Book Review & Giveaway: One Foot in the Grape by Carlene O'Neil

From the publisher: In California wine country, the town of Cypress Cove may seem peaceful. But someone’s about to pop their cork…

After losing her job as a photojournalist, Penny Lively is trying to get her life back in focus. Inheriting the family winery from her late aunt may be the fresh start she needs. Thankfully she’s got her niece Hayley and her handsome winery manager Connor to help. But the person in need of more urgent assistance is Antonia Martinelli, the owner of the neighboring winery, who has her own barrel full of problems. Someone’s spoiling her wine, and with the upcoming Autumn Festival, she needs Penny’s nose for clues to sniff out the culprit.

But Penny’s search for answers sours after the body of a staff member is found in a grape crusher. Since Hayley was the last to see him alive, she’s the prime suspect in the case. Now Penny must hurry to find the real killer before Hayley withers on the vine…

I've always been drawn to books that take place in wineries because I love wine. Unfortunately, wine does not love me. Even half of a glass diluted with seltzer water puts me right to sleep. So as with so many other things in life, I live vicariously through books. 

One Foot in the Grape begins when Antonia Martinelli, owner of the famed Martinelli Winery, asks her neighbor and distant cousin Penny Lively, new owner of her late aunt's Joyeux Winery, for help. Antonia suspects that someone is sabotaging her wine. Penny is busy preparing for the first Autumn Festival, but with a background in investigative photojournalism, she can't resist the challenge. Little does she know she's about to be mixed up in the murders of two Martinelli employees, and a group of suspects that takes family dysfunction to a whole new level. 

The murder method in this book is one of the most unique ever - a grape crusher - and the killer remained a mystery to the very end. The breathtaking setting and stellar cast of characters - from protagonists Penny and Antonia to their various employees and family members to Penny's pets, gray tabby Petite Syrah and malamute Nanook - made this a sparkling debut.

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Friday, May 15th for your chance to win a copy of One Foot in the Grape. (US entries only please, and don't forget your email address!)