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The Fiona Mason Mysteries #2
Blood in the Wine
Tour Manager Fiona Mason’s Rhine Valley tour gets off to a disastrous start when one of her passengers is found brutally stabbed. Fiona is determined to find the killer before his wife is formally charged with his murder.
Peter Montgomery-Jones needs to track down the plans of a guidance missile system before they fall into the hands of revolutionary Uzbek terrorists.
She thinks he is pompous and patronizing; he thinks she is interfering and impetuous but if either is to achieve their goal, they need to work together.
The second in the series. A cozy whodunnit with plenty of edge.
Peter Montgomery-Jones needs to track down the plans of a guidance missile system before they fall into the hands of revolutionary Uzbek terrorists.
She thinks he is pompous and patronizing; he thinks she is interfering and impetuous but if either is to achieve their goal, they need to work together.
The second in the series. A cozy whodunnit with plenty of edge.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2010
10 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Judith Cranswick
20 books18 followersJudith was born and brought up in Norwich and now lives with her husband in Swindon. She wrote her first novel (now languishing in the back of a drawer somewhere) when her two children were toddlers but there was little time for writing when she returned to work teaching Geography in a large comprehensive and it was only after retirement that she was able to take it up again in earnest.
Judith's first two published novels, 'All in the Mind' and 'Watcher in the Shadows' each won the NAWG Award for Best Unpublished Novel for two years running.
She now works part time teaching Tai Chi as well Creative Writing and lecturing.
Her other hobbies include reading, line dancing and travelling.
"Writers are told to write what they know about but I can assure you, I've never committed a murder. I'm an ex- convent school headmistress for goodness sake!"
Find out more about Judith at www.judithcranswick.co.uk
Judith's first two published novels, 'All in the Mind' and 'Watcher in the Shadows' each won the NAWG Award for Best Unpublished Novel for two years running.
She now works part time teaching Tai Chi as well Creative Writing and lecturing.
Her other hobbies include reading, line dancing and travelling.
"Writers are told to write what they know about but I can assure you, I've never committed a murder. I'm an ex- convent school headmistress for goodness sake!"
Find out more about Judith at www.judithcranswick.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 14, 2017
FUN READ
I read the first book in the series and it offered me a free copy of this book which I immediately downloaded. An easy fun read which kept me turning the pages. Once again Fiona is in charge of her coach load of passengers who are, of course, not what they seem. A light read I found very enjoyable. I particularly enjoy the descriptions of places they visit and I’m seriously considering Germany for my next holiday.
I read the first book in the series and it offered me a free copy of this book which I immediately downloaded. An easy fun read which kept me turning the pages. Once again Fiona is in charge of her coach load of passengers who are, of course, not what they seem. A light read I found very enjoyable. I particularly enjoy the descriptions of places they visit and I’m seriously considering Germany for my next holiday.
December 16, 2018
Book 2 in the mystery series is a bit more tangled than book one, but readers will enjoy the fact they get to follow along with Fiona's travels. This time the tour takes readers to the Rhine Valley as Fiona who works for Super Sun travels once again gets wrapped up in a murder mystery beginning with a stabbing. The author adds a picturesque look at the places Fiona visits and intriguing twisted mystery along the way.
March 13, 2024
I was actually looking for another book by Ms. Cranswick when I came upon this one and being a cozy mystery fan with a penchant for travel cozies ánd being from the Netherlands, I obviously had to read this one first.
Blood on the Bulb Fields is an engaging murder mystery set in, you guessed it, the Netherlands. The likeable main character, Fiona Mason, is recently widowed and looking for a way to get back out into the world. She takes a job as the Tour Manager for Super Sun Coach Tours. This is her first trip with them and it starts out with her losing a passenger due to an apparent heart attack. Things go downhill from there and between figuring out how to do her job, keeping her passengers happy, and figuring who could be the murderer, she has her hands full.
The second narrator is the apparent ‘bad guy’ in the book, who’s trying to get back into his boss’s good graces after botching another job. His identity stays hidden until the finale of the book.
The author's narrative style easily engages the readers and the story, as been mentioned in other reviews, feels a bit like a modern Agatha Christie. However Fiona is definitely not wobbly old lady, but engaging, interested and active, more of a travelling Jessica Fletcher with a cell phone than a Mrs. Marple.
I liked the second narrator, it made the story more interesting to read and a bit edgier. I also enjoyed the introduction of Mr Montgomery-Jones, from whatever police-like department he might be, was introduced and I hope Fiona will work with him or them again in the future as having a broader story than just a lady trying to solve a murder on a holiday tour, makes it more interesting.
Besides a murder mystery, it’s also a bit of a travel guide. Personally, I enjoy that, especially if I know the country or want to go there. I’m always curious how other perceive those places. In this case, the descriptions of the places the group visits are accurate, the history is correct and only if you’re a local, you’d know you’d walk form the Pier to the Kurhause. I don’t think you can even get from one to the other by coach 😉
The amount of characters is a bit too long, even with the helpful “passenger list” at the beginning of the book, I found myself having to look back quite often. Using similar feeling names such as Andrew and Edward didn’t help either.
