Sharpshooter: A Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley Mystery

Sunny McCoskey #1

by Nadia Gordon

A Napa Valley chef must uncover who eighty-sixed a vineyard heir in this cozy mystery series opener by the author of Death by the Glass.

Sunny McCoskey is the independent chef/owner of Wildside, a respected little cafe nestled in the heart of California's wine country. When the heir apparent to a major vineyard is shot dead, and Sunny's eccentric winemaker friend Wade is arrested for the murder, she sets out to prove his innocence. Her investigation takes her into the tangled politics and personalities of the wine industry, and to the treat posed to the valley by an insect, the glassy-winged sharpshooter.

Set in a region renowned for its food and wine, Sharpshooter launches an entertaining mystery series featuring Sunny and an engaging cast of wine professionals, cooks, socialites--and suspects.

Praise for Sharpshooter

"A highly enjoyable book." --Washington Post

"The book's local color and its culinary, oenological, and ecological details are priceless . . . . There's enough about cooking, eating, and drinking to give you an appetite before you're halfway through." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"The personable McCoskey navigates wine country denizens and six-burner stoves with equal aplomb, and foodies and oenophiles especially will enjoy Gordon's blend of solid suspense and gourmet culture." --Publishers Weekly

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Wine, Book Club, Cozy Mystery

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Nadia Gordon is the pen name of writer Julianne Balmain.

Reviews

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a 'lite' mystery. easy to read and an interesting story.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm on the fence about this book. The Napa Valley setting is really well done and makes you feel like you're there. The actual plot though was kind of slow and dragged in places, but it did pick up. There was very secondary mystery about a food thief and I thought the resolution to that was quite strange. I will likely read the second book since the setting was so enjoyable.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and reminded me of visiting Napa/Sonoma. Wine! Food! Murder!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a fun series to read if you like the Napa Valley, wine, food, and a little mystery. I read this first one and had to get all the rest. Fast and easy!

[Barbara Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

I enjoyed the writing and the strong sense of place--Napa Valley--in this mystery. The plot was simple, but I was OK with that, and the details about the wine industry more than made up for it.

What I didn't enjoy was amateur sleuth, Sunny McMoskey. She just wasn't believable. She makes a comfortable living as the owner of a lunch-only, weekday-only restaurant? Yeah, right. She asks other people nosy, nasty questions and they spill their secrets to her rather than telling her to mind her own f'ing business or physically throwing her off their property? Yeah, sure. The local police let her get away with evidence tampering? Unh-huh.

But what really annoyed me was the plot-induced stupidity. I don't enjoy reading about supposedly intelligent women who do really dumb things, like putting themselves in jeopardy for no good reason. In this one, Sunny practically ordered the murderer to come take a shot at her. By that point I was almost wishing he'd plug her.

[Virginia Markhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Judging by the title I thought this book was a murder mystery, and it was. But the title was misleading. The sharpshooter is a grasshopper that was expected to be destroying the Napa Valley wine crop. The book was a little difficult to get through. Started out with a murder of a local winery man who was very much disliked. His neighbor was accused of the murder. Friend, Sunny McCoskey steps in a does a lot of investigating in an attempt to clear him. It got bulky. I had a problem with the people involved opening up to her. Especially when it came to the woman who he was having an affair with. Sunny invites all the suspects to a dinner at her home. I kind of shut down when they all accepted the invitation. Not believable. Alls well that ends well. I just couldn’t buy into it.

[Eadie Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sunny McCoskey is a chef/owner of Wildside, a cafe in Napa Valley. Jack Beroni, heir to the Beroni vineyards is shot dead and Wade Skord, Sunny‘s friend, has been arrested for the murder. Sunny launches an investigation. This is an entertaining mystery with interesting characters and personalities. Sunny sorts through the politics of the wine industry and finally gets to the bottom of what happened. Recommended.

[Linda Howe Steiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this. Clever title made me smile--referencing both the killer and the bug that kills vines. Amateur sleuth, lots of local description, a bit too much cooking stuff and romance for my taste, tricky resolution. Most likely will pick up a few more.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the 4th book of this series first, so I went back to try the first one. Quick read, local chef finds the killer of the local bad boy with leaps of logic and by with holding evidence from the police. Amazingly people open up and tell her things they do not tell the police.

