TWISTED VINES

An unexpected inheritance gives recently widowed Ohio crime analyst Caitlyn Tilson Pepper loads of chances to exercise her investigative talents.

When Cait receives a phone call from a California lawyer telling her that she’s inherited a vineyard and two Shakespearean theaters, she thinks it’s an April Fools’ joke. Finally convinced, Cait makes the trip and discovers that Tasha Tilson Bening was her aunt, her father’s unknown-to-her twin. Since her parents are both dead, it’s up to Cait to make sense of the family secrets on her own. She meