Pirates of the Cabernet: A small town, cozy murder mystery

by Lynn Joseph

There’s no rest for the wicked… especially in Mermaid Bay.

After Noelle Knight’s latest discovery, her quiet Florida Keys town is suddenly anything but quiet.

Reporters are crowding the boardwalk. Treasure hunters are whispering over maps. Strangers are arriving with too many questions. And everyone seems convinced Mermaid Bay is hiding one more secret.

Noelle would much rather be in her wine shop with Cabby, her very opinionated black cat, pretending none of this is her problem.

But when a rare and priceless Cabernet vanishes under suspicious circumstances, Noelle finds herself pulled into another mystery—one that may be connected to the town’s newest obsession.

Then someone turns up dead.

Now Mermaid Bay is drowning in rumors, old legends, and very real danger. With Finn nearby, Cabby supervising, and half the town chasing treasure, Noelle has to figure out who can be trusted before the next clue leads straight to another body.

Pirates of the Cabernet is Book 10 in the Mermaid Bay Wine Mystery series, a charming cozy mystery filled with Florida Keys atmosphere, wine, pirate intrigue, murder, and one very busy cat.

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2026

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 an author I’m glad I found. 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 keeps finding dead bodies and is trying to learn about a pirate’s treasure which is from her ancestors. She and Finn have finally embraced their relationship. In this book, Nicole, Finn and Cabby are back home in Mermaid Cove with a new murder to solve. As expected, it is connected to Elena and Black Cesar. Very exciting!

[Linda Downs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frustrating

I love the book but am disappointed that it was not completed. Having to wait for the next book is frustrating.