Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
A Case of Syrah, Syrah is the first in the A Wine Country Mystery series set in Sonoma, CA and introducing Taylor O'Brian owner of Taylor O'Brian Presents "Off The Beaten Path" Wine Country Tours. Taylor has recently moved back to live with her only living relative, Aunt Jemma owner of Sookie's Vineyard, after the woman suffered a heart attack.
Looking to take people to many of the hidden gems in Sonoma and visit some of the lesser known vineyards, Taylor has purchased herself a 1970's VW Van and is preparing for her first tour. Laura Scott owner of Divine Yoga has signed up her husband and 3 of her employees to visit the Quarryhill Botanical Gardens. The gardens are full of native Asian plants, a babbling creek and impressive waterfall and unfortunately become the scene of a crime.
When Laura goes missing on the hike, Taylor sets out along with her furry puppy companion Mille to retrace the woman's steps. Discovering Laura's bloody body over the cliff's edge, Taylor quickly becomes the prime suspect in the woman's murder - having had a verbal argument the day before at the yoga studio - and the presence of her corkscrew impaled in her neck isn't helping.
Determined to save her fledging business and her Aunt's reputation Taylor sets out with the help of best friend Holly Petree to find the killer. Taylor stumbles across another dead body in the course of her investigation and really rockets to the top of Sheriff Ron Hennessey's suspect list. Working double time Taylor uncovers an identity theft ring that seems to tie the two killings together.
A great start although the storyline seemed a little scattered at times. An interesting cast of characters, I do hope the author tones down Taylor a little in the future. Her constant obsessing about the Sheriff's eyes and her complete disregard for her safety and that of her friends and family was a tad too farfetched. With plenty of other vineyards to visit, the series has a lot of potential.
Looking to take people to many of the hidden gems in Sonoma and visit some of the lesser known vineyards, Taylor has purchased herself a 1970's VW Van and is preparing for her first tour. Laura Scott owner of Divine Yoga has signed up her husband and 3 of her employees to visit the Quarryhill Botanical Gardens. The gardens are full of native Asian plants, a babbling creek and impressive waterfall and unfortunately become the scene of a crime.
When Laura goes missing on the hike, Taylor sets out along with her furry puppy companion Mille to retrace the woman's steps. Discovering Laura's bloody body over the cliff's edge, Taylor quickly becomes the prime suspect in the woman's murder - having had a verbal argument the day before at the yoga studio - and the presence of her corkscrew impaled in her neck isn't helping.
Determined to save her fledging business and her Aunt's reputation Taylor sets out with the help of best friend Holly Petree to find the killer. Taylor stumbles across another dead body in the course of her investigation and really rockets to the top of Sheriff Ron Hennessey's suspect list. Working double time Taylor uncovers an identity theft ring that seems to tie the two killings together.
A great start although the storyline seemed a little scattered at times. An interesting cast of characters, I do hope the author tones down Taylor a little in the future. Her constant obsessing about the Sheriff's eyes and her complete disregard for her safety and that of her friends and family was a tad too farfetched. With plenty of other vineyards to visit, the series has a lot of potential.
A Case of Syrah, Syrah by Nancy J. Parra is the first in A Wine Country Mystery series. Taylor O'Brian has returned to Sonoma, California and is living in pool house at her Aunt Jemma's place called Sookie's Vineyard. Taylor has decided to start Taylor's Off the Beaten Pat Wine Country Tours. Her first tour is for Laura Scott and her employees for a team building day. Taylor is setting out lunch for the group and it is mentioned that Laura is missing. A search ensues, and Taylor finds Laura near a stream down a cliff. Despite being warned by the 911 operator to not go down the cliff, Taylor scrabbles down along with Laura's husband, Dan to check on Laura. Laura Scott is dead with Taylor's missing corkscrew in her neck. Sheriff Ron Hennessey is in charge of the investigation and quickly narrows his sights on Taylor. Patrick Aimes, Taylor's attorney, warns her to not talk to anyone regarding the case and keep a low profile. However, Taylor's new business venture is in jeopardy along with Aunt Jemma's winery. Aunt Jemma states that they need to find the culprit on their own. Taylor starts nosing around, but then the investigation gets derailed when an arrest warrant is issued. Someone is setting up Taylor to take the fall for Laura's murder. Out on bail, Taylor continues her quest for the killer. Then Taylor finds another victim and her puppy, Millie is kidnapped. Will the killer be caught before Taylor gets prosecuted?
A Case of Syrah, Syrah is easy to read, has a lovely setting of Sonoma (California) and an adorable cover. I did find the pace a little slow in the beginning. There is an abundance of speculation and inept questioning by Taylor (she ends up angering people). The author did not take the time to properly develop the characters (or tell us much about the town). I found Taylor a hard character to like. She is irresponsible, impulsive, does not think things through, and ignores counsel from others (I found her annoying and a danger to others). I do not know why she bothered to retain an attorney if she was going to continually ignore his advice (seems a waste of money). Taylor got into one ridiculous situation after another throughout the book. While she does have these traits, Taylor is otherwise very bland (lackluster). Part of the problem is readers are not told what Taylor is feeling. I am giving A Case of Syrah, Syrah 3 out of 5 stars. There are two mysteries in the story. The murder and an identity theft problem. Master cozy mystery sleuths will find solving this one effortless, while others will be surprised when the solution is revealed. There are two possible love interests for Taylor who are (of course) handsome (let us hope this does not mean a love triangle in future books). There will be a twist to Taylor's tours in the future that I found intriguing. A Case of Syrah, Syrah will appeal to cozy mystery readers who prefer light, humorous cozy mysteries.
A Case of Syrah, Syrah is easy to read, has a lovely setting of Sonoma (California) and an adorable cover. I did find the pace a little slow in the beginning. There is an abundance of speculation and inept questioning by Taylor (she ends up angering people). The author did not take the time to properly develop the characters (or tell us much about the town). I found Taylor a hard character to like. She is irresponsible, impulsive, does not think things through, and ignores counsel from others (I found her annoying and a danger to others). I do not know why she bothered to retain an attorney if she was going to continually ignore his advice (seems a waste of money). Taylor got into one ridiculous situation after another throughout the book. While she does have these traits, Taylor is otherwise very bland (lackluster). Part of the problem is readers are not told what Taylor is feeling. I am giving A Case of Syrah, Syrah 3 out of 5 stars. There are two mysteries in the story. The murder and an identity theft problem. Master cozy mystery sleuths will find solving this one effortless, while others will be surprised when the solution is revealed. There are two possible love interests for Taylor who are (of course) handsome (let us hope this does not mean a love triangle in future books). There will be a twist to Taylor's tours in the future that I found intriguing. A Case of Syrah, Syrah will appeal to cozy mystery readers who prefer light, humorous cozy mysteries.