[Beverley Lombardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. I would read others in the series. If you enjoy wine, you will like this mystery.

[Edie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start. Inventive plot.

[Carole Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much talk, not enough action. I don't like the "interested civilian solves crime for inept law enforcement" theme.

[georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

271 pages 2002

Takes place in Napa. The sharpshooter is a bug infiltrating the fields. Then the sharp shooter is a guy who wants more land so he takes a life.

[Fairlee Corkran]

slow reading

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a well written mystery, that had a good plot. I just didn't like the main character's arrogance in thinking she knew better than the police or anyone. Good Napa vibe.

[audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It always interested Sunny to see how a person reacted to a glass of wine or a new food. It was a one-second preview of how they would act when faced with the unpredictable, a snapshot of how they approached experience. Some people were hardly aware they had a glass in their hand, and the wine in it would be gone before they realized they were drinking. Charlie wasn't a connoisseur and didn't pretend to be one, but he was clearly interested enough to want to stop and taste what he was drinking. Meanwhile, Monty was explaining why the rocky soil in St.-Emilion, France, was superior to the rocky soil anywhere else in the world, and why this particular wine displayed its qualities better than most.

Synopsis: Wine weenies in the Napa Valley band together to drink wine, get accused of murder, drink wine, fight about insect invasions, drink wine and then accuse each other of the murder in question. Leftover wine winds up in everyone's coffee.

You guys, I really, really wanted to give this one five stars.

I first ran across this series by reading the sequel to Sharpshooter, Death by the Glass, and I'm very glad I did, because it's a much better book. Call it debut jitters or working the kinks out, but there are three major things wrong with Sharpshooter:

1. I loathe the trope of the amateur sleuth who calls up a hard-working police officer and tells him to meet her for coffee in 10 minutes, and he drops everything and goes. Seriously? That's a realistic picture of law enforcement. Add that to the evidence-tampering our amateur sleuth gets up to and she should have found her ass in jail, not in a booth at Bismarck's.

2. This whole idea that said amateur sleuth can run around all la, I just dropped by to see your place and...oh...ACCUSE YOU OF MURDER. OR INFIDELITY. OR CHEATING ON YOUR TAXES. WHATEVER YOU'VE GOT GOING.

I mean, I'm sure it's a feasible thing, but I'm also sure that amateur sleuth would get her face slapped right off her head at some point.

3. There are plotholes, and then there are the Lincoln Tunnels o' Plot. There is, for example, a subplot about thievery at the restaurant that has hands-down the least believable solution ever. Also, the whole ending to the book. Just... what? What? No. NO! Very nearly OH JOHN RINGO NO.

So why didn't this book get an F? Simple. Because Gordon can write.

Her descriptions of the Napa Valley and the intricacies of winemaking and the wine business and sustainable agriculture are A-worthy. They're bleeding-off-the-page vivid and fascinating, so by the time you realize you've learned something, you just don't care because the prose is so beautiful.

Sunny McCoskey is the owner and chef at Wildside in St. Helena, north of Napa, and when her friend Wade Skord is charged with murdering the unlikeable scion of Beroni Vineyards, McCoskey throws herself into the case. Despite the obvious police interference aspect. Despite the fact that when it becomes clear she's unhinged, Wade asks her to stop. Despite the fact that you know, owning a restaurant takes actual work (Hannah Swensen, line one).

Sure things get solved eventually but I have read a ton of mysteries, people, and the underpinnings of who did what? Are as flimsy as well-baked pie crust. The why makes sense, but in no way the who, and the Boss Battle at the end is ludicrous.

However, those sentences. Those sentences. So lush and plummy and lickable, and the wealth of detail about the Napa Valley lifestyle and the restaurant life, it is pornworthy, is what, and in this case it lets Gordon basically get away with murder.

Recommended for hardcore foodies and oenophiles only.

[Johnathan Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

How did I find out about Nadia Gordon and the Sonny McCoskey mysteries? I honestly can’t remember. Something in the back of my head says it was a post regarding some eBook special on bn.com, but I can’t find that post. Whatever it was, I was prompted to get a copy of the first book and check it out. I haven’t read too many mysteries, only the Sherlock Holmes stories and the first of the “Cat who…” series. Consequently, I didn’t completely know what to expect sitting down to this book.

