FBI agent Lana Burrell has just been assigned a case in a place she never wanted to go back to, a place she used to call home before her father was arrested for murder in Napa Valley, CA. Now, two women are dead and she wants justice. Her prime suspect is the high school boyfriend’s wealthy mother. Will Lana discover who killed these women and get her innocent father freed?

I had a really good time with this crime drama. This book read like movie. Fast paced, with action, wine, cults, some romance, and family drama mixed in. What more could you ask for in today’s reading landscape. Please check your content warnings.

Brilliant book, tense plot line that kept me guessing until the end and well written characters.
Lana is a strong female lead with a complicated life and I loved how everything wrapped up so well in the end.
Fast paced and full of action, I will read more by this author!

Such a page-turner!!! Full of twists and turns, with a very charismatic main character (Agent Lana). Besides the crime, she also has to deal with things from her past that still affect her. Is not a clean book, by the way, but also not smutty. There is also a cult involved. Overall, really good book. Thanks Netgalley for my Arc!

EKKKK. I am so excited that you gave me early permission to this book. I LOVED it!

The plot was simple. FBI Agent Lana has no choice but to revisit the site of the past she tried to leave behind (such a nightmare).

I wasn’t fully sure what to think of this one as it went on. The plot drew me in quickly, the middle seemed to slow down and made it hard to pick up. The ending was SO WORTH the slow middle. I had some theories on who the murderer was, But was I wrong. I do think the ending was a bit abrupt. Would have liked to see a bit more to wrap it up, but over all this is one of the best thrillers I have read in the last few months.

Cheers to a successful book launch!

I was able to read an early ARC ebook of Blood on thr Vine. While scrolling my socials, I had seen a couple five star reviews and I wanted to make sure I requested a copy. This book was twisty and a great mystery thriller. The female main character was so down to earth and charismatic I loved it. Highly recommend this one!

In Blood on the VInde, FBI agent Lana Burrel is assigned to investigate a pair of murders in her hometown. When she arrives, she is paired with a 60 year old rookie deputy, Essie Leroux. The chemistry between these two is great! The investigation into the deaths leads her to a winery that her father, who is now in prison, used to help manage. As she works the case that may implicate the governor of California, or may be able to get her father released from prison. This is a well paced thriller that includes sex, drugs and wine. A fantastic edge of your seat mystery. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC of this book.

I was completely captivated by this book! The way Lana’s past and present collided had me glued to the pages. As Lana, now a seasoned FBI agent, returned to the Valley, I could feel her determination and strength. The ritualistic passings and the eerie atmosphere kept me on edge, and I loved how the author painted such a vivid and suspenseful picture of the setting. I found myself rooting for Lana every step of the way as she confronted her nightmarish past and unraveled the chilling mystery. The rumors of a dangerous cult and the powerful family breathing down Lana's neck added an extra layer of intrigue and excitement. Lana's journey was both thrilling and emotional, and I loved experiencing every twist and turn through her eyes.

Overall, this book was a fantastic mix of suspense, mystery, and emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and couldn't wait to see how it all unfolded. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a gripping and thrilling read. I had so much fun diving into Lana's world, and I can't wait for more from this author!

Thank you, Crooked Lane Books for the copy of Blood on the Vine by J. T. Falco. I love books about cults and serial killers, so this one sounded like it was right up my alley. Lana and Essie were a great team, and I would love to read more about them. I loved how the story was about a cult, but not from the POV of someone tricked to join, and we find out why people are attracted to it. I liked reading about the competitiveness among winemakers, and how winemaking is kind of a cult! The big reveal was a surprise, but it made perfect sense. This book was graphic in parts, so if that bothers you, be forewarned! 4 stars

I received an ARC of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I did not realize until I just came on here to write my review that the author was a man. Considering that, I am pretty impressed with how he wrote the main character of Lana!

This book was extremely entertaining, with Lana's sarcasm and the wine cliches. Lana was an excellent character - strong and realistic and imperfect and interesting. I would absolutely love to see a series with her as the star.

The author seems to have done quite a bit of research on winemaking. The part about testing the grape must seemed almost sci-fi.

I was shocked with the villain reveal, and as usual, I have a soft spot for any thriller that surprises me.

Looking forward to reading more by this author!

So my favorite character in this book and the one I would love to see more of is Essie. She wasn't the lead, but was so much more interesting than FBI agent Lana. The book really picked up about halfway thru with a few twists thrown in. I would read more from this author.

I cannot get behind the twist in this book. The main character is unlikeable to the nth degree and the pacing drags for what is a relatively short book (320 pgs). Skip this one.

