Ellen Crosby’s The Merlot Murders is the first cozy mystery I’ve read since I was in middle school, and I was admittedly a little tentative about the undertaking… needlessly though, as it turns out! I enjoyed every page-turning moment of the book, especially the well-researched oenophilia and the rich descriptions of Virginia summers. Crosby’s writing style is informed yet approachable.
Much like reading noir, one of the aspects of cozies that I’d forgotten over the years is how enjoyable it is to slip into genre conventions, both in terms of narrative twists as well as character development and archetypes. Her main characters are flawed as humans but engaging and ultimately likable; secondary characters fulfill their purpose in the plot. I’m eager to read the rest of Crosby’s Wine Country Mysteries series to see how Lucie and the others fare across titles.
Full disclosure: In addition to personal curiosity about Crosby’s work, and cozies generally, part of my motivation to read Crosby’s book came from the Route One Reads initiative, in which we selected this as the 2016 title to represent Virginia.
This post is part of #MySummerOfMysteries, a project to immerse myself in mysteries, thrillers, crime writing, and whodunits. For each book I finish, I’m posting brief thoughts and reflections here. Please note that these are not intended as full reviews. To view my reading progress throughout the summer, click here.