I was asked to read & review this book and I received an advanced copy in exchange. I jumped at the opportunity because a book is always worth reading, it was about WINE and it was a mystery novel!
Can you imagine a world without wine?
Corvina Guerra is a flying winemaker who dreams of one day settling down in her native Italy on her family’s vineyard. On a visit to a vineyard in Italy, Corvina makes a startling discovery: Phylloxera, a menacing plant louse that devastated vineyards in Europe more than a hundred years ago, has infested the vines.
The deeper Corvina and Bryan search, the more they become convinced that Universal Wines holds the answer to everything, and the harder they pursue their investigation the more surprises pile up for both of them.
In spite of devastating consequences, Corvina and Bryan vow to continue their investigation and do what they can to contain the spread of the infestation – but time is running short and they always seem to be a step behind. Unless they can find a way to stop the Philomena – vineyards around the world will be ruined for decades; potentially causing the collapse of the wine industry. Can Corvina and Bryan get to the root cause and save the international wine industry from ruin?
Okay, first of all, a world without wine? Don’t joke about such a thing! What would happen to Wine Night with the girls? Half price Wednesdays? What would I drink?
I enjoyed this book. There is a lot of information about wine, wine making, the history, becoming a Master of Wine, which type of grapes grow where, etc. These facts were scattered throughout the book and I learned quite a bit.
Being somewhat of a hopeless romantic, I would have liked to see more flirting and romance between Corvina and Bryan.
There were a few things that I really liked for no reason other than personal preference. The main man was named Bryan (spelled with a Y) ~ I loved this because my son’s name is Bryan with a Y. The author is Canadian and there were numerous Canadian references throughout the book. With all the books I’ve read, there haven’t been a lot of Canadian references in them. It’s really cool to see this.
The mystery part of the book was interesting and I was guessing for a while on how it would end. The characters spent a lot of time travelling and reading about others travels (even fictional) is like candy for those of us that travel a lot. The plot moved along enough to keep the suspense going.
“Root Cause” was a great read and I’m looking forward to the next book, “Dragonvine”. Give this one a read if you like wine, travel and mystery.
About the Author
Steven Laine is from Ontario, Canada and has dual Canadian and British citizenship. He has travelled the world working in luxury hotels for international brands including The Ritz, Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, Jumeirah and Pan Pacific. When he was Beverage Manager of a five star hotel in London, he learned all about wine and has since visited over one hundred vineyards and wineries in Napa, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Lebanon, and South Africa. As the only North American ever invited to be a Member of the Champagne Academy, he had the privilege to visit and learn from the major Champagne Houses in France. His circle of friends is made up of winemakers, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, restaurant managers, and wine distributors from all over the globe. He is now working on his next novel, Dragonvine.
Settle down to read this book with a glass of red or white and enjoy the adventure!
Happy Reading 💕