Review: Blood Wine by John Moss

From Goodreads.com: The summer before 9/11, Toronto homicide detective Miranda Quin wakes up to find her lover dead beside her, yet has no memory of going to bed with him. Horrified by the results of the forensic investigation, the normally feisty Miranda moves through events in a daze while her partner, Detective David Morgan, offers support.

Because Miranda is the prime suspect, neither she nor Morgan are able to pursue the case officially, freeing them from jurisdictional constraints. They find it impossible to avoid being pulled into the rush of events that follow from one mysterious death to another in a quirky narrative that brings in a New York policeman who reads Thoreau and a beautiful and dangerous European wine expert who is not what she appears to be. As the plot moves from Toronto to New York and London, a deadly fraud leads to explosive revelations of drug smuggling as a cover for international terrorism.

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 My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I was drawn to this book, not only because of the intriguing synopsis, but also because of the title. And while it did suck me in pretty much from the beginning (and make me worry that the theme of underground terrorists sounds all too plausible), I did find myself getting confused quite a bit. However, this had more to do with the fact that I was unaware when I requested it that it was the fourth book in a series, so there was a lot of back-story and groundwork between the characters already laid that I had missed out on. 

Even with that, I found this novel to be a fast paced and gripping mystery, filled with thrills and "I-can't-put-this-down" moments. I found myself carrying my kindle around with me in an attempt to keep reading even when there were other things I had to do. I worried about the characters, I found myself anxious to find out where things were going, and how deeply the characters would be impacted.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries and thrillers, especially those that are as multi-layered and engaging as this one was.

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way.

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Blood Wine is not yet available. Links will be added once it is published (tentatively June 2014).