Dying on the Vine

This is an outtake from a blog post discussing Gideon Oliver 15-17 over at The Irresponsible Reader.
The whole band's back together for this one – John & Marti, Julie & Gideon in old-school Italian wine country. The intrigue and informatin about the wine production (rephrase) reminded me of the behind the scenes look at coffee production from Twenty Blue Devils (although that subject is nearer and dearer to my heart). While I'm not a big wine person, I know I'd rather drink a bottle (one glass at a time, I'm not a Philistine) from the hands and craft of the traditional elements of the Cubbiddu, not the mechanical/mass produced stuff they started putting out – which I'm guessing Elkins agrees. Although, I can probably only afford the latter.

John navigating the local cuisine was a highlight for me, and probably speaks to my juvenile humor.

The mystery itself? Typical Elkins, smart enough to keep you guessing, compelling enough to keep you turning the pages, and not as important as the characters – new and old – and their interactions.

Heckuva lotta fun.

Standard Gideon Oliver mystery. Well written but nothing new here except lots of Italian.