This book is an easy, comfortable read, it’s not a high paced story with blood splattered against the walls. And even though I wouldn’t mind a bit more suspense, all in all I enjoyed reading this book and will pick up the next one in the series: Blood in the Wine.
Blood on the Bulb Fields is an engaging murder mystery set in, you guessed it, the Netherlands. The likeable main character, Fiona Mason, is recently widowed and looking for a way to get back out into the world. She takes a job as the Tour Manager for Super Sun Coach Tours. This is her first trip with them and it starts out with her losing a passenger due to an apparent heart attack. Things go downhill from there and between figuring out how to do her job, keeping her passengers happy, and figuring who could be the murderer, she has her hands full.
The second narrator is the apparent ‘bad guy’ in the book, who’s trying to get back into his boss’s good graces after botching another job. His identity stays hidden until the finale of the book.
The author's narrative style easily engages the readers and the story, as been mentioned in other reviews, feels a bit like a modern Agatha Christie. However Fiona is definitely not wobbly old lady, but engaging, interested and active, more of a travelling Jessica Fletcher with a cell phone than a Mrs. Marple.
I liked the second narrator, it made the story more interesting to read and a bit edgier. I also enjoyed the introduction of Mr Montgomery-Jones, from whatever police-like department he might be, was introduced and I hope Fiona will work with him or them again in the future as having a broader story than just a lady trying to solve a murder on a holiday tour, makes it more interesting.
Besides a murder mystery, it’s also a bit of a travel guide. Personally, I enjoy that, especially if I know the country or want to go there. I’m always curious how other perceive those places. In this case, the descriptions of the places the group visits are accurate, the history is correct and only if you’re a local, you’d know you’d walk form the Pier to the Kurhause. I don’t think you can even get from one to the other by coach 😉
The amount of characters is a bit too long, even with the helpful “passenger list” at the beginning of the book, I found myself having to look back quite often. Using similar feeling names such as Andrew and Edward didn’t help either.
This book is an easy, comfortable read, it’s not a high paced story with blood splattered against the walls. And even though I wouldn’t mind a bit more suspense, all in all I enjoyed reading this book and will pick up the next one in the series: Blood in the Wine.
March 21, 2018
This is the second book in this series I have read and once again Judith has done her research well the places visited and hotels stayed in are indeed hotels used by UK coach holiday companies, I felt I was traveling with Shearings or Alfa holidays visiting the places and staying at the same hotels, but have never been on one of those companies tours when passengers have been murdered. Fiona is a bit of a Miss Marple and always seems to solve the mystery before the police assisted by her driver Winston Taylor and has the resources of the mysterious Peter Montgomery- Jones who we have yet to discover who he is and who he works for but he seems to have an influence with high ranking international intelligence organizations, we are left wondering if he and Fiona fancy one another we will have to see what develops in future books in the series. I really enjoyed reading the first two books in the series and can not wait to read the next one. Like I said Fiona is like Miss Marple and with all her murders would you live in her village, or in Oxford or Mid Sommer for that matter and for that reason I do not think I will holiday with Super Sun, I will stick with Shearing's or Alfa.
February 1, 2021
Paid to show happy holiday makers around beautiful scenic areas of the Rhineland. Sounds idyllic doesn’t it?
Not for poor Fiona Mason. For one thing her group are not all happy couples and those that pretend to be are not all they seem.
This is Fiona’s second tour as a guide and after the first one what more could possibly go wrong?
A possible terrorist attack, murder, plots to steal industrial plans, along with all the usual tensions that occur when a group of people who don’t know one another are thrown together. That’s what.
Fiona, along with her trusty driver, Winston deal with it all. Peter Montgomery-Jones arrives to throw Fiona into an emotional turmoil. Why does this stiff, severe man affect her so?
This well written story had me wrongly guessing who the murderer was and why the murder happened, almost right to the very end.
This is not a story full of blood guts and gore even if the title suggests it might be. Yes there is a little description of blood but not so much that it would put off even the most faint-hearted.
I heartily recommend this story to all fans of a good murder mystery.
Not for poor Fiona Mason. For one thing her group are not all happy couples and those that pretend to be are not all they seem.
This is Fiona’s second tour as a guide and after the first one what more could possibly go wrong?
A possible terrorist attack, murder, plots to steal industrial plans, along with all the usual tensions that occur when a group of people who don’t know one another are thrown together. That’s what.
Fiona, along with her trusty driver, Winston deal with it all. Peter Montgomery-Jones arrives to throw Fiona into an emotional turmoil. Why does this stiff, severe man affect her so?
This well written story had me wrongly guessing who the murderer was and why the murder happened, almost right to the very end.
This is not a story full of blood guts and gore even if the title suggests it might be. Yes there is a little description of blood but not so much that it would put off even the most faint-hearted.
I heartily recommend this story to all fans of a good murder mystery.
