Archibald Monks and the Case of Claret
In 2013, John Shearlock self published his first wine fiction (wi-fi) novella about Archibald Monks - the crime solving, wine slurping, accidental super sleuth, and which can be purchased on Amazon. Here is a short excerpt...
He grabbed a large crystal Bordeaux glass from the draining board. It was like a speech bubble ready to be populated, and he poured enough Rioja to fill only its bottom fifth. He swirled, and then swirled some more, and was then content to just stare at it for a while. The moments of expectation were often the best, he thought. It looked right, but the next stage of smelling would either make or break the deal he had entered into earlier by opening the bottle. All those years sat dormant in the darkness ignored – had they been worth it?
He lifted the glass and tentatively placed it under his nose and inhaled through his ample nostrils. Sweet spice and waves of vanilla enticed him further, and soon his beak was well and truly in the glass. He sucked deeply like a butterfly at the nectar and his eyes rolled back into his skull. Oh, good god, he thought. Beautiful ripe fruit and oxidative caramels intermingled in social conversation whilst a troop of vanilla elephants, dressed in cloves, performed circus tricks. Complex cassis explained its issues to a mineral psychologist who listened carefully but did not offer advice, whilst chocolate monkeys wearing leather waistcoats plucked ripe tannins from menthol trees. It was indeed a mouthful, and as he swallowed, the finish went on and on and on.
Suddenly the troubles of the day seemed far away.
Life’s not so bad after all, he thought.
