REVIEW: A Case of Syrah, Syrah

A Case of Syrah, Syrah
Author: Nancy J. Parra

Taylor O'Brien and her Aunt Jemma live in Sonoma, CA. Aunt Jemma owns a small winery. Her home is located nearby, along with a pool and a building for wine tastings, weddings, etc. Taylor lives in the pool house. She moved back to Sonoma six months before after her Aunt had a heart attack. She loves the winery and helping her aunt run her business, but she's getting a bit restless. So, she buys a van and starts planning her own Wine Country Tours as a side business. "Off the Beaten Path'' tours will take people to some lesser known, but fabulous, small wineries in the area. Her first tour is booked by a group of local yoga instructors. The first tour might just be the last, however. One of the instructors is found murdered during the tour.  Even worse -- the murder weapon is Taylor's corkscrew. Who bumped off Laura Scott? None of the others who were on the tour seem too broken up about her death. In fact, Laura's husband remarries just days after the murder. Then another body turns up....  Can Taylor discover the identity of the killer before anyone else dies? Or before the murderer comes after her!

The background theme of California wines and wineries was interesting,and gave a nice depth to this book. I don't know a lot about wine so the little facts about wine sprinkled throughout the book were interesting to me. The mystery moved along at a nice pace with some great twists and action at the end. I didn't figure out the murderer ahead of time....it was an exciting surprise. And the case led to some interesting developments for Taylor's tour business. I would have liked a bit more character development, and at times some of the characters and situations seemed a bit trope-y (pretty but snooty yoga instructors for example). But, all in all, this is a nice start to a new cozy series. I am interested in seeing how the characters and locations continue to develop in the second book.

Nancy J. Parra also writes as Nell Hampton and Nancy Coco. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.nancyjparra.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**