August 14, 2017
I am really enjoying this series. Even though this book is a "cozy mystery," the plot is complex and intriguing. I love the added bonus of the travel information. This installment takes place in Germany. I found the history of the castles and the information on Germany wines as interesting as the mystery itself. Of course, it is a bit of a stretch for major crimes to keep taking place among a group of tourist, but I think it is one of the best "settings" for a cozy mystery series that I've run across. At least these are taking place in various countries and for various reasons versus the series that take place all in the same small town or coffee shop. I also very much appreciate the advanced vocabulary. So many modern books rely on slang and vulgarity to try and get their point across. My mother, who is in her 70s, is also enjoying this series a lot. If you are looking for an intelligent cozy mystery series, I suggest you try these!
December 14, 2017
This author like to include a myriad of characters involved in the storyline which sometimes causes more confusion than misdirection which is what I think she is striving for in her mystery series. Would read more from the author in the future.
April 20, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyable.
February 17, 2017
There is no doubting that Judith Cranswick can tell a good tale, and Blood in the Wine is no exception. I have read a lot of the Fiona Mason books, and they never fail to draw me in to engage with the characters and the storyline. Mason is sort of an Amateur Miss Marple type of character who is a tour guide.
The locations of the plot are as well prepared as the plot itself, and the writer looks that either she is a good researcher or has lived there herself. It’s funny how we all get an idea of what a character should look like, and to me, Fiona Mason for some reason reminds me of a young Greer Garson. As she was in Mrs. Minerva.
The trip this time is through the old World War One Battlefield in France, and the ‘whodunit’ is a finely balanced construction that I didn’t guess. Great book!
The locations of the plot are as well prepared as the plot itself, and the writer looks that either she is a good researcher or has lived there herself. It’s funny how we all get an idea of what a character should look like, and to me, Fiona Mason for some reason reminds me of a young Greer Garson. As she was in Mrs. Minerva.
The trip this time is through the old World War One Battlefield in France, and the ‘whodunit’ is a finely balanced construction that I didn’t guess. Great book!
October 6, 2016
I’ve just finished reading this book and I’m amazed at how quickly I galloped through the last few chapters. The story begins at the start of a coach tour with a group of seemingly ordinary characters but can such a thing as an ordinary character ever exist? Judith Cranswick ably demonstrates each traveller’s unique personality allowing the reader to build an intimate knowledge of every individual within the group, as the story gently unfolds and gradually becomes compelling reading. Who did what? When? Where? There were so many possibilities but it was impossible to be sure of the outcome.
Throughout, there is carefully researched information on the areas visited by the tour group which also makes for some very interesting reading. If that weren’t enough, the writer also continues the extraordinary relationship emerging between Fiona, the group tour guide and the charming Peter Montgomery-Jones, who became acquainted in “Murder in the Bulb Fields.”
For those who like a good read, I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
Throughout, there is carefully researched information on the areas visited by the tour group which also makes for some very interesting reading. If that weren’t enough, the writer also continues the extraordinary relationship emerging between Fiona, the group tour guide and the charming Peter Montgomery-Jones, who became acquainted in “Murder in the Bulb Fields.”
For those who like a good read, I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
August 22, 2016
Blood in the Wine continues the adventures of Fiona Mason, a very British tourist guide with a flair for amateur detection and a friend in the British intelligence Service, as she guides another group of British tourists through Continental Europe. This time the bus travels through the famous World War I battlefield of Ypres in Flanders and Germany’s Rhine Valley. I was reminded, quite pleasantly, of a visit taken several years ago to Frankfurt and a long train ride north through the Rhine Valley drinking far too much of the local Rieslings. The whodunit of this murder mystery is nicely assembled, the characters are well drawn, and the tour is well constructed as we visit fascinating old places in small-town Rhineland. Recommended to mystery fans and armchair travelers alike.
December 31, 2019
I read the first book in this series - "Blood in the Bulb Fields" - and immediately searched for and purchased this book. Fiona Mason is a formidable heroine, her job as a tour director provides ever-changing locales and an ever-changing cast of characters. Love the concept, love the details about the sites visited by the tour group, love the descriptions of the characters, love the Commander. Love it!
June 24, 2016
Enjoyed tremendously
I like this book because it is a true mystery with spies and a curious civilian who assist in solving. The travel descriptions are just a bonus to add to the pleasure
I like this book because it is a true mystery with spies and a curious civilian who assist in solving. The travel descriptions are just a bonus to add to the pleasure
January 14, 2015
I really enjoyed this book, and the little itineraries at the start of each chapter gave a wonderful 'local colour' element to the story. Can't wait to catch up with Fiona Mason again.
Read
December 28, 2017Blood in the Wine continues the hallowed traditions of British mysteries, with shades of Agatha Christie and Elizabeth George. Amateur Sleuth Fiona Mason is a working-class version of Jane Marple, with a bit of Barbara Havers. Other characters will also seem familiar to Elizabeth George fans, including Fiona’s sidekick, Winston Taylor (Winston Nkata) and aristocratic mentor, Peter Montgomery-Jones (Thomas Lynley). Rather than well-heeled travelers on the Orient Express, we have a group of mostly middle-class senior citizens and retirees on a coach tour of German wine country. However, as Fiona gradually susses out, several have hidden agendas and prior histories with one another that could provide motives for murder, or possibly an international conspiracy with much more profound consequences.
January 9, 2018
Came across this by accident, and it was a lucky one. Thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more by this author.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews