Annie “Halsey” Hall was presented with a plot in the neighborhood gardening area by her friends for her birthday and she has decided that if you live in California and your friends are wine drinkers, you need to have a vineyard. So Halsey heads up to see about her plot and starts digging to turn the earth and prepare it for planting the vines. However, what turns up is not going to help her make wine - a body is buried on her land. Turns out to be a previous resident off the area that had been battling with the local historical society and a developer who wanted to buy up all the houses on Rose Avenue and build fancy condos.

Halsey and the Rose Avenue Wine Club are determined to save their neighborhood from the developers.
So much fun to see Halsey and her dog, Bardot, aided by her neighbors resolving the problems that most of the time they bring on themselves! Funny and entertaining.

This is the second book in the Rose Avenue Wine Club Mystery Series. The characters in this story are funny and I enjoyed reading this! I wish there were less references to the previous book, but all in all I was able to get to know the characters without having read the first.

Annie "Halsey" Hall is gifted a small garden plot by her Wine Club friends to start her own mini vineyard in Southern California. As Halsey goes to check out her plot, she is surprised to see the earth recently turned, as the lot had been unattended for a year. As Halsey starts to dig, she discovers the remains of an elderly woman with a mysterious tin buried next to her.

The Wine Club gets together to come up with a list of suspects, and every member does their part to investigate and ultimately solve the crime. Halsey's neighbor, Marisol, who is related to the Chief of Police, is a hoot and hysterically does a lot of loony things. I enjoyed this book, and as a bonus, the wines listed throughout the book are also listed in the back with corresponding vineyards, for anyone who enjoys wine.

I would recommend this fun, quick read to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery. Thanks to Net Galley for my free ARC.

Annie "Halsey" is back with the rest of the Rose Avenue Wine Club searching for another killer. Halsey can't stop finding bodies, this time in her garden plot along with a tin of papers and jewelry. Bardot, her happy yellow lab is again a big help finding the killer from their list of suspects. Lots of good info on wine and food as the wine club meets often to compare notes on the murder. This is book 2 in the Rose Avenue Wine Club series and a good follow up to Full Bodied Murder. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Halsey and her friends in the Rose Avenue Wine Club are back! While digging to plant a small vineyard in the community garden, Halsey and her dog, Bardot, discover a body. Soon, Halsey is investigating the death. Of course, she has the help of the other wine club ladies.

This is the second book in the Rose Avenue Wine Club mystery series. I read the first book, so I was already familiar with Halsey's story and the women in the wine club. This book could be read as a stand-alone, but the first book is referenced a few times.

The normal formula for a cozy mystery - female protagonist restarts her life in a new place and acts as amateur sleuth. Bonus points for the wine club and lovable, but hyperactive dog. Kooky neighbors and shenanigans galore... Halsey even gets herself arrested. A light, fun, and entertaining cozy mystery.

For wine drinkers - In the back of the book, a list of wines the women drink is included. There is also a food and wine pairing list.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am so glad that the Rose Avenue wine club was back for a 2nd fun and entertaining caper.
I can’t wait to see what trouble they get into in the next book in the series called, The Name of the Rose.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a cozy mystery series.

I love this series and was looking forward to this next in the Rose Avenue Wine Club series. I highly recommend the first book. I love the protagonist Halsey and her sidekick dog Bardot. Halsey is humorous and its fun to experience the story through her sense of humor about life. The wine club women are friendly and fun to read about. They are good friends to Halsey who is just starting her life over with a new home and a new town. Since joining the wine club she has found wonderful friends and enjoying her new life.
In this next in series Halsey is starting a garden and looking forward to planting a vineyard for her wine club. Bardot is by her side digging when he digs up a body. The wine club and Halsey are on the case and determined to solve the mystery.
I love everything about this series. The wine club includes great information on different wines and food parings. The group is compassionate and friendly . The sleuth is always well crafted and has twist and turns to keep any reader interested.
The series is a hit and I enjoyed this return to Halsey and her world. I look forward to many more books in this series.
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

We are back on Rose Avenue with Halsey and Bardot. Halsey has been gifted a spot in the community garden and hopes to plant some grapes for her own mini vineyard. But as Bardot starts “helping” her turn over the soil he makes a shocking discovery. A body has been buried in her garden and it turns the neighborhood upside down. Halsey doesn’t waste any time getting involved in the investigation and the members of the Rose Avenue Wine Club are tipping their glasses and putting themselves in danger to help.