Sunny McCoskey is chef/owner of the Wildside restaurant in the Napa Valley, which offers organic cuisine paired with local wines to locals and tourists alike. She has her hands full with the day-to-day operations of Wildside when she finds out that her good friend Wade has been arrested for the murder of a local major winery’s heir. As this situation moves along and it becomes apparrent that the cards are stacked against Wade, Sonny begins her journey as detective in an effort to prove her friends innocence.

The story is filled with wonderful descriptions of the wine country and industry characters that paint a complete picture of the area. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, especially the bits of culinary color added througout. The mystery aspect was engaging if not overly complex. There aren’t a lot of twists and turns in the story, but the identity of the killer wasn’t obvious to me until close to the end. While I’m not an experienced mystery reader, I thought this was well done and look forward to reading the remaining three books in the series.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought my copy of Sharpshooter at a winery in Napa Valley that claimed to be a model for the winery featured in the book. The funny thing is that that doesn't really translate into a compliment for that winery, but Sharpshooter is a very good mystery with appealing characters. Sunny McCoskey, a small restaurant owner, turns amateur sleuth when her good friend is accused of killing the pain-in-the-ass heir to the major winery next door. Even though the heir was shot by an expert sharpshooter, which her friend is, and his gun is missing, Sunny believes he is innocent. She mounts a pretty logical investigation and uncovers the real culprit (the police aren't really interested in investigating further).

Very good plot. Very good dialog. Very good sense of place. Interesting characters that aren't stereotypes. It is a little amazing that Sunny can spend so much time away from work, or perhaps more unlikely that she can have a restaurant only open for lunch serving gourmet food and make a go of things. However, that's a quibble. The only other odd thing is that there isn't any physical description of Sunny, whereas, everyone else is described. I found Sunny very appealing due to her calm, can-do nature--she is not a ditz--so refreshing compared to most female amateur sleuths.

I believe the book is out of print but is available for sale as an ebook. There are a few more stories in the series, and I plan to get them. Highly recommended.

[Karol.holden · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, to be more precise. (If there hadn't been two typos not caught by editors before printing, I would've rated this mystery story four stars.) This novel is very formulaic and similar to every Nancy Drew plot line. It's basically a Nancy Drew mystery for grown-ups, but not as "grown-up" as I might have liked. I was hoping for a little romance (or even lust) between Chef Sunny and just about anyone else in the novel. However, I really did enjoy this book; it took me back to that same joy I experienced reading about teen detective Nancy Drew when I was nine years old, and I enjoyed the trip. Are there some lame elements that never get satisfyingly addressed? YES--most notably, how and why Sunny McCloskey is a sleuth on the side? How can the head chef/owner of a restaurant with a shoestring staff afford to spend that much time away from her business? I did like the food/wine/bio-dynamic agriculture components of the plot. I'm not sure I'll invest my time in future McCloskey mysteries, though.

[BranDee · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book that goes on quite extensively with descriptions about the food, wine, and even clothing, I don't really know much about what the main character, Sunny, looks like. I have an impression of someone with bangs and maybe green eyes? No idea about anything else (or maybe I just missed the descriptions of her in the story?). Some of the other charters are more thoroughly described (Rivka in particular), but the unevenness in the use of descriptions is distracting. What they tell me is that the food, wine, and Rivka are important, but Sunny is not (although her clothing is).

The story was enjoyable, even though the plot was somewhat predictable. Living close to Napa, I do like the setting and find myself trying to recall places mentioned in the book.

I'll read the second book in the series, but if they don't get better, I'll probably pass on the rest.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out okay, but I was left feeling faintly disappointed. I’m not exactly sure why, but I think that was because the character that was ultimately identified as the killer was introduced later in the book, didn’t have large part in the action and that seemed like cheating. But I’m not sure that’s all, since introducing characters later in the book does happen often enough.

I think I thought the book harked back to the “old” mysteries, before the cozy mysteries now seem to have overrun the genre. Books that made you think, were complicated, but not overly so. However, in the end, maybe the tired plot device reminded me how tired I’m getting of the predictable devices used in cozies, that are starting to wear thin, at least as far as I’m concerned.

