Synopsis

A crusading attorney’s death. Sabotage at a family winery. Secrets buried in California’s past…

When corporate attorney Noli Cooper visits her godparents’ Santa Cruz Mountain winery, she’s hoping for a few quiet days to consider her future. But the future will have to wait. The body of her childhood mentor, a crusading social justice lawyer and local hero, is discovered in a rocky ocean cove. The sheriff is quick to call it suicide. Noli knows he’s wrong. Teaming up with PI Luz Alvarado, Noli dives into a world where nothing is as it seems.

As threats mount and the winery teeters on the brink of ruin, Noli and Luz must navigate a treacherous landscape of greed, revenge, and long-buried secrets. Their investigation weaves through the rich tapestry of California’s vineyard history, the mystery of zinfandel grapes, and the haunting legacy of the Vietnam War. With a murderer on the loose, predatory neighbors circling, and Noli’s godfather framed for murder, the clock is ticking. Can two fearless women from different worlds unravel the truth before it’s too late?

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Review

Who knew wine could be so deadly? Set in the Santa Cruz area, this mystery is rich in characters with a gorgeous backdrop. I love visiting wineries, and I could picture these in my mind.

Noli is on her way back to town at the behest of Fitz, who ends up dead. They claim it is suicide, but Noli and a few others know better. What they don’t expect is for the past to be the root of the issues and the source of the turmoil in this town. While I didn’t suspect the killer until closer to the end, I enjoyed unearthing the clues and trying to determine who might be behind the issues at the winery and the death of Fitz.

The book did start off slow, but this gave me time to get to know the characters and have them straight in my mind. It picks up over halfway through, and this is when my interest is piqued. I sifted through the clues in my mind while Noli, Luz, and Wolf looked for the guilty party. There is a lot to unpack, and I feel like there is even more to come if this is to become a series.

While I enjoy a nice glass of wine, I don’t know a lot about the process of turning grapes into wine. I felt the author did a good job of sharing the steps without making it too technical. I liked the addition of the vine clone project, which was a real study in California that looked at the history of the different varietals of grapes.

I think that Luz and Noli will work well together in the future if they can learn to trust one another. They had the same goal, but it felt like they were working against each other at times.

This is a good start to a new series, and I look forward to seeing where the author takes these characters.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Diane Schaffer, a Stanford PhD, is a retired professor and longtime resident of Santa Cruz County. Mortal Zin, her first mystery novel, is rooted in her summer work in a Santa Cruz zinfandel winery, where she became fascinated with the unique history of zinfandel, California’s mystery grape. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking, river kayaking, or reading a good mystery novel. She now lives in Ashland, Oregon, with her husband.

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