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| The Entertainment Review |
| By: Nadia Gordon Publisher: Chronicle Books |
There are a number of different locations that people would think of when a murder mystery is mentioned. However,
Napa Valley doesn’t fit into the mold set for murder mysteries. With the series started in 2002 by author Nadia
Gordon, no one knew what would happen with the series, now with the release of the third book in the series readers
will be able to spend more time with Sunny and her Napa Valley friends. For those new to the series, Sunny owns
and cooks at a popular restaurant names Wildside in St. Helena with her employee and friend Rivka Chavez. The
restaurant adds a gastronomic element to the mystery of the story, adding something new to the palate of the overall
story.
As said before, “Murder Alfresco” is the third book in the series. After a long and hard day of cooking at her
restaurant, Sunny joins her current love interest and chef Andre Morales for a party that he is holding at his place.
Growing tired of the people attending the party, she decides to slip out of the party on a whim. Since her cell needs
to be recharged she is unable to call a cab and ends up walking. This is how she discovers the murder victim, a
young woman named Heidi Romero who is tied and hung from a tree at the Vedana Vineyards. She is hung in a style
called shibari, a bondage fetish popularized in Japanese anime pornography. When Sunny arrives at the vineyard, a
white pickup truck is leaving in a hurt and catches her in its lights.
Though Sunny is warned by Sergeant Steve Harvey to steer clear of this particular case, her curiosity pulls her in
against the sergeant’s advice. Sunny and Rivka follow up Heidi’s reputed interest in surfing, which leads them to her
past instructor and friend Joel Hyder. He brings them over to Heidi’s houseboat at Liberty Dock in Sausalito and tells
them of her old lover. Also thrown into the mix is the suspicious harbormaster, Dean Blodger, who owns a white
pickup truck. Sunny’s friends take her to an outing at Infineon Raceway where they all are able to meet the Vedana
Vineyard’s winemaker, as well as the vineyard’s owners Bruce and Kimberly Knolls. Sunny finds herself wondering
why Kimberly seems to be so frightened and digs her way deeper into the case at hand.
For those that have reader other books in the series will know what comes next, but for those who don’t know, without
giving anything important away, the curiosity that Sunny originally had gets her a little bit too close to the killer. She
is saved by the tools of her trade, gives the reader the necessary review of the case will working through an amazing
feast with her friends and offers a fond farewell to Heidi in a manner that a young woman like Heidi would approve of.
For those readers who enjoy sipping a glass of wine while reading a great mystery, then this better than average
murder mystery series is definitely worth checking out. It offers readers a variety of likeable characters, keen
observations and a comforting ambience for the story to take place in.
Napa Valley doesn’t fit into the mold set for murder mysteries. With the series started in 2002 by author Nadia
Gordon, no one knew what would happen with the series, now with the release of the third book in the series readers
will be able to spend more time with Sunny and her Napa Valley friends. For those new to the series, Sunny owns
and cooks at a popular restaurant names Wildside in St. Helena with her employee and friend Rivka Chavez. The
restaurant adds a gastronomic element to the mystery of the story, adding something new to the palate of the overall
story.
As said before, “Murder Alfresco” is the third book in the series. After a long and hard day of cooking at her
restaurant, Sunny joins her current love interest and chef Andre Morales for a party that he is holding at his place.
Growing tired of the people attending the party, she decides to slip out of the party on a whim. Since her cell needs
to be recharged she is unable to call a cab and ends up walking. This is how she discovers the murder victim, a
young woman named Heidi Romero who is tied and hung from a tree at the Vedana Vineyards. She is hung in a style
called shibari, a bondage fetish popularized in Japanese anime pornography. When Sunny arrives at the vineyard, a
white pickup truck is leaving in a hurt and catches her in its lights.
Though Sunny is warned by Sergeant Steve Harvey to steer clear of this particular case, her curiosity pulls her in
against the sergeant’s advice. Sunny and Rivka follow up Heidi’s reputed interest in surfing, which leads them to her
past instructor and friend Joel Hyder. He brings them over to Heidi’s houseboat at Liberty Dock in Sausalito and tells
them of her old lover. Also thrown into the mix is the suspicious harbormaster, Dean Blodger, who owns a white
pickup truck. Sunny’s friends take her to an outing at Infineon Raceway where they all are able to meet the Vedana
Vineyard’s winemaker, as well as the vineyard’s owners Bruce and Kimberly Knolls. Sunny finds herself wondering
why Kimberly seems to be so frightened and digs her way deeper into the case at hand.
For those that have reader other books in the series will know what comes next, but for those who don’t know, without
giving anything important away, the curiosity that Sunny originally had gets her a little bit too close to the killer. She
is saved by the tools of her trade, gives the reader the necessary review of the case will working through an amazing
feast with her friends and offers a fond farewell to Heidi in a manner that a young woman like Heidi would approve of.
For those readers who enjoy sipping a glass of wine while reading a great mystery, then this better than average
murder mystery series is definitely worth checking out. It offers readers a variety of likeable characters, keen
observations and a comforting ambience for the story to take place in.
