Book 1

A Case of Syrah, Syrah

by Nancy J. Parra

Published 12 December 2017
Winery tour guide Taylor O’Brian must weed out a killer in this intoxicating series debut perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Ellen Crosby.

Prospects are looking rosy for Taylor O’Brian, founder of “Off the Beaten Path” Wine Country Tours, who lives on a small winery with her Aunt Jemma and leads tours around romantic Sonoma County. At first blush, things are running smoothly, until a tour member is found dead—with Taylor’s corkscrew buried in her neck.

Taylor has no nose for detective work, but as she begins to follow a trail of bottled-up secrets, events take a sour new turn. Only two weeks after the murder, her assistant Amy marries Dan, the dead woman’s husband, whose short-lived bereavement seems like a sham. And just as her investigation begins to take shape, Dan’s sister turns up dead. Could Taylor be next on the list?

Now it’s up to Taylor to uncork this open-bottle mystery before more blood is spilled. A dry, witty, complex bouquet of a whodunit, A Case of Syrah, Syrah, the charming first in Nancy J. Parra’s Sonoma Wine Country mysteries, will delight cozy and wine lovers alike.

Book 2

Seven Deadly Zins

by Nancy J. Parra

Published 8 January 2019
Sonoma tour guide Taylor O’Brian uncorks another intoxicating wine country mystery after discovering the body of an FDA inspector . . . in a tank of squashed grapes
 
Taylor O’Brian, founder of “Off the Beaten Path”, takes small groups on wine country tours of romantic Sonoma County. Friends are everything in the tour business, so Taylor is happy to guide investors to the winery owned by her friend Tim Slade. But vintage turns to vinegar when an FDA inspector is found floating face down in one of Tim’s vats of squashed grapes.
 
Tim is arrested on suspicion of murder, and Taylor and her friends rally to prove his innocence. But it’s not an easy task, especially since the winery proprietor’s acidic sense of humor tends to reap a harvest of sour grapes. Taylor’s investigation is withering on the vine until she discovers that Tim’s girlfriend, Mandy, is having an affair with a self-help guru. But before she has a chance to confront Mandy, Taylor finds Tim standing over the body of the dead guru.
 
This tart-turn of events sends a bottle shock through Sonoma. Might Taylor’s friend really be a Zin-ful killer? If so, could Taylor be the next victim? The tour guide and her friends come to realize that the true murderer’s scent is obscured by an unsavory bouquet of red herrings.

A complex mystery designed to delight the palate of wine and cozy mystery enthusiasts alike, Seven Deadly Zins is the second quirky installment in Nancy J. Parra’s Sonoma Wine Country mysteries.