Emily Toll. Murder Will Travel (2002) 288 pp. [pbo]
Fifty-two-year old Lynne Montgomery uses the insurance money from her husband’s death to buy the Booked for Travel agency. She leaves Florida for the Sonoma County, California wine country, where she meets her first group of travelers. Instead of a quiet trek, the idyllic tour turns vinegary when Lynne finds the corpse of Lance Belladuce, whose family once owned the Villa Belladuce winery. Detective Lauren Shaw investigates the homicide, which enables Lynne and her fifteen “guests” to be ahead of schedule. Next, someone ruins much of the villa’s wine. This is followed by another murder that finally sends the itinerary over the edge and a desperate Lynne into making inquiries into what happened to her tour.

H.K.