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| Blood into Wine | 
 enlarge | Author: Julia Odegard
Publisher: Amazon
Category: Book
Buy New: $0.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 3662540
Format: Download: Pdf
Media: Digital
Pages: 8
ASIN: B0011G9Y8G
Publication Date: December 18, 2007
Availability: Available for download now
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Inspector Renzo Dante stares in fury at a gaping hole where the heart of the famous wine baron Augusto Venturi has been ripped out. One question puzzles Renzo. Augusto only had three months to live. Why kill a dying man? The answer lies in the hidden heart of Napa Valley. Was it the scheming young widow with visions of a wine empire? The environmental activist incensed at the rape of the land? The ringleader of a political fringe group? And how are a young Mexican woman and her child involved? With the aid of Igor Tarakanoff, the eccentric head of San Francisco's C.S.I., Renzo and his young partner Inspector Jackie Wong search through the heat, dust, and glitterati of Napa Valley for a cold-blooded killer. But their investigation is compromised when a woman from Renzo's past, now a Hollywood star, reignites an old flame and is drawn into the case. All the while the murderer waits, watching through the scope of his high-powered rifle. When he strikes again, Renzo is in the crosshairs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Strong setting and characters for a suspenseful mystery February 28, 2008
What an opening! Det. Renzo's at the San Francisco Opera House earning an well-deserved break when he discovers a vicious murder in the mens room. Worse, Renzo knows the victim and it's clearly someone he cares about.
Further south, a young Mexican boy and his family have entrusted themselves to a Coyote to take them North to the "City of Saint Francis where the grapes grow." The moon will be full, but they must be silent or Coyote will leave them in the desert to be eaten by the bugs...
I'm certain these stories will interweave in a fascinating fashion. Ms. Odegard has a strong knack for setting scenes. The quiet death investigation as 'the show goes on' at the Opera House, the 'blinding eyes' of the searchlights on the Mexican Border.
She's also very good at showing us a character quickly with just a few words of dialog. When Renzo's partner receives the call about the murder, Jackie jokes, "I thought you'd be at the Opera dressed in a tux like Bond. James Bond."
Julia Odegard's got a flair for the dramatic and I believe this will pay off with a rich vintage in "Blood into Wine." I wish her very much success with her writing and hope to see this book soon.
 Interesting Premise February 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This excerpt has a great start, a poetic description of a brutal murder scene. The Opera House is an excellent location for a murder, and the victim missing his heart makes for an intriguing death scene.
The conversation between Renzo and Jackie on the phone is a bit unrealistic, though. Renzo is obviously not a patient man, and Jackie should know that about him and should make an effort to be more serious and less childish in his reaction to the news of the murder. I'd think even a brand-new police officer wouldn't be so jubilant at the thought of a brutal murder, and based on his reactions I'd have a hard time taking this character seriously.
The opera house manager is a realistic character, and I like his interaction with Renzo.
The next scene, though, of Renzo confronting the body, comes across as phony. Surely there are better uses of his time than getting emotional and talking to the body, especially as he tries not to let his emotions show and I'd think it would be hard to reign in his feelings when the other officers arrive. Wouldn't it make more sense to detach himself completely until he's at home and has some time to himself?
I really liked the scene of the small boy and his mother crossing the border from Mexico. The boy's thoughts about Coyote are vivid and seem realistic, as do the man's reactions to the boy. I like the way the boy thinks of himself as different animals as he tries to have the right reaction to his situation. I'd like to see how this scene ends up fitting into the murder story.
I found myself annoyed by Igor's accent, which made it harder for me to get into the story, as I had to think about what he was saying instead of feeling immersed in the action and dialog.
Igor's reaction to the victim was a bit over the top, as was Renzo shouting back at him. These men are professionals and Igor, like Renzo, should have been able to put aside who the man was, despite how angry and upset he was, and do his job with a clear head. As CSI chief, he must have encountered numerous upsetting cases in his career. He'd need to know how to put aside his rage.
The cooling-down conversation between Igor and Renzo is also unnecessary here, and stalls the plot. I wanted to see the investigation and learn more about the murder, but instead I was stuck between two fighting officers and the clueless young partner. Jackie's realization of who this man is also is unnecessary, since we already have this information from the other characters, and the readers don't care if Jackie knows the victim or not.
There is some potential in this story as an exciting chase after a deranged killer. The characters, however, were a bit grating and stereotypical. I'd like to see them drawn more realistically, and to have some of the unnecessary description cut out of the story.
 The Author Defends Her Work February 11, 2008
I understand that the Publisher's Weekly Review has effectively ended the chances of "Blood into Wine" making it into the finals. So I have nothing to lose in defending my work and making a few suggestions as to how Amazon can make future contests fair.