These ladies take their wine very seriously and when trying to catch a killer they meet more often and that means more wine for everyone. Every time one of them opened another bottle I chuckled just a bit. They do uncover clues and do get themselves in some dicey situations. Halsey even takes on the police after being arrested for trespassing. She wants answers and she wants them now.

I do like Halsey, she is not afraid to get her hands dirty to solve a crime, and she is not timid in her dealings with anyone. Her relationship with dog whisperer/trainer Jack is progressing but he hates that she is putting herself in danger. Bardot is quite a dog. He is a quick learner and just the type of dog Halsey needs especially when the chips are down.

Ms. Blum gives great descriptions of everything, the place, the people, the food and the WINE!

The characters are quirky, some more than others. Some strong friendships are made while a certain neighbor is mostly just tolerated for good reason. They are genuine and the dialogues between them ring true. And like I said, they love their wine.

The mystery was a tangled web but I had my killer chosen before Halsey and the ladies. It was a lot of fun reading on to be sure I was right. After all the years I have been reading cozies I still get excited when I catch on before the protagonist.

Wine lovers or book clubs that serve wine, this is a book for you, but all cozy lovers will enjoy and like me find it very entertaining. I like learning about the different wines too. If the book only came with free samples 🙂

I am excited about the continuation of this series. I can’t wait to visit these characters again. The Name of the Rosé will be released November 27.

I had a lot of fun in reading this book. I liked the plot and the description and the way the story was developed.
It kept me guessing and hooked till the end and I will search the previous instalment.
I really liked the heroine, a tech woman is a bit unusual in the cozy mystery world!
I also liked the description of the friendship amongst the group of wine amateur women and the nosy neighbour.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books

Halsey (and Bardot!) is back! This is classic cozy territory- single woman remaking her life finds new friends and dead bodies and solves the crime! With a dog! Okay, that's a simplistic and bottom line explanation and it's not fair because Blum has created an entertaining character in Halsey. She's also included a list of wines (love that!) and there are some terrific descriptions of wine and food pairings. The woman Halsey finds in her garden plot is at the center of a community struggle between history and land development. You might guess the murderer early on but keep reading because this is a pleasure. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I  recieved a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book so bad but it just fell flat for me. It wasn't even the fact that I correctly guessed the murderer way before Halsey or anyone else. (That is forgiveable.) I've read books before where the side characters are obnoxious and unlikeable, but you can get past that with a great main character. I didn't find Halsey very likeable. I like wine as much as the next girl, but she needed to lay off a bit. Every other page she is opening a new bottle.

The descriptions of wine and the food paired with wine took up way too much space. I found her neighbor Marisol annoying, yet entertaining.

One of my biggest scene issues: She is released from jail after being arrested for trespassing, and before she even makes it out the door she's pushing herself in the cops face trying to get an update on "the case". Not even five minutes before that she was scared to death of getting a prison sentence.

The mystery itself had plenty of red herrings and clues.

This is a delightful cozy mystery full of intrigue, the hunt for oil in neighborhood back yards, local history, good friends, a wonderful sense of humor and, of course, lots of delicious wine. Halsey is gifted with a plot in the community garden for her birthday and when she goes to prepare the plot for growing wine grapes she discovers the body of Abigail Rose, the heiress of one of the local landowners. Along with the body Halsey also discovers a hundred year old deed and a gold poison signet ring. There's a shady mineral rights lawyer running around the neighborhood, a developer who is intimating that there is oil on his site, and soon enough a second body. Halsey and her wine club friend, including her boyfriend Jack and her remarkable dog Bardot, are on the case and will take you on an enjoyable adventure following the clues.

Having not read the first book in the series, it was a tad frustrating with all the references to it in this book. Wine list was a nice touch, not a bad read though.

Cute mystery novel with (no surprise) lots of descriptions of the characters drinking wine while solving the mystery. This is definitely a basic amateur sleuth discovers a body, is suspected by the police, lots of shenanigans and suspects, sleuth solves mystery for police kind of book, but the all girls wine club was a fun addition. I enjoyed that there was a list of all the wines at the end of the book as well, for anyone interested in looking them up. Minus one star for too many references to the first book in the series - I prefer these style mysteries to be a little more stand-alone.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.