Penn Yan and Geneva are two of my favorite places to visit, so I was excited to read a book set in the Finger Lakes region. The mystery was engaging and kept me guessing. The weak area for me was Norrie and her lack of regard for everyone around her.

Norrie Ellington is still temporarily running Two Witches Winery in Seneca Lake, New York while her sister is bug hunting around the world with her entomologist husband. The coworker of her sister's husband is Norrie's only source of contact so she pretends to be interested in his bug stories. One day he brings her a "very valuable" gift - cockroach DNA!! He insists it's rare and must be carefully stored. Norrie stores it and forgets it.

The only thing Norrie has on her mind is a much despised developer who purchased some lake property and plans on building high rise condos. Everyone in the community is angry, but who is angry enough to kill?

Things get scary when someone breaks into Norrie's home. Was it the killer? Whoever it was must have been hungry since the refrigerator was the only thing disturbed. The police write it off as local kids.

Norrie finally connects the dots and solves the crimes, and local police take the credit.

A nice read if you don't mind bugs. YUK!

#CaughtintheTraminette

It seems that once again Norrie has agreed to help out her sister and brother-in-law by overseeing things at the family winery, Two Witches Winery while they are off searching for some sort of bug. Norrie doesn’t really know or care about the world of etymology, not even when she is gifted with cockroach DNA, a highly valuable sample of cockroach DNA (double eww).
A developer is looking to build a high rise complex on the lake and no one wants it. In fact, MaMadeline owners and of Winery had put an offer in on the same land to be able to plant grapes to produce a traminette wine. Naturally is high on the suspect list when the developer is found dead behind their winery. Norrie was warned by Zenora the psychic librarian, that both Norrie and the winery were surrounded by dark spirits. Was it the dark spirits that raided her fridge, yet nothing was taken. As with all Wine Trail mysteries, these are read alone but you really should go back to the beginning to really appreciate all the (mis)adventures that Norrie and her fellow wine trail friends experience. Norrie’s day job is screenwriter and often for Hallmark style movies. The characters are engaging and the plot does a great job of building up. There are plenty of clues and just as many distractions. This one in particular had a subplot that kept me guessing until the crazy and climatic end. I was giggling as I read.
Lastly, I always learn something new when I read a Wine Trail Mystery and this time was no different. Unfortunately the wineries in my area do not make a Traminette wine. My guess is that we don’t get cold enough for the right varietal down here in Southern California.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Norrie’s extended stay at her family’s vineyard and her career as a scriptwriter should keep her busy. But she cannot resist the challenge of finding the killer of a sleazy developer who wants to ruin the ambience of the Finger Lakes. He was practically tarred and feathered at a meeting that saw his proposal passed in spite of wide spread community disapproval so there is no shortage of people with serious grievances. Someone felt strong enough to murder him and try to frame another one of the local winemakers. Norrie is quite prepared to go to extremes to unmask the villain, especially when there is also sabotage going on against the winemakers like Norrie who are trying to introduce a new traminette wine variety into the region.

At least she acknowledges that she is playing very close to the line but she has enablers who support her efforts which, with a major blizzard and then a major ice storm, are going to make things even more dangerous. She is also smart enough to try and do her crazy stunts in as safe a way as possible. Turns out it is not going to possible. And that leads to some exciting moments for both Norrie and the reader.

Four purrs and two paws up.

As a wine lover, this title and cover caught my eye. I was looking for a cozy mystery involving just that, and J.C. Eaton did not disappoint. Although this is book 9 in the The Wine Trail Mystery series, it could easily be a standalone book. Norrie is a fun, intelligent sleuth who is running a winery for her sister and husband, who are out of the country researching rare bugs. When someone is murdered at a neighboring winery and Norrie's friend, Madeline, is suspected, she takes it upon herself to clear her name. Thus putting herself in harm's way. Norrie is not afraid of danger and I enjoy all of the friendships in her life. This book kept me guessing and I plan on reading the rest of the series. Thank you, NetGalley, for the advanced copy.

