Party Wine: A Sofi & Cenzo Mystery

By D.R. Ransdell

The man looked up from his paperwork. "S ?"

He seemed too nonchalant to be in charge, but no one else was around.

"Lei il capitano?"

The man yawned. "Yes, I'm the police captain. How can I help you? Stolen purse? Lost dog?" His wedding ring caught the sunlight as he waved his hands. His imitation of a music conductor made him typically Italian.

"My cousin-in-law died in my balmetto."

At least that got his attention. Not everyone in Piemonte owned a party house, known as a balmetto, a specialized structure that hugged the mountains and kept wine at a constant sixty degrees.

Nobody else had found a dead relative inside one, either.

When Italian-American Sofi Francese heads to Italy to restore the family property, she takes on a bigger task than she imagined. Each repair takes more time than the last. As a final obstacle, hours before the party to celebrate the end of the renovations, she finds a dead relative in her cellar. Ivano didn't die of natural causes. He was murdered.

The natural thing would be to cancel the celebration, but local police captain Cenzo Bot encourages Sofi to continue as planned, fib about the mayor's absence, and give Cenzo the chance to eavesdrop on the gossipy villagers.

Cenzo learns nothing of importance, but Sofi is invited to join the local band. During the next night's rehearsal, Sofi gathers clues. She's hampered by her fellow musicians, however. They don't care about the deceased, but they're all dying to buy Sofi's property. Won't she sell it at a good price?

Not even at a bad one. By now she's too invested in learning about her ancestors to drop her unofficial investigation. She helps Cenzo gather information on the bocce ball courts, but can they unlock the truth quickly enough to prevent another murder?

Take an armchair trip to Piemonte to follow Sofi's trip into the thorny vineyard of a small Italian village where the locals not only make their own red wine but will do almost anything to protect it. That is, unless they're busy feasting, making wine, or playing bocce ball

Awards:

Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem 2023 FINALIST

Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards 2023 FINALIST

Silver Falchion, 2023 FINALIST

Although D.R. Ransdell lives in Tucson, Arizona, in this book she borrows from her Italian heritage. The setting of Monteleone is very like her cousins' village outside Ivrea, which lies in Piemonte. The townspeople are friendly, warm, and fun-loving. Since they never stop talking, she gets the chance to practice lots of Italian whenever she visits.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BCZ1JPB5
• ISBN13: 9798846788442
• Release Date: September 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"