Labeled for Death

Amy Hobbes #2

by Michele Drier

Vineyards around Monroe are being harvested, the ripe grape bunches sliced off the vines and trucked to wineries, where they’ll be crushed to make some of California’s finest wines. Amy Hobbes, managing editor of the Monroe Press has other stories in mind, until Clarice Stamms, her cops reporter blows in with news about another harvest, two bodies tucked up under the vines. The field workers were stabbed and their throats sliced. Are they just victims of a worker’s anger?
When the town’s most popular and well-known hooker turns up at the vineyard’s labor camp, sliced and stabbed as well, Amy and Clarice are on the hunt again, the adrenaline tingling down their nerve endings.
Who’s the killer stalking the vineyards and why?

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2013

Reviews

[Christa Nardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder and wine make a perfect pairing! Amy Hobbes is really the editor and Clarice is the police beat reporter, but Amy is helping Clarice as the "bad luck" of the DiFazio/Govicche vineyards. It all seems a bit too coincidental. In order to figure out a motive and possibly solve the mystery, Amy has to research the history of the vineyards. Drier provides an informative history, going back to prohibition. At the same time, she moves the story forward at a steady pace.

This is the second in the series and there is sufficient back story on Amy that she is a likable character and this story can be read as a stand-alone. That said, I suspect as in most series, it would be a good idea to read EDITED FOR DEATH and get to know Amy and Clarice even better! I plan to go back and read that one...

[Kait Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy, Clarice, Phil, and the Sheriff are back in the second offering in this series. The story grabs you from page 1 with the death of Angel, a local hooker and doesn't let up until the last page. Drier has series writing down to a science. She peels back the history of her setting and the relationships of her characters little by little throughout both books. The technique is so effective that by the end of the first chapter, you are not reading a novel, you are living the story. Well done. The plot is tight, with clue building upon clue until the villain is reveled. Drier lets you in on the process of the investigation, sharing information throughout the book. Well done, well written, vastly satisfying.

[Deb Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another super mystery, well done!

Drier writes a mean mystery with a touch of romance. But it's the Story that pulls you in & makes you want to keep reading. This is the second in a series about Amy Hobbs, a Newspaper editor, who just happens to be a woman. Amy has been a widow, a divorcee, and at 40ish she is learning who she is & how she fits in a changing world. And, oh yes, along with her best reporter, the town sheriff and a possible love interest she tries to solve mysteries, often putting herself in danger. The thing that I like best about this series is EVERYTHING. Drier tells a great story with characters who are easy to like & root for. Definitely a series to follow. Highly recommended.