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Root Cause by Steven Laine

On February 19. 2019, Turner Publishing will be releasing a new Mystery/Thriller, "Root Cause" by Steven Laine.  The story unfolds in vineyards throughout the world and the publisher provided me with an advance copy for my review.  The following is the synopsis of the book furnished by the publisher:

Synopsis
Can you imagine a world without wine?

Corvina Guerra is a flying winemaker who dreams of one day settling down in her native Italy on her family’s vineyard. On a visit to a vineyard in Italy, Corvina makes a startling discovery: Phylloxera, a menacing plant louse that devastated vineyards in Europe more than a hundred years ago, has infested the vines.
  
After reporting her findings to her company, Universal Wines, Corvina is charged with investigating the spread of the bug. Nicknamed Philomena by the media, the aphid is soon discovered in vineyards around the world. To aid in her investigation, Corvina recruits a wine expert in London, Bryan Lawless. In pursuit of its origins, Corvina and Bryan embark on a thrilling globetrot on which they uncover that Philomena is being intentionally spread.
The deeper Corvina and Bryan search, the more they become convinced that Universal Wines holds the answer to everything, and the harder they pursue their investigation the more surprises pile up.
In spite of devastating consequences, Corvina and Bryan vow to continue their investigation and do what they can to contain the spread of the infestation – but time is running short and they always seem to be a step behind. Unless they can find a way to stop the Philomena  – vineyards around the world will be ruined for decades; potentially causing the collapse of the wine industry. Can Corvina and Bryan get to the root cause and save the international wine industry from ruin?
I could not put this suspence-filled book down.  Corvina and Bryan travel to the great wine growing regions of Italy, California, Chile, South Africa, Bordeaux and Champagne.  Along the way, we learn the history of Phylloxera and numerous insights into the premium wine industry.  We are reminded that "it all begins in the vineyard".  The book is well written and I can recommend it to anyone with an interest in wine.



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