Book Description
I've always loved mysteries and my favorite type of mystery is the 'cozy'. In a cozy mystery, the sleuth-protagonist isn't a law enforcement professional; they're - an archaeologist, a bookstore owner, a dog trainer, a little old lady - who just happens to be in the vicinity of a murder and uses their native wits to solve the crime. Cozies are light and humorous, with quirky characters.
After I retired from the Navy I was ready for a fun job, so I went to work as a tour guide at the local winery. It was rural, it was picturesque, it was idyllic. This mystery lover said to herself, "What a great place for a murder!"
Thus was born Died On The Vine, the first mystery in the Passatonnack Winery series.
Our heroine is Cissy Rayburn, tech writer and wife of retired bureaucrat Jack. The couple have moved from the city to their summer place and now own and operate the Passatonnack Winery. It's a peaceful life in the slow lane, until HE shows up.
He is Colonel Obadiah Winslow, a well-known (indeed, notorious) proponent of the idea that hundreds of soldiers were left behind alive in Vietnam, and he informs Cissy that he believes her first husband Jimmy is still alive.
Cissy doesn't really believe Winslow, who has a reputation as a crackpot, but the visit disturbs her. Several days later, she runs into Winslow again, but this time he's dead. Right there in their vineyard. Stabbed with Jack's pruning shears.
The sheriff thinks Jack is a good suspect for the crime. It's up to Cissy to find out who really committed the murder, and also to discover if there's any truth to Winslow's story about Jimmy.
If you enjoy Died On The Vine, you can follow Cissy's continuing adventures in Bidding On Death.