouvray.

You can pre-order the ebook right away on Amazon. The publication date is February 18, so you won’t have to wait long now. There will also be a paperback out on that date too.

So what is is about?

When the lines between love, betrayal and jealously blur, the Winemaker Detective and his dashing assistant return to sniff out the difference be illusion and reality. This French mystery is set in the Loire Va...

We promised you another Winemaker Detective novel, this one set in Vouvray. We have the title for you: Foul Play in Vouvray.

If you like stories with wine, love, betrayal, jealously, movie stars, and luscious French countryside, you’ll love this one. In line with the others in the series, it’s another fun read with some of our favorite characters. We are looking to release it in early 2019. Many thanks to our top-notch translation and editorial team, Sally and Amy, for their hard work to mak...

I spent some time this year contemplating a question: “What is the why?” What is the why behind Le French Book?

I needed to ask it because the venture was sucking up my energy, and the thrill and excitement I had at the beginning had turned into a dull concern expressing itself in spreadsheets.

So, what is the why?

Le French Book stemmed from my love of mystery novels and my skill as a translator—combined, I could bring some good reads to readers. Is that enough to sustain a business? Honestl...

I can't believe that Bastille Day is already upon us. This year has flown by. You may have noticed that we published fewer books this year. Just exactly what have we been up to at Le French Book? We've been busy with projects, not all of them mystery translations. Here's a rundown.

Amy and Sally have been working on the next Winemaker Detective novel. I just got the final draft. Yay. Can't wait to get it out to our readers.Due to popular demand, we've been building our translation and publishi...

I had the great privilege of spending time with Debbi Mack on her podcast Crime Café. Debbie is a New York Times bestselling author—I recommend you check out her books.

The Crime Café podcast is in its 3rd season. The Crime Café it is a fun source for great mystery, suspense, noir, and thriller reading. Listen to podcasts featuring interviews with top crime fiction authors, as well as true crime writers. Guests include, not only book authors, but screenwriters and storytellers in other media –...

Oh... I just can't wait. A new translation just came in... it's another Winemaker Detective novel by Jean-Pierre and Noël, set in Vouvray! This means we are heading back to the Loire Valley, not so very far from Tours, where chinon blanc is a dominant grape variety. I look forward to seeing what Sally and Amy have done with the translation and getting to work on this new adventure.

I'll say no more, except that it starts off with a proverb...

It is well to remember
that there are five reasons f...