Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The usual tour at Richington Vale vineyard is disrupted by a nasty discovery. The lifeless corpse of Bob Beacham, the site manager, is found stuffed into a huge fermentation tank. He suffocated to death.

It looks like a tragic accident. Until the paramedics find a deep gash on the back of his head, that is. It’s time to call in Detective Jack Dawes.

Then Doctor Anstruther, who looks after the health of the vineyard workers, is knocked down in a hit-and-run.

It all seems like a coincidence too far, but someone is clearly picking off members of the tight-knit community of Richington Vale.
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Thank you Netgalley & Joffe books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review. I’m a fan of police-procedurals & crime-fiction so when I read the book synopsis that it takes place in a vineyard, I just had to read this!

It reads a bit like an amped up & somewhat dark cozy mystery so I was thrown off a bit at first but as I kept reading, the investigation into the related murders begin to fall into place. About mid-way through the book, I was hooked and flew through the remainder of the book! It was a bit predictable but I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded and look forward to reading another in this series. 3.5 rounded up

law-enforcement, murder-investigation, politics, false-information, family, family-dynamics, small-business, small-town, England, revenge, winery, wife-and-husband-sleuths, catering, witty, situational-humor, verbal-humor*****

All the characters are fascinating, but the ones on the Murder Investigation Team and their spouses (and the SOCOs and ME team) are the fun ones! It looks like several of the killings have been well planned, but the who and why take a while to be revealed among all the red herrings and plot twists. Don't forget about police politics! The murders are well planned but this is not one of those grim procedurals. The team is excellent at doing their due diligence and the wives help along behind the scenes. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Who has a problem with the Vale Vineyard? People associated with the vineyard are being murdered.

First, it's the site manager, but the physician that overlooks the care of vineyard workers states that the manager was a victim of an accident and not murder.

Shortly after, the physician is a victim of a hit and run. Accident? Coincidence? Murder?

DI Jack Dawes and his team are called in to investigate, only to be stonewalled by the owner of the vineyard and his extended family. They all seem to be hiding something ... but what .. and why?

Suspense starts at the very beginning and holds heady until the final act. Characters are deftly defined in a skillful manner.. I like the blend of the personal along with the professional, ie, how Dawes bounces ideas off his wife, as she has intuitive people skills. The conclusion brought forth an ending that was both unexpected ... and satisfactory. Although 8th in the series, this is easily a stand alone, however, this has been a compelling series and would recommend starting withe the first book.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The vineyard manager is found hit on the head and stuffed into a tank of wine to suffocate. Then local GP Jim Anstruther, who was certainly in the pocket of the Richington-Blythe family and responsible for much covering up over many years, is killed in a hit and run, leaving DI Jack Dawes and his team of DCs Aled Williams, Gemma Fox and ”Mitch” Mitchell, and also Clive “the geek” who has a talent for extracting (hacking) information from various sources, with two cases of murder involving the local vineyard in the cosy village of Richington Vale to solve. Corrie and Carlene are running a buffet for Cynthia’s charity event held at the winery when a third person drops dead. With a break in revealing a couple of well-kept secrets and lots of dissention between the family board members, the vines are dying and the business is struggling. How many more bodies will be added to the tally before the detectives can find the killer in this well written and sometimes heart-stopping puzzling case?
This is the eighth book in the highly popular series featuring DI Jack Dawes and his sergeant DS Mike "Bugsy" Malone of the Metropolitan Murder Investigation Team in Kings Richington, Richmond, and what a great team they make! Jack is married to Coriander, a clever lady who runs a highly successful catering company and occasionally "helps" him with his investigations. Bugsy used to be a confirmed bachelor whose only love was Arsenal football team, but recently has met and married Iris, bringing more very welcome additions to the superb cast of characters
Despite the fact that there are some serious crimes going on, there is a lot of humour and charm in the conversations and witty interactions between the characters, making these books an absolute pleasure to read. There are some fantastic warm and loveable characters featuring in this “not quite cosy" police procedural series ranging from Big Ron (Dr Veronica Hardacre) the pathologist with her voluminous knickers, Gormless Gavin her locum and Chief Supt George Garwood ever panicking that he might not look so efficient if Jack ever left, to Carlene with her fierce loyalty to the Dawes, and there are some real laugh out loud moments and phrases. One of my very favourite series!! 5*

The Vale vineyard killer by Frances Lloyd.
Detective inspector Jack Dawes book 8.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked Jack. 4*.

Trouble Brewing…
The eighth outing in the Inspector Jack Dawes series of mysteries and there’s trouble brewing on the Vale Vineyard tour when the site manager is discovered dead in a fermentation tank. Tragic accident? Perhaps not and soon Jack is called in to investigate. With a plot populated with a likeable protagonist and a colourful cast of supporting characters not to mention an engaging storyline littered with much humour this is another wholly enjoyable read and a worthy addition to this entertaining series.