We all know that every reader, including a hired reviewer, is human and therefore brings his or her own preferences and prejudices to the reading of a book. A paragraph doesn't allow much space for serious analysis, but a truly professional critic sets aside emotion, and strives for an intelligent discussion of the pros and cons of the book.
This was not the case with the Publisher's Weekly review of my novel. It is difficult to respond to this review because all we get is a tone of scornful sarcasm. Something about "Blood into Wine" angered the reviewer so much that he or she chose to abandon professional integrity and purposely misrepresent the novel by quoting phrases out of context in order to distort the authenticity of the dialogue and the reality of the characters. Quoting phrases out of context is a cheap shot that can diminish even the greatest novels. Phrases out of context, without the support of character motivations or scene dynamics, are exposed and vulnerable to misinterpretation. In the case of "Blood into Wine", the phrases quoted were often ironic comments by the characters, not serious statements.
Furthermore, the PW reviewer suggests the Napa I describe is "full of unlikely characters". I have lived in Napa Valley and continue to visit often. The characters I've created are based on real-life observation. The Valley is made up of very diverse groups and interests. Winery owners, Mexican laborers, environmentalists, builders, tourists and outsiders (in this case the detectives) are often in conflict. It is not a world of black and white. There are at least two sides to every story. I did not write "Blood into Wine" to be controversial but to represent the many shades of gray that are part of the Valley and impact Renzo's and Jackie's investigation. My feeling is that the Publisher's Weekly reviewer found those shades of gray uncomfortable because they didn't fit a politically correct mold.
Also, the PW reviewer reduces the investigation to "Dante and Wong question a handful of suspects and sample a half-dozen bottles." This ignores all the action scenes that put the detectives in harm's way, threaten the immigrant mother and child, bring about the death of an innocent suspect, and heighten the suspense as the real murderer closes in on his targets.
I hope the judges will take another look at "Blood into Wine" and form their own opinions about its merits or weaknesses. And I suggest that in the future Amazon does not post the Publisher's Weekly Review until the END of the contest. This way, readers will not be prejudiced one way or another by what seems to be the "authoritative" review. It's as though just before a race someone comes around with a bat, smashes the knees of a number of the runners and then shouts, "Now . . . compete!" Not really fair, is it?
I want to read more of this novel! February 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow! If I had read the opening chapters of this novel standing on one foot and the other at the bookstore, I would definitely make my way to the register to buy it--although my progress would be slow, as I would still be reading to find out what happens next. The novel has all the makings of a great read--interesting characters, an intriguing plot, an unbeatable setting (who can resist the Bay Area?), good descriptive writing, and most important for me--excellent dialogue. So many novelists--especially mystery writers--have a tin ear and are unable to differentiate their characters through speech. Nor do they have any concept of subtext, which makes the dialogue ring flat or hollow. It must be Ms. Odegard's background in acting that gives her characters such roundness and individuality and allows her to create dialogue that reveals meaning or intention below the surface. As a result, I believe in the characters, I hear them, I see them in my mind's eye--and I want to find out more about them and what the plot has in store. In short, I'd like to read more of this novel.
Wine, Women, and Murder January 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
So why is it that women love murder mysteries? It's certainly not the violence. Violence is generally male terrain, and the genre that portrays it is usually the "thriller." But violence does not tend to thrill women.
No, in a good murder mystery, the violence is already over before the plot begins. The interest lies in the solving of the crime, in the restoration of moral order, in the emotional aftermath of the murder. A good murder mystery demands exceptionally interesting characters, both victims and investigators. It also needs fascinating settings, challenging clues to sift through, and, finally, the discovery of a truly believable motivation for the crime.
By this standard, the sample from Julia Odegard's Blood Into Wine is a great success. In the opening scene we are treated to a startling juxtaposition of rank bestiality and high culture, as a tuxedo-clad cop struggles to decipher the gruesome clues--blood and gore, spattered like a Jackson Pollock painting on the wall of the Opera House men's room.
The characters are expertly drawn, and very unlike the whitebread cast of most mysteries. I especially like the elegant Inspector Renzo and the manic Russian bear of an investigator, Igor Tarakanov--they're both characters with "legs."
The promise of a trip to the Wine Country, Renzo's encounter with an actress, and, no doubt, the murderer, is irresistible. I am looking forward to Ms Odegard's recounting, in lurid detail, I hope, the remarkable beauty of the Napa Valley, the fascinating citizens of that little Eden, and all the emotional carnage caused by the murder of Augosto Venturi.
The beginnings of a fascinating story, beautifully written.
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