A Vintage Murder: A Wine Lover’s Mystery When things in the land down under start to heat up, murder steps in. Nikki and her boss-turned-boyfriend came to Australia to visit the Hahndorf Winery, but it seems they’ve also walked onto a movie set. And when lead actress Lucy Swanson is found dead in her trailer, [...]
A Vintage Murder: A Wine Lover’s Mystery
When things in the land down under start to heat up, murder steps in.
Nikki and her boss-turned-boyfriend came to Australia to visit the Hahndorf Winery, but it seems they’ve also walked onto a movie set. And when lead actress Lucy Swanson is found dead in her trailer, bitten by a poisonous snake, Nikki must comb the vineyards of the valley to catch a killer with a venomous streak—before she’s struck herself.
Customer Review: Terrific continuation of this series
As the latest installment of this fun series, this book starts to get more into detail on the lives of the main characters. I enjoyed this one very much, but I’ve liked the series from the beginning. I love wineries and am fascinated by their inner workings, so this book series really works for me.
Customer Review: Delightfully Delicous Mystery
What’s to say, but once again a great book from my favorite author. I have enjoyed all of the wine lover’s mysteries and this one is no exception. Once again the reader is taken for a fun, comedic, mysterious ride and this one is set in Australia.
In this segment, Nikki has made a decision on which man is the right man for her and to no surprise for followers the series, it is Derek Malveaux.I personally loved the charming Andres, but Derek is a hard one to resist. Things turn deadly as usual, when a big time “wench” of an actress ( I am being nice here) making a movie on a vineyard that Nikki and Derek are visiting winds up dead by a snake bite. Nikki believes it is foul play and she sets out to prove her theory correct. Lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending that reminds one of Hitchcocks’s PSYCHO makes this book well worth the read. Pick up the entire series first though because it all leads up to this one and you’ll be happy you did.
I absolutely find this a fun and delightful series. Of course, Simon is a scene stealer. He is Nikki’s BFF and a reader can’t help but love him. Anyhoo, pick up the book and the series. I hope there’s more to come.
A Taste of Lucca: Hosting a Northern Italian Dinner Party : Recipes, Menus, Planning, Wines
Customer Review: Excellent book on the cooking of Lucca
The author of this book is American, with parents from Lucca, Italy. This book is clearly written for Americans but with the authenticity of someone that loves the place of their parents birth.
The book gives a little history of Lucca, which is a beautiful little walled city, if you have not had been fortunate enough to visit. I loved the discussions of the festivals in Lucca. Until I read this book I had realized that I visited there during the festival of the holy cross.
The book outlines menus to emphasis different ingredients, a very Italian concept.
The recipes are grouped as follows:
Antipasti
Primi - soup, rice and pasta
Types of Pasta
Secondi - beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish
Verdure - vegetables
Sughi - sauces
Uova - eggs
Insalate - salad
Dolci - dessert
Formaggio - cheese
Each recipe is rated by a difficulty factor that appears reasonable to me. The author gives variations for some of the recipes.
The author also has a little wine guide in the back. She gives a description of the Italian wines, and then tells you which foods she thinks pair best with those wines. There is also a little glossary of Italian terms included.
This book is a paperback, and does not include glossy pictures. But, the recipes are so spot on that I had to give it 5 stars even without pictures.
Overall, I think the author has done a very nice job of bringing the food of Lucca to America. If you know someone who has roots in Luca, or just someone that loves Italian cooking, this is a nice addition to a cooking library.
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