A Case of Syrah, Syrah

December 1, 2017

Restless after moving to her Aunt Jemma's small winery in Sonoma County, Taylor O'Brian decides to start her own wine country tour company. She books her first trip with the staff from a yoga studio. When Laura, the group's leader, is found dead with Taylor's corkscrew planted in her neck, Taylor becomes the prime suspect, especially since she had a disagreement with Laura and her husband. Although her own attorney tells her to stay home, Taylor insists on asking questions and showing up at the wrong spot. This time, the wrong spot is another murder scene. VERDICT With recipes and wine details, this series debut from the author of Newlywed Dead will appeal to fans of Ellen Crosby's books set at a Virginia family winery. However, Taylor's character and humor, immature and oppositional at times, may be attractive to readers of Linda Lovely's Bones To Pick, which features amateur sleuths in their 30s.--LH

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October 9, 2017
After a decade in San Francisco advertising, Taylor O’Brian, the 28-year-old narrator of this sparkling series launch from Parra (Gluten for Punishment), is lured home to Sonoma, Calif., by her aunt Gemma’s heart attack. Gemma’s fine—unless Taylor mentions leaving; so Taylor buys a green 1970s VW van and throws her restless energy into launching Off the Beaten Path Wine Country Tours. Roadblock to success: her very first client, unpleasant yoga teacher Laura Scott, takes a corkscrew in the neck at Quarryhill, an exotic botanical garden. Sheriff Ron Hennessy arrives to investigate; shell-shocked though Taylor is—she found Laura’s body, and it’s her corkscrew—she notes Hennessy has “gorgeous blue eyes that had seen too much.” He’ll figure out whodunit, right? But Taylor tops the DA’s suspect list, and Hennessy has to arrest her, even though he would clearly rather kiss her. “When this is over, you can call me Ron,” he says, in one of many sweet, funny scenes. Hurrah, hurrah for the freshness Parra brings to this cozy. Agent: Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary Management.

October 1, 2017
The author of the Baker's Treat (Flourless to Stop Him, 2015, etc.) and Perfect Proposals (Newlywed Dead, 2016, etc.) series adds booze to her mix of food and love to kick off her Wine Country series.Having left a lucrative advertising job in San Francisco to care for her ailing Aunt Jemma, who owns Sookie's Vineyard in Sonoma, Taylor O'Brian hopes to build her own brand, marketing "Off the Beaten Path" Wine Country Tours to travelers who want a splash of adventure with their zinfandel. Unfortunately, her very first outing is cut short when Laura Scott, yoga instructor and guru to a host of acolyte instructors, is found dead on a trail at Quarryhill Botanical Gardens with one of Taylor's corkscrews plunged into her neck. Taylor can't believe that any of the mistresses of serenity on the tour offed bossy Laura. And Laura's husband, Dan, seems distraught. Still, as Sheriff Hennessey zeros in on Taylor as a person of interest, the tour guide systematically confronts each of the attendees in hopes of providing the handsome lawman an alternate suspect. Hennessey and Taylor's equally attractive defense attorney, Patrick Aimes, both warn her repeatedly to leave investigating to the professionals. But because--like most plucky heroines trying to flee the secure but boring corporate world to pursue their own offbeat business visions--Taylor doesn't have the sense God gave a goose, she makes repeated fact-finding forays into the field of suspects, with results as predictable as they are exasperating.Here's hoping any future Wine Country outings uncork the heroine's wit and downplay her grit. A trip from Get Advice to Ignore Advice to Now I'm in Trouble is no one's favorite itinerary.

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