Diane Schaffer’s debut crime novel, Mortal Zin, begins as corporate attorney Nollaig Cooper returns to the Santa Cruz wine valley in California after a decade in Ireland. She wants to make a fresh start. Noli’s childhood mentor, John Fitzgerald, has offered her a position at his legal practice and she’ll also be helping her adoptive parents with their vineyard. The Zin, of the title refers to the Zinfandel grape variety, and it’s a book mixing viticulture mystery.
Noli has just arrived when she learns that Fitz has been found dead in a rocky ocean cove. His boat, Mortal Zin, was floating nearby. Since a note was found on the boat, Detective Aaron Rinzler is quick to close the case, insisting it was suicide. However, Rinzler has a history with Fitz and Noli is convinced foul play was involved.
Fitz was happily engaged and was planning to buy some land to fulfil his dream of owning a vineyard, so why would he kill himself. However, his crusades for justice made him an enemy to many. Was someone out for revenge, or did Fitz’s murder have something to do with the land purchase?
Noli, who grew up in the area, was initially raised in a mountain commune before being adopted by Peter and Tina Hanak after the tragic death of her biological parents. For the past two years, their winery’s harvest has inexplicably turned to vinegar, suggesting either a stroke of bad luck or a deliberate act of sabotage. With Fitz dead and the Hanak winery on the verge of financial ruin, Noli faces two daunting challenges.
The land Fitz was intending to buy belongs to the Hanaks, and the money would have kept them solvent. Keeping a small family winery afloat was already difficult, with natural events like fires, earthquakes and droughts to contend with. Now they are back to square one – find a new buyer who will respect the area’s character and wine heritage.
During Noli’s childhood, the valley was a place where people who wanted alternative lifestyles made a home, but ever since the boom of Silicon Valley, the rich have moved in. Peter doesn’t want to sell to a rich tech billionaire. Now, he might have no choice.
Noli teams up with Luz Alvarado, a private investigator Fitz recently appointed. They are convinced Fitz was murdered, but that’s all they agree on. Both are resilient, intelligent and headstrong women. Luz doesn’t trust Noli and questions why Fitz was ready to hand over his practice to her when she had been gone for a decade. Noli sees Luz as hostile and prickly, but they need each other to uncover Fitz’s killer. Assisting the duo are Munch Gutterson, Fitz’s friend and a seasoned surfer, and Irv Shoenstein, his computer and research guy.
Apart from the obvious viticulture thread, Schaffer also incorporates the post-war experiences of Vietnam veterans. After the war, Noli’s father, Peter Hanak and Fitz, all decorated soldiers, returned to Santa Cruz County to pursue their dreams. But the ‘Band of Brothers’ shared a secret they had kept to themselves, one they planned on taking to their graves.
Speaking out against the war on a television programme drew criticism for being unpatriotic, and threatening graffiti has appeared on the walls at the winery. Was this the same person who sabotaged Peter’s wine? Or the same person who killed Fitz?
Diane Schaffer has an impressive and extensive knowledge of the history of winemaking in California and the origins of Zinfandel; however, it does tend to overpower the characters and main narrative. In the end it comes down to taste: Mortal Zin is an aged Cabernet, meant to be savoured and enjoyed slowly. If you like your crime fiction like your red wine, you’ll appreciate Mortal Zin’s slower pace and detailed viticulture backdrop.
Also read our interview with the author, or if you’d like to read more “wine-based” crime fiction, try Cathy Ace’s The Corpse with the Golden Nose.
Sibylline Press
Print/Kindle/iBook
£9.19
CFL Rating: 4 Stars
