Blood on the Vine
In J. T. Falco’s atmospheric thriller Blood on the Vine, a seamy side of idyllic Napa Valley is unearthed.
Lana, a seasoned FBI agent in the San Francisco field office, navigates uncertain motives and personal demons as she investigates the murders of several women in her former Napa hometown. The cut-throat competition among Napa Valley wineries cuts across labels and families, spilling wine and blood and ruining lives. Mysterious circumstances surrounding the vineyard deaths hint at connections to undocumented workers; a violent satanic cult; unusual sexual proclivities with secrets to protect; and Lana’s own father, serving time in prison for murdering her best friend in high school, an event that blew Lana’s world apart and that haunts her still.
Lana’s intimate knowledge of the Napa community is a help, but also a curse. She must discern who she can trust from her tainted past and who might possess a motive to kill. As her sleuthing uncovers clues, she becomes a target too.
Lana’s cynical suppositions about fellow dive bar customers and suspects show her experience investigating cases. Her jaded narration reveals her struggle to find authenticity in the gulf between the image and realities of the Napa Valley she fled when her life there imploded at seventeen. She is motivated by a search for justice, ghosts from her troubled past, and instinct. Complex relationships between characters—marked by grudges, blind spots, and fears—add depth. Police procedures, witness interviews, transcripts, news articles, and court documents from the past hint at potential motives of several suspects. Surprising revelations drive the story forward to its propulsive ending.
Blood on the Vine is an addictive mystery novel in which a woman faces unresolved issues from her past to find justice.
Reviewed by
Wendy Hinman
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