I was enjoying the read, but felt let down in the end.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is the first in the series I read book #2 (Death by the Glass) first and enjoyed it more. This first book definitely shows some weaknesses in plotting. I was bothered the entire time by the idea of someone being able to support themselves and a dozen employees in Napa Valley with a restaurant that is only open for lunch Monday-Friday. While it gives Sunny a lot of time to run around and ask questions it seems totally implausible. Also, the fact that all the murder suspects are perfectly willing to talk to her about all the sordid details of their lives did not ring true.

If I saw another book in the series on sale I would take a chance but I don't see myself paying 7-8 dollars for one.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good book with lots of vino consumed. Murder in the first chapter and the wrap-up in the last chapter. In between we are running around Napa talking to neighbors, finding out about viticulture, and always reading about great food prepared with precision and passion. It was both refreshing and unrealistic at times to have the principal character assuming the role of a private investigator. This is a woman who owns a restaurant and is an insomniac, but a person you would want as a friend and that is what makes Sunny so likeable. We've all known a Sunny. It's all about seeking the truth and helping a friend. I'm ready to become a gourmand or visit Napa now and I look forward to reading the remaining books in this series-some day.

[Samantha Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this book through a program I held at my library called "Mysterious California". This program was sponsored by the California Center for the Book and featured various California authors. This book was my favorite of the bunch. This book is book one in the Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley mystery series. It interested me because of the environmental aspects that are central to the book, but also because of of the cooking (the main character Sunny owns a restaurant). This book is different from traditional mysteries because the protagonist is not a detective or police officer; instead, she is a professional chef. The book is definitely not the "hard-boiled" type, but it features a good mystery in a good location. It made me want to read the rest in the series.

[Teresa LaBella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tip from a literary agent piqued my interest in reading beyond the romance genre I write in. I am so glad I did! Author Nadia Gordon's mastery of mystery pulled me in and through, from the Part One Murder by Moonlight of Jack Beroni, heir apparent of the family Napa Valley vineyard and fortune, through the satisfying Agatha Christie-style who-done-it ending. Heroine Sunny McCoskey steps out from her chef's comfort zone at the cafe she owns to solve Jack's murder and save a good friend's livelihood and life. Sharpshooter is the first book in the Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley Mystery series. I'm looking forward to reading the second, and the third, and so on since discovering that I love a good mystery!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good book - which I wasn't expecting! The main character is not a cop or investigator, Sunny is a chef and restaurant owner in Napa Valley. When one of her closest friends is suspected of a murder he didn't commit, Sunny throws herself into figuring out the crime. Would any of us not do the same to help our friend? I enjoyed Sunny even with all her mistakes during in the investigation. The information about wine and harvesting grapes given in the book was interesting. Sunny's restaurant menus and the dinners made at home made me very hungry. I think I'll go look up a few recipes online... Happy Reading!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this. I think I liked it because you get to vicariously live the Napa good life through her characters. I don't know what that would mean in real life, but here it means driving around a pretty countryside, knowing a lot about wine -- and enjoying extremely good home cooking with friends.

I found the characters generally not-annoying and the mystery to be pretty interesting. I think it's a relaxing, escapist, non-challenging read. Which has inspired me to write a really boring review. Sorry.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in the Napa Valley, this book is the genre cousin of chick lit. The main character is completely stock, what with being a single, independent woman too curious for her own good while leading a sort of fantasy life. Even with familiar pieces from chick lit / flick central and a slightly transparent plot, it’s an enjoyable read, and I will be picking up the other books in the series at some point. Recommended.

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was a fast and interesting read set in the Napa Valley. I did sip on wine when I was nearing the end. There is plenty of information about grapes, wine and agriculture to be found in this novel. Also, you'll want to make sure that you are planning to eat or have eaten a good meal. The characters are likeable and I look forward to getting to know more about the main ones in subsequent books.

[JoAnn/QuAppelle Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, I would give this 3.5 stars. i always like books with chefs or restaurants or food in them....this had all three plus wine/Napa Valley, one of my favorite places. A quick and easy read. A bit of a surprise at the end.

I agree with another reader who said that the character descriptions were lacking, especially that of Sunny, the narrator. And Sunny becoming a "private investigator" was a bit of a stretch. I will try #2 in this series.