Book Review: Wining and Dying

Wining and Dying by Daryl Wood Gerber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author Daryl Wood Gerber deftly juggles red herrings while weaving together complex plot threads into a rich story of romance, revenge, and murder, while treating us to scrumptious food, tasty wine and breathtaking art as we immerse in Crystal Cove’s fifth annual Art and Wine Festival.

Jenna Hart, owner of the Cookbook Nook and a hopeful artist herself, has her hands full keeping up with the tourist invasion while finding time to enjoy the festival with her friends. And if that’s not enough, she’s venue-shopping for her upcoming wedding. But when one of the featured artists is murdered, Jenna takes on even more as she becomes determined to identify the killer.

Crystal Cove is a fun tourist town, bursting with eccentric characters of all sorts. I enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them (even the ones I loved to hate!) You’ll explore the local restaurants, shops and homes in enough detail to make you feel like you’re on vacation, living the adventure alongside Jenna and her friends.

At the end of the story you’ll find a bonus mini-cookbook with recipes for cookies, muffins and appetizers that are featured throughout the book. I especially liked how the author lets her characters write their own introductions for the recipes. I’m going to be baking some chocolate mint muffins very soon!

My thanks to author Daryl Wood Gerber, NetGalley, and Beyond the Page Publishing for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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