This mystery had a decent premise. It's too bad the author couldn't manage a story without her politics leaking out. She employs the worst stereotypes of conservatives while making her liberal characters Mary Sue-style superheroes. This served no purpose other than allowing her to vent. The characters certainly did not benefit, as such cheap stereotypes left the entire cast flat, uninteresting, and mostly unlikeable.

The main character's only talent is being a nosy wine-snob too preoccupied with physical sex to the exclusion of any meaningful relationship. In between overly graphic and unnecessary sex scenes, clues to the murder are uncovered in, at times, improbable scenes. Given the modern day setting, many of the protagonist's and sidekick's actions would have wound up with them being arrested. Miraculously, they are simply too clever or lucky to run into serious trouble with the police. In the one scene where an arrest was logical, the protagonist flirted her way out of trouble.

Overall, a dissatisfying tale with poorly constructed characters that leaves me seeking a different series in my reading journey. ( )

It's been a while since I read this book, and the intervening time and reflection didn't make it any better. I wanted to like it but I just couldn't. I thought the characters were shallow and the mystery got lost. Reviews seemed to be really mixed on this book. Put me in the "unlike" category. Sorry.

"...but then a lot of people thought she was obnoxious and oversexed."

I hate writing negative reviews, especially of a book I was given as an Early Reviewer, but unfortunately the above quote from Death in a Wine Dark Sea perfectly sums up how I feel about the main character, and about the book in general.

The protagonist, Jean Applequist, seems to me to be the very definition of a Mary Sue, a woman who can do everything, who every man wants, who knows everything about wine and can't go five steps without being hit on. Even when she messes up, she is forgiven within three pages, and most likely talking about her expansive and never-ending sex life.

Besides getting so exasperated by the main character that I actually rolled my eyes while reading this book, the mystery isn't very good either. It starts out intriguingly, with the classic box of blackmail material and thus a wide range of suspects with motives. But the mystery becomes second fiddle to Jean and her "shelf" (as her expansive chest is constantly referred to as) and the many men lining up outside her door, to the point where I couldn't even keep all the male characters straight, and didn't even care about the solution to the mystery. ( )

I enjoyed reading this book. Jean Applequist, the main character, is interesting, and I did not find the digressions about wine to be distracting as some other reviewers mentioned. I found Jean to be somewhat shallow. I don't think I would want to read another book with her as a main character. In fact it was difficult to find any of the characters in the book to be appealing but maybe that was part of what I did like. It wasn't the guys in the white hats vs. the guys in the black hats. ( )

Martin Wingo is known as a shrewd businessman who gets his way by blackmailing people. As the book begins, he has turned a new leaf after a heart attack, and has returned all the evidence (which he kept in a blue box) to the rightful owners. He has just married the adopted daughter of his business partner on a yacht in San Francisco Bay. However, before the cake can be cut, Martin is pushed overboard and the search for him begins.

Jean Applequist, a wine critic for a regional publication, was on board the yacht and saw Martin hit the water. She never really liked Martin, but is best friends with Martin's bride, Diane. So, Jean eventually joins forces with Martin's assistant, Zeppo, to find Martin's killer.

This was definitely a page-turner. The suspects are many and each is an interesting character. In addition, there's the developing sexual chemistry between Jean and Zeppo. He has a mysterious past, and she seems to be as much a connoisseur of sex as she is of wine. There are all sorts of sub-plots that keep one's interest without detracting from the story line. I even learned quite a bit about wines by reading this book!

I'd definitely like to read another of Lisa King's books. This one was very entertaining. Besides, I love anything set in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities. Thumbs up! ( )