I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Pinot Red or Dead?
by J.C. Eaton
Series: Wine Trail Mysteries #3
Series Rating:
Published by Lyrical Underground on March 26, 2019
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 226
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, IndieBound, Google
There’s a lot of noir surrounding this rare pinot.
As the vineyards in Seneca Lake, New York, prepare for the seasonal “Deck the Halls Around the Lake” festivities, someone is determined to keep pinot noir off the wine list. Hijacked trucks and sabotaged ingredients have made it a hard-to-acquire vintage for the six local wineries—including Norrie Ellington’s Two Witches Winery. The case of the stolen and spoiled wines gets stranger when Arnold Mowen, owner of the company distributing the wine, is found dead, the apparent victim of a hunting accident. As Norrie tries to find the connections between the pinot’s problems and Arnold’s death, she uncovers a conspiracy among many locals whose hatred for the wine distributor was bottled up for far too long . . .
Norrie Ellington finds another dead body before Thanksgiving!
Pinot Red or Dead? by J.C. Eaton is a tremendously hilarious book. Norrie Ellington is so funny that I was laughing each time I picked up the book to read it. There is a lot to love about this book especially the characters.
What I like:
- Written in the first-person with Norrie Ellington, our sleuth, being the narrator. I enjoy getting inside Norrie’s head and seeing how she figures things out, especially when it comes to the mystery. Or just regular day-to-day business about co-owning a winery with your sister.
- The community that Norrie is in, with her winery and the others is truly fabulous, especially when they help her solve the mysteries.
- Norrie is in a relationship with a lawyer.
- Despite Norrie trying to stay out of police business she just can’t help herself. Especially when it might lead to who the killer is.
What I don’t like:
The one thing that I didn’t like was that the sleuth forgot a vital clue from the very beginning of the story. I know not really all that important, but I thought it was.
Five Star
Pinot Red or Dead? by J.C. Eaton has a marvelous mystery, and this book is a great one to start this series for people just jumping right on in. I am giving it a five-star rating and recommending it to anyone that likes cozy mysteries and wine too.
Other books in the Series:
A Riesling to Die
by J.C. Eaton
Series: The Wine Trial Mysteries #1
Published by Lyrical Underground on March 27, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Women Sleuth
Pages: 220
Format: Paperback or Kindle
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Book Depository
A deadly search for sour grapes . . .
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 proprietess to put a cork in it-permanently . . .
Chardonnayed to Rest
by J.C. Eaton
Series: The Wine Trial Mysteries #2
Published by Lyrical Underground on September 25, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Women Sleuth
Pages: 220
Format: Paperback or Kindle
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Book Depository
Finding a murderer requires 100% proof.
In Seneca Lake, New York, Norrie Ellington’s Two Witches Winery has been selected by the local vintner community to host the annual Federweisser, a celebration of the season’s first fermentation of white Chardonnay grapes. But the festivities are spoiled when Norrie learns that landowner Roy Wilkes has raised her neighbor Rosalee Marbelton’s rent so high, she may have to close her vineyard.
Before the rent hike could go into effect, Wilkes is found dead on Roslaee’s property–stabbed by a flowerpot stake–and she becomes the police’s number one suspect. To clear her friend’s name, Norrie conducts her own investigation. But as she gathers clues, Norrie finds herself targeted by a killer, and if she’s not careful, her desire to see justice done may die on the vine . . .
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Happy Reading!
About J.C. Eaton
J.C. Eaton is the pen name for the collaborative writing team of Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp. Together they juggle three unique series of cozy mysteries, all with quirky characters and a zillion twists and turns. Learn more on their website – https://www.jceatonmysteries.com
From analytical Sophie “Phee” Kimball to impulsive Norrie Ellington and sassy Marcie Rayner, they’ve got a sleuth for all tastes!
While Ann is a seasoned author in her own right, having eight published YA time travel mysteries to her credit, James, a former winery tasting room manager, has focused on non-fiction with informative blurbs on the wine industry. This unlikely author duo found common ground when they moved to Arizona and realized that the community they were living in was the perfect background for murder mysteries.
Ann admits that she’s definitely “the detail person” while James is more comfortable with plotline and the big ideas. Running the dialogue is their favorite pastime in this venture.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Cloak and Dagger
- 2019 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2019 New Release Challenge
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