Ripe for Murder
A Cypress Cove Mystery, Book #2
By Carlene O’Neil
ISBN: 9780425274026
Author Website: www.carleneoneil.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Penny Lively loves running her family’s winery, but to keep business growing, she needs to find a way to attract more guests. When she’s approached to invest in a new train line through wine country, Penny and her intoxicating winery manager, Connor, hightail it to a lavish resort to hear the details. Unfortunately, her neighbor’s daughter, Chantal, is also there, swirling up trouble by flirting with the married investors—and with Connor too.
When one of the investors’ wives is murdered, Chantal, who was seen fighting with the woman, is the prime suspect. Chantal may be a sour grape, but she’s no killer. So Penny, who’s become a sleuthing connoisseur, starts sniffing out the real suspect—and discovers that her fellow potential investors have been savoring more than their share of deadly secrets…(Goodreads)
Review:
What a great cozy! The second in Carlene O’Neil’s A Cypress Cove Mystery, it can be easily read as a standalone. I wasn’t sure if I as a teetotaler would fully appreciate this, but I can guarantee that one doesn’t have to be a wine aficionado to thoroughly enjoy and feel part of this story. From the very beginning, it pulled me in and kept me captivated until the end..
Penny Lively, who now manages her family’s winery, is joining her close friend Antonia, Penny’s good-lookin’, charming winery manager Connor, and Antonia’s clingy daughter, Chantal, for a train tour. Antonia owns Martinelli Vineyard and winery, and Chantal has an obnoxious habit of clinging to guys. This time it is Connor, with whom Penny is deciding whether it would cause friction at Joyeux Winery if she dated a staff member.
The train line goes through the Napa Valley vineyards, north of where Joyeaux and Martinelli Wineries are in Monterey County, They, and several others, are given an overnight tour and a stay at a comfy, upscale nn to show them how well the rail line takes tourists on their existing route, in hopes that they will exchange land or put up money for the railway to go through their little town. On the plus side, there would be tourists coming in to increase their sales. Hopefully the tourists won’t all be like their fellow passengers! Especially after a tediously whining passenger is murdered, and it appeared that Chantal had done it. Even though they are not the best of friends, Penny begins to investigate in spite of the cranky detective in the tourist town they were to spend only a night in. He now will not allow anyone to leave town until the murderer is caught and wants no opinions from again.
I really like Penny and Antonia. In spite of the vast difference in their ages, they are very close friends. They are both intelligent, strong, hard-working women who take running their respective vineyards and wineries seriously. Penny’s sense of humor is enjoyable, and serves as a healthy stress reliever for those around her. Connor is also hard-working, performing his job to perfection. He is interested in Penny and sees Chantal as simply a friend; Connor has not yet acted on his feelings for Penny. The regular characters are delightfully three-dimensional as is evidenced by their conversations. Those who will probably be in this novel only are seen through Penny’s eyes. As acquaintances rather than friends, we do not get to know them any more than necessary. The author can be commended for the variety of men and women who are ‘along for the ride, quite’ literally, whether long-term or short-term characters.
The story moves along quickly; the murder is one of those that was either elaborately staged, or simply committed by one bad gal. Knowing Chantal as she does, Penny was certain she couldn’t kill someone, which meant that someone else on the train with them did. The more observations Penny makes, the more she sees there is no shortage of people who could be guilty. There are intriguing plot twists and turns, and a spectacularly surprising resolution that I didn’t see coming. If you like cozy mysteries with suspense, humor, and a potential for romance, I highly recommend ‘Ripe for Murder’ to you. This is a terrific series that has great potential and shouldn’t be missed.
