Terroir: A Morgan Kendall Wine Country Mystery

by Linda Howe Steiger

Morgan knew it was a bad idea, right from the start. First off, no sleuth should ever investigate his own family—or the family of his ex-spouse! Talk about conflicts of interest! Talk about the potential for a big family mess! But when Indie, Kit’s former wife, nags him into finding out who’s been trying to kill her Uncle Jules, Kit doesn’t say “No.” And when Kit proposes that Morgan ride along with him to help him navigate all those old relationships and sort out what’s been going on, she hesitates, but, in the end, Morgan doesn’t say “No” either. Anyway, she has her own mixed motives—maybe she could keep Kit out of the clutches of his ex-spouse. Indie’s “Uncle Jules” is the renown Jules Romano, owner and aging patriarch of the Buckthorn Estate, a successful family-owned “boutique” winery in northern California. Rumor has it that Jules has changed his will, again. Now there’s a solid traditional motive for murder! Everyone could have something to lose. And the whole extended Romano family will be at Buckthorn to celebrate Jules’ 80th birthday, where he’s said he’ll announce what he has gone and done. Oh, were it to be so simple! Who knew there were so many ways to commit murder in a winery. Or that Morgan and Kit would find so many motives for murder? So grab yourself a glass of wine and prepare for a romp through the vineyards and wine caves with Morgan and Kit, and Morgan’s son Talies. You’ll laugh at the antics Kit’s former family gets up to, and you’ll gasp as Morgan uncovers the chaos brewing at Buckthorn as the winery prepares for annual crush to begin. Will our three sleuths be in time to save Uncle Jules? Linda Howe Steiger is a writer living in Oakland CA. She teaches memoir writing and is the author of Fog, the first Morgan Kendall mystery.

233 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 29, 2020