A cozy mystery for a fun afternoon read. Richington Vale Vineyard has a reputation for fine wine, But when employees are dying at the same time of the fall harvest and the vines are also dying, DI Dawes begins to wonder if all is connected.
I

The Vale vineyard tour is disrupted by a nasty discovery. The lifeless body of Bob Beacham, the site manager, is found in a huge fermentation tank. He suffocated to death. It looks like a tragic accident. That’s until the paramedics find a deep gash on the back of his head. It’s time to call in Detective Jack Dawes. Then Dr Anstruther, who looks after the vineyard workers’ health, is knocked down in a hit-and-run. Also the vines are dying too.
This is the eighth outing for Jack & another well written entertaining read. There was a lovely mix of humour & mystery. The humour had me laughing out loud & the mystery kept me guessing. The pace was very good & the characters very well portrayed. I look forward to more in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This mystery will find you trying to figure out who and why the muders are taking place. Youll follow the clues with the coppers to discover the answers.

Detective Inspector Jack Dawes Mystery Book 8

The usual tour of Richington Vale Vineyard is disrupted by a nasty discovery, The lifeless body of Bob Breachan, the site manager, is found stuffed into a huge fermentation tank. He suffocated to death. It looks like a tragic accident. Until the paramedics find a deep gash on the back of his head. It's time to call in DI Jack Dawes.

This is a nice cosy, easy to read book that's just perfect to read on the long dark nights ahead. People who work for or or at the vineyard are being killed.. DI Jack Dawes is called in to investigate, It's fast pace, with a few twists, kept my attention throughout. There's a few laugh out loud moments too. I have not read any of the books in this series but the book does read well as a standalone.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #FrancesLlyod for my ARC of #TheValeVineyardKiller in exchange for an honest review.

Not a series I'd read before but one I shall look for in the future. Rather ghastly and sometimes different murders but not especially gruesome to read. The bodies do add up and the vineyard background could make you think again about drinking. A company in dire straights, vines being poisoned, as well as people, revenge, retribution and an horrible head of a distinctly disjunct family .all add to the flavour. The police are 'nice' people - hard working, caring, happy families - which is a pleasant change. It does feel rather cosy and old-fashioned at times especially with a pretty non-diverse set of characters - clearly set fairly recently but definitely old-style ambience. On the other hand it works well and there are plenty of other types of detective out there. Glad to say that the "3 Cs" don't interfere too much - I really do get fed up with a group of women meddling, getting the better of the police, of course, but then having to be extricated at the end. A villagey feel overall and an enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, despite the murders it had a cosy comfortable feel about it with lots of little domestic touches.
There were certainly enough murders to get your teeth into and the investigating team were both diligent and likeable. The pace of the book was good and I would happily read more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley, Joffe Books, and Author Frances Lloyd for this ARC.

Someone is murdering the workers of The Richington Vale Vineyard, destroying the grapes that make the wine, and the backstage operation. Why?

There were some really fun side stories and the cast of characters was excellent. This was an amusing, entertaining, and fast-paced murder mystery. I have not read any other books from the series, but this served as a great standalone.

Who is targeting the vineyard workers, the vines and the whole operation ?

When the Site manager is discovered in a huge fermentation tank with a huge gash on his head it is clearly not an accident as stated by the doctor but an act of malicious assault leading the case to Detective Jack Dawes

When the Doctor associated with the vineyard is killed in a hit and run there are too many coincident's to rule out a murderer intent on slowly working their way through the staff

Can Jack and his team solve the case or will it be another victory for the 3 c's

The usual tour at Richington Vale vineyard is disrupted by a nasty discovery.... why are members of the community being killed off?

A really enjoyable read. I loved how the murders happened quickly and there was not much delay between each event happening. It reminded me of Midsomer murders, in that it was exciting and mysterious but not too gruesome.

This book is part of a series but I read it as a standalone , and it held up well. A great mystery with a few laugh out loud moments which I couldn't put down.

I enjoyed the little side stories, and interesting backgrounds for the characters and I loved Jack Dawes - I thought he was a fantastic character. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

A murder mystery of large proportions. People who work at, or for, a vineyard are dropping like flies. All with no reason, or using the same Modus operandi. The vines are dying too, just at harvest time.

A good book that made me laugh out loud.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

This book held my attention from the first few pages. The book was well written, and had a good plot. This was the first Jack Dawes police procedural book I've read, and I anticipate reading many more. If you like fast paced, engaging stories, then you'll like this book. I highly recommend this book to other police procedural readers.

An accident that's not really an accident and enough twists and turns to keep you wanting more until the very end.

The Vale Vineyard Killer is a great read with very well-crafted characters and a setting to pull you into the drama.

I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more from this author.