Gareth Brown’s 2024 novel brings us a little sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, action, and time travel along with crazy characters and lots of drama. Cassie Andrews, a book seller in New York City, receives a magical book from her favorite customer who happened to die in the bookshop.The doors in this wonderful book take her and her best friend Izzy to wherever they wish. They encounter numerous people who also possess “special” books and people who use their books’ powers for evil. The Clos des Fous Pinot Noir we enjoyed tied in the sweet friendship of Cassie and Izzy and this wine that was grown by four friends in Chile.

Alex Michaelides has again written a complex novel with numerous twists and turns and a crazy ending. Ex-movie star Lana Farrar takes her husband Jason and teen son Leo to her private Greek island for Easter. Also included were friends Elliot and Kate, and housekeeper Agathi. The story is told by an unreliable narrator and unfolds across five acts - like a Greek tragedy. Just wait until the end! We enjoyed a 2022 Semeli Moschofilero and Sauvignon Blanc white blend that was vibrant and floral while discussing the colorful history of Greece, the mythology, and its wines.

Taking us back into 1942 France during the German occupation, this historical novel by Kristin Harmel was published in 2020. Eva Traube and her mother were escaping Poland through France to Switzerland after her father was sent to Auschwitz. Eva assisted a French underground forgery operation by creating new names and papers for children smuggled into Switzerland. Within encoded text, she and fellow forgery expert Remy documented the “lost names” of the children in a book. In 2005 an 86-year-old Eva returns to Berlin to find the book and encounters an old friend. With a nod to the French/Switzerland border where most of the novel took place, we enjoyed a white alpine wine from Famille Richel, made from the unique Jacquère grape.