The Case of the Voracious Vintner

The awkward second Middlemark Mysteries romantic mystery (after The Case of the Sexy Shakespearean) features two gay vintners and a corpse in Paso Robles, Calif. Bo Marchand is a closeted Georgia transplant who lusts after Hill Top Wineries owner Jeremy Aames. When Hill Top starts getting squeezed out of the local market, Jeremy suspects rival Ernest Ottersen of industrial espionage. Bo, who owns nearby Marchand Wines, offers to help Jeremy save his business, as an excuse to get closer to him. Though there are some mixed signals, the men eventually become lovers. They also partner up to investigate the dead body Jeremy discovers in Hill Top’s tasting room. Lain is best at building the romance between the charming Bo and the handsome Jeremy, but less sure-footed with the mystery. When the story reveals Jeremy’s big dark family secret, or the guys have sex at a Dionysian party while trying to ferret out the killer, credulity gets stretched tighter than leather pants. The extreme tonal shifts and dramatic behavior may not bother fans of romantic escapism, but the parts are greater than the whole. (Apr.)