A Merry Merlot Murder: A cozy murder mystery

by Lynn Joseph

The Merlot’s flowing, the lights are glowing—and murder’s on deck.’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Mermaid Bay,
not a creature was stirring… except a murderer.

When the annual Harbor of Lights Parade turns from festive to fatal, wine shop owner Noelle Knight finds herself caught in a scandal that could sink her business and her good name. The only thing more suspicious than the crime? It happened on Finn’s boat—the same one carrying Noelle’s holiday wine and more than a few of her secrets.

With Cabby the cat prowling the docks and the town gossip mill running faster than a runaway sleigh, Noelle must uncork the truth before the killer ruins more than just Christmas.

A Merry Merlot Murder is a sun-soaked, sharp-witted cozy mystery brimming with wine, wit, and wickedly good fun—proof that even in paradise, the holidays can be murder.

Grab your copy of A Merry Merlot Murder today!

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2025

About the author

Lynn Joseph's adventure travel, island hopping, and lifelong wandering have a purpose. And it's not just to find the best crepes, gelato, and champagne! She swears! Lynn writes about the places she falls in love with. She's discovered in her travels that everyone is looking for a romance and a happy ending! Especially romance authors! Her USA home base is the charming Ferry Village in South Portland, Maine, and her international home base is the Caribbean Island of Tobago, where she’s known as the Mermaid Queen. Lynn believes in protagonists of color traveling and changing the world. And falling in love, of course! She almost always finds a way to work in crepes, gelato, or champagne as part of the story (to support the research!) If you're ready for some sweet romance, join Lynn on her journey of love, food, and romantic destinations (not necessarily in that order).

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun cozy mystery from Lynn Joseph. I enjoy that the same characters appear in the books with the story continuing from the prior book. The lead characters are Nicole Knight and Finn McClanahan. Nicole has returned to her hometown after being fired from her job. She had inherited her aunt’s wine shop and returned to run it. Nicole finds dead bodies and is trying to learn about a pirate’s treasure. She and Finn are trying to navigate their relationship. A great book!

[Lornaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hold On the water is Rising

Love this series! The mystery just keeps getting deeper in this book. The characters seem to jump off the pages and you are caught in the story.