#CaughtintheTraminette #NetGalley is another cute addition to this series. Norrie is a fantastic character and she did not disappoint me in this latest book.
I was engaged throughout the story and found myself interested in traminette grapes, and the difference in how it's made.
It's always nice learning something different when ready a cozy mystery and I'm looking forward to the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

Penn Yan, New York: Norrie Ellington, screen writer for Hallmark movies, is currently babysitting the Two Witches Winery for her sister who’s off gallivanting with her hubby who’s looking for bugs in the Philippines. She and pal Theo (another winery owner) are off to the monthly meeting of Wineries fo the West (WOW), anticipating a dull hour or so (but with good coffee and pastries). The meeting agenda has been hijacked however; there is a developer wanting to put up a high rise on nearby Keuka Lake. Not only will this destroy the peaceful lifestyle the locals enjoy, it’s likely to invite other developers leading to too many tourists, too much traffic, strain on the infrastructure - all those things people move away from big cities to avoid. The group plans their attack, only to be derailed when the board approves the development, 4 - 3.

Down, but not out, WOW starts investigating. Were some of the board members blackmailed or bribed? What about the rumors that similar projects of the developer are sub-par and falling down? Before they get too far, there’s another issue: the developer is found dead, next to a vat of wine belonging to the head of WOW, Madeline Martinez. Not only was he found on her property, but Madeline had several very public arguments with the victim and had an even bigger reason to hate him compared to the others as he had outbid her for a plot of land. Norrie and Theo ramp up their investigation as Madeline couldn’t have done it.

This was the 9th book in this series, and I found parts of this book were highly enjoyable; other parts, not so much. My biggest issue was that I felt I didn’t ‘get’ Norrie. She seemed more like someone in junior high or high school than an adult as she managed to get into some slapstick-is situations - a very different character than what I was expecting. There were too many subplots, several which didn’t add anything to the book for me - one of my pet peeves. When she meets an attractive reporter, she tells him that she’s seeing someone, then spends the rest of the book trying to convince herself that she’s happy with her boyfriend and not attracted to him. Unless this is a follow up from previous installments, it felt like it was just padding to make the book longer. Likewise, the subplot about bug DNA - why give someone a ‘gift’ that is useless to 99.9999% off the population that has to be kept in a refrigerator?

Still, I found the book entertaining. I enjoyed the tidbits about wine making - enough to be interesting without feeling I’m in Wine making 101. I loved the snow storm! (I’m from the sunny south, so while we’ll occasionally have snow on Monday by Wednesday, it’ll be sunny and 70 - almost like the weather is apologizing for the snow.)

Overall, the book was entertaining enough that I’m planning to pick up the first book in the series (with different expectations of Norrie). I’d recommend “Caught in the Traminette” for a cozy afternoon by the fire. Highly recommended if you’ve read the series before and enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com with voluntary reviews cross posed on amazon.com and Goodreads.com.

Caught in the Traminette

The Wine Trail Mysteries #9

By: J.C. Eaton

Publish Date: 07 November 2023

Publisher: Beyond the Page

Humor & Satire/Mysteries & Thriller

#CaughtintheTraminette#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

Good Reads Synopsis:

You can’t plant traminette if you’re behind bars . . .When reluctant winery owner Norrie Ellington is gifted with cockroach DNA, she thinks things couldn’t get worse. But then the body of a noted developer is found at a neighboring winery, and all fingers point to her friend Madeline Martinez. It doesn’t help that Madeline was seen having verbal altercations with the man on two different occasions, when he outbid her for lakefront property, she planned to use for planting traminette grapes. It’s no wonder Madeline has found herself behind bars, and worse yet, someone is gunning for Norrie. With wine to be racked, roach DNA to be stored, and a slew of unsavory suspects, Norrie must put her screenwriting on hold and her sleuthing skills to work before she finds herself alongside her friend, or—heaven forbid—the next victim of a ruthless killer.

Book Review:

This is a great book, and I gave it 4 stars. I love the friendships in this book. How they look out for each other and even get it messes for each other. This is the 9th book in the series, but you really don’t have to read the other books to know who the characters are and how they got to be there. The author does a great job with giving you clues and a little background information. I have read and another book from this series a little while ago. Good reads give you enough details to really want to read this book. I just want to say that you will fall in love with Norrie and her friends. She gets herself into situations that she always needs help with, and her friends are there for her. You laugh and say really what now.

This is the ninth in the Wine Trail Mystery series. J. C. Eaton delivers another funny tail. It includes ex-wives, evil developers, traminette grapes, and cockroach DNA. I liked the subplots, the characters, and fun.
Without giving anything away, I hope you enjoy this mystery set in upstate New York. The authors never fail to deliver.
I was given an advanced e-copy via Netgalley. Thank-you to the writers, publishers, and audience that enables this series to continue. These are my own opinions.

