Murder Most Merlot
(2025)(The second book in the Grape Expectation Mystery series)
A Story by Maisy Marple and Wendy Winchester
Something's fermenting in Prose Valley...
When former publishing executive Vivian Barnes opened her literary-themed winery, she expected to focus on balanced tannins, not tangled murders. But just as she's expanding her business with a charming new bookshop called "The First Edition," the arrival of notoriously cruel wine critic Francesca Belmont turns the local wine competition upside down.
The morning after a tense reception where secrets and rivalries bubble to the surface, Francesca is found face-down in a vat of Dixon Family Vineyards' award-winning Merlot. As coincidences go, it's a bitter vintage—especially when Vivian's wine cork mysteriously appears in the victim's hand.
With her reputation at stake and a murderer on the loose, Vivian must once again trade her tasting notes for detecting skills. Assisted by her librarian friend Ellie and Shakespeare, her surprisingly investigative orange tabby, Vivian uncovers a complex scheme of wine fraud, blackmail, and deception that's been aging like oak-barrel secrets for years.
Can she expose the killer before becoming the next victim? In Prose Valley, some pairings are to die for, and the truth requires proper decanting.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
When former publishing executive Vivian Barnes opened her literary-themed winery, she expected to focus on balanced tannins, not tangled murders. But just as she's expanding her business with a charming new bookshop called "The First Edition," the arrival of notoriously cruel wine critic Francesca Belmont turns the local wine competition upside down.
The morning after a tense reception where secrets and rivalries bubble to the surface, Francesca is found face-down in a vat of Dixon Family Vineyards' award-winning Merlot. As coincidences go, it's a bitter vintage—especially when Vivian's wine cork mysteriously appears in the victim's hand.
With her reputation at stake and a murderer on the loose, Vivian must once again trade her tasting notes for detecting skills. Assisted by her librarian friend Ellie and Shakespeare, her surprisingly investigative orange tabby, Vivian uncovers a complex scheme of wine fraud, blackmail, and deception that's been aging like oak-barrel secrets for years.
Can she expose the killer before becoming the next victim? In Prose Valley, some pairings are to die for, and the truth requires proper decanting.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Maisy Marple's Murder Most Merlot