A Riesling to Die

J.C. Eaton

Mar 2018 · The Wine Trail Mysteries Book 1 · Lyrical Press

About this ebook

From the author of the Sophie Kimball mysteries—a writer, a goat, and a trusty Plott hound must weed out a killer at a New York winery.

Norrie Ellington is a successful screenwriter living in New York City. She’s also been a silent partner for her family’s winery upstate—until her sister and brother-in-law take a year-long sabbatical. With an experienced staff doing the work, Norrie figures Two Witches Winery will run itself while she enjoys the countryside and writes in peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, there’s a sour grape in the town of Penn Yan who doesn’t care for vineyards. Bed and breakfast owner Elsbeth Waters complains to everyone who’ll listen that the local wineries are bad for her business. But when Elsbeth’s body is found on Norrie’s property, the victim of foul play, the screenwriter-turned-vintner dons a sleuthing cap to uncover the identity of a killer who told the B&B proprietress to put a cork in it—permanently . . .

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES! 

Praise for A Riesling to Die:

“Well plotted with interesting characters and a humorous thread that kept my interest until the final scene.” —V. M. Burns, author of the Mystery Bookshop Mysteries, R J Franklin Series, Dog Club Mysteries, Fairy Tale Cozies

“A real treat. Plenty of suspects and some crazy theories kept me guessing the entire story.” —Escape with Dollycas

Ratings and reviews

A Riesling to Die is the first novel in The Wine Trail Mysteries. Norrie Ellington, a screenwriter, has reluctantly agreed to oversee the Two Witches Vineyard, in which she is a co-owner, for a year while her sister and her husband go off to Costa Rica on a research trip. Norrie believes that with the experienced winery staff, her role will be minimal which will leave her plenty of quiet time to write. The day after Francine and Jason leave the local crank is found dead in the new Riesling vines. Norrie decides to investigate the matter because the winery cannot afford to lose money or have bad publicity. She starts asking questions and believes she has discovered the guilty party. Norrie hatches with a plan to get the individual to confess. Unfortunately, things do not go quite as expected. Join Norrie at the Two Witches Vineyard in her search for a killer in A Riesling to Die. A Riesling to Die is a light cozy mystery. Norrie is one of those main characters that babbles when nervous and turns into a blithering idiot in front of a handsome man. There was a lack of development in Norrie’s character. The author fails to provide her background which would establish the character (any of the characters). There are some unique people working in the tasting room of the winery. Glenda, Roger, Lizzie and Cammy provide comic relief along with Cammy’s cousin, Marc and Enzo (they cracked me up). There is also a dog that manages to get into smelly messes every day (it makes me wonder if these people have not heard of a leash or a fenced in area for dogs) and Alvin, the spitting dwarf goat that is an attraction for children (just what every vineyard needs when you have guests wandering about). The mystery was straightforward, and the identity of the guilty party came as no surprise. Norrie’s investigation was proceeding nicely until she came up a harebrained scheme to reel in who she believes is the killer (she jumped to conclusions instead of following the evidence and thinking things through). The grand plan jeopardizes the winery and reminds me of Lucy Ricardo’s schemes. Norrie’s spends a significant amount of time speculating on who could have committed the crime. You can really see her overactive imagination at work. All the loose ends are wrapped up at the end of the story. A Riesling to Die had a good start, but then it stalled out for a while and then it became foolish. There is some interesting information about growing grapes, taking care of the vines, running a vineyard and producing wines. I am curious how many dead people will turn up in the area during Norrie’s year at Two Witches Winery (maybe the author will throw in a burglary). A Riesling to Die is a quick read that will appeal to readers who prefer lighter cozy mysteries filled with quirky characters. The next book in The Wine Trail Mysteries is Chardonnayed to Rest.

Just hilarious a good read

About the author

J.C. Eaton is the wife and husband team of Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp. Ann has published eight YA time travel mysteries. Visit their website at www.jceatonauthor.com.