At the beginning of the book I was drawn into Lana’s story and her difficult task of going back to her hometown where tragedy had struck when she was young. Falco did a great job of developing Lana’s character, and you felt for her throughout the entire story. Falco has written a suspenseful novel that grabs you at the beginning, loses you in the middle, but brings you back in at the end. There were plenty of twist and turns that keeps you guessing who the murderer is and why they are killing. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys great suspenseful stories. Lana is an FBI agent that has been assigned to her hometown to investigate two women that have been murdered and were last seen at a Napa Valley Winery. Lana doesn’t really want to go but her boss feels that she is the right one for the job. As soon as Lana arrives in Napa Valley, she is stopped by the sheriff that arrested her father for murder. He isn’t happy to see her on this case and would like her to turn around and leave. That is when Lana decides that she will do her job and find out who is murdering these women. Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blood on the Vine by J.T. Falco is one of those thrillers that pulls you in slowly, but won’t let go once the plot starts cooking!

This story follows FBI agent Lana Burrell. As a teenager, her best friend Jess was murdered and her father was framed for her murder. She’s left the Napa Valley life behind, but when two women are murdered within a month in the same community, her boss calls her in to lead the investigation. As she returns to the past she’d left behind, she must contend with the police officer who put her father behind bars and the Jess’ family, a center of wealthy wine dynasty. With clues of a shady cult in the middle of wine county and a stalker following her every move, Lana works to solve the murders with mounting fear that she could be the killer’s next victim.

I wasn’t fully sure what to think of this one as it went on. The plot drew me in quickly, but I thought it lost a little steam in the middle. That ending though does barrel through! I had some suspicions on who the murderer was, though the extent of the deed I couldn’t have guessed! I do think the ending was a bit abrupt. Would have liked to see a bit more to wrap it up.

I really liked these characters. Lana was a fantastic main character, well developed and sympathetic when she needed to be. The cast of supporting characters are colorful! The doubt is well placed on a lot of these characters which made it exciting. I really loved Essie the best! Her dynamic with Lana was fantastic.

This one is fun. I definitely suggest checking it out once it comes out!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: 4/22/24

This had some fun mystery elements and I loved the Napa location a lot. Some of the dialogue bothered me and felt forced or unnatural but I liked the creepy aspects of the cult angle the author took.

I really enjoyed this one. I love it when a book has me guessing. I am also attracted to a book about dysfunctional families. I really connected to the characters, I cared what happened to them and honestly couldnt put it down.

🍷 F R E A K Y F R I D A Y review 🍷 featuring “Blood on the Vine” by JT Falco!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

FBI Agent Lana Burrell must return home to her roots in Napa Valley to investigate the cases of two dead women. But returning to wine country stirs up the nightmares of Lana’s past: her childhood best friend Jess getting murdered and her own father serving a life sentence for it.

BUT blood runs thicker than wine in Napa Valley and Lana is forced to reconnect with the powerful family and the police department who put her father behind bars. Are the cases all connected?? And what other skeletons are hiding among the vineyards??

GO. IN. BLINDLY!! This book’s SHOCK factor is off the charts! I was a ball of nerves one second and then wanting to punch people the next. The twists and turns mixed in with the grit of a police investigation, the discovery of a secret cult and uncovering decades worth of secrets makes this a WILD & THRILLING RIDE! At times my anxiety was through the roof, yet I couldn’t put the book down!

Read this if you enjoy:
🍷 police procedurals
🍷 secret cults
🍷 all things wine
🍷 Napa Valley settings
🍷 shocking twists

Thank you kindly to @joey_t_falco @crookedlanebooks @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 22, 2025 and needs to be on your radar!

Perfect kind of thriller with all the fun twists and turns. I really like the premise of FBI agent returning to home town and getting caught up in something. Definitely recommend!

My family and I used to vacation in Napa during the summer and so to read a story set there, especially one as juicy and fun filled as this, was a treat. This story had so many surprise twists and turns with an underground secret that I certainly would not expect from the good citizens of Napa! It’s fictional, of course, but the mere thought had me rethinking my every visit. I enjoyed the police procedural aspect of the story too. Overall, a really fun filled, fast paced story!

This is one of the best ARCs I've read in a while...

What I Loved: The mystery aspect was so well done - complex enough to keep me guessing but straightforward enough to turn pages. I usually get bored by the bureaucratic nature of police-led mysteries, but the lead agent's personal connection to the setting and the suspects really helped. So did Essie -- the empty nester who made a late-in-life career move to the police force.

What I Didn't Love: There's a lot more sex than you would expect from this genre. A page or two of explicit details and then a lot of general talk and jokes. It just makes Lana's romance seem more like a booty call than an actual relationship, which makes me not as invested as the author probably wants. I also don't know if you could guess all the missing plot points that would lead you to the culprit, so if you like being actively involved in your mysteries this one might be a little bit of a letdown.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel.

This book was very meh for me. The writing was average and the story did not keep my interest. I tried to keep going but in the end I couldn’t finish it. I gave up about three quarters through.