Wine country cozy
Usually silent partner Norrie Ellington occasionally takes over the winery so her sister can accompany her husband on his travels. Unfortunately things seem to happen at these times, this is no exception. A battle with the locals and a developer heats up when said developer is found dead and a local vintner arrested ...and Norrie just can't stay out of it.
The tale is full of intrigue, humor and bits of romance. The variety of characters adds greatly to the story. This is an amazing series and I recommend it highly.
I requested and received a Netgalley arc to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

When a developing interloper buys lakefront land, the locals are not happy that it will change their way of life and view. When the developer is found dead and the head of WOW is the lead suspect, Norrie and her neighbors find themselves sleuthing yet again. This time it seems the killer may be after the winery owners and that means they’ve got to find out whodunit before they find themselves fermenting in their own vats of wine.

I adore this series and hope Norrie’s sister and husband never return home and continue to find new bugs in their research.

contemporary, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, snarky, local-law-enforcement, family-dynamics, friendship, Plott-hound, murder-investigation, journalist, winery, developers, verbal-humor, situational-humor, relationships, relationship-issues, snow-season, gossip, made-me-smarter*****

Who hated the developer? Everyone from the wineries to the locals to the soon-to-be-ex-wife! Norrie is covering the winery for her sibling while they are out of country even though her day job is screenwriting and her apartment is in NYC. Once again she is nosy and investigates the murder of a rather dishonest developer. And a good time was had by most! Tons of situational and verbal humor! Fun characters and interesting observations. Loved it!
I requested and received an EARC from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
This is not an unbiased review because my sister has a Plott Hound and I've never seen another in a story and because I love the hilarity.

"When reluctant winery owner Norrie Ellington is gifted with cockroach DNA, she thinks things couldn’t get worse. But then the body of a noted developer is found at a neighboring winery, and all fingers point to her friend Madeline Martinez. It doesn’t help that Madeline was seen having verbal altercations with the man on two different occasions, when he outbid her for lakefront property she planned to use for planting traminette grapes."
This is a good mystery. A murderer with no apparent reason and a break in that seems unsolvable.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

This book seemed a little slow to me and the MC acted a little older than 25 I'm 40 and I don't know what shorthand class is for example. Also she is a little too boy crazy, thinks one dude who she kissed one time is in love with her for some reason, has a bf, but kind of cheats on him in her head and leads the journalist on in a way. Also the mystery seemed a little slow to me its self.

This cozy has some very humorous parts that I enjoyed, however the book as a whole moved a little too slow for me.

If you don't know much about how wineries operate, not to mention what a traminette is, you'll know by the time you finish this book. You'll also know more about cockroach DNA than perhaps you want to know, which puts you right up there with main character Norrie Ellington. A reluctant temporary convert to running a winery, Norrie is still learning the ins and outs of wine making. She wishes the winery's real owners, her sister and brother-in-law, would quit chasing, well, bugs/insects in the far corners of the world and come home and stop sending her things like bugs’ DNA. She'd like to get back to her real job of screenwriting, even if some of the ideas tossed her way by her publisher make her cringe.

I won't do a deep dive into the plot other than to say it largely evolves around finding out who murdered Stanley Hurst, the man wanting to build a supposedly luxury resort in their small town. It'd ruin more than the view, most likely meaning the end to several local businesses. Many community business reps, including Norrie, spoke out against the development but it was okayed anyway. Then Stanley is found dead. It's when Norrie's friend Madeline becomes the chief suspect that Norrie becomes involved. But, wait...there are other suspects. Stanley's proposal was not popular, to be honest, leading to the question of why it was passed. And, Zenora, the local psychic, seems to be one a roll for accurate, rather scary predictions. Maybe Norrie should have burned that sage.

Bottom line, this was a quick, fun read but seemed to start slowly for me. I liked the characters but it took me awhile to get them straight in my head, which may be on me for finding things slow going. There were also lots of coincidences. I did enjoy the interactions between the characters although, whoa, given how often they prompted or warned each other with a kick under the tables, Norrie and friend Theo must be constantly black-and-blue. They work well together, however, despite this rather painful prompt. Even the flamboyant psychic, Zenora, seemed to have a heart of gold. Thanks #NetGalley and #BeyondThePagePublishing for introducing me to Norrie and her circle of friends. I'll be on the lookout for her next adventure now that I've got everyone straight. That last "catch" was a hoot.