Tainted Wine: A Steve Daniels Mystery, #2

Linda Watkins: Genre: Mystery

Steve Daniels is assigned to a new case that turned up overnight at a vineyard when a vintner is uncovered dead—murdered. The murder weapon is none other than a corkscrew lodged into his neck. Without any witnesses, the only suspect is that of Jessica Fauchér. She is the grand-daughter of the owner of the winery and vineyard whose grandmother comes to Steve, pleading that her grand-daughter would never do such a thing after all she has lost. With his work cut out for him, Steve makes it his top priority to discover the truth about Jessica and the man that was murdered. Will he plead for her innocence too or will he reveal the truth about who Jessica is and what she was doing the night of the vintner’s untimely death?

There are some murder mysteries that present a detailed description of how the story will unfold from the beginning, but “Tainted Wine” is not one of those novels. Readers will quite literally gasp as unexpected scenes unfold and the truth is revealed bit by bit. The romance between Steve and Izzy is sprinkled in perfectly, creating a realistic personal life for our star investigator, but it never overshadows the true storyline: Hector’s murder. Each character is given the perfect backstory to play into their role. Jessica is portrayed as a suspect with enough motive to convince a jury she’s cruel, but enough innocence to make them look elsewhere – depending on how the cards sprawled out. This is what makes her trial a nerve-wracking and suspenseful investigation for Steve to dive into head first. “Tainted Wine” is the perfect read to partner with a glass of wine and cozy blanket, the nail-biting mysteries turning readers into living room detectives!

Sadie Wilson

Tainted Wine, A Steve Daniels Mystery by Linda Watkins is available in print and eBook formats at Amazon, Kobo, B&N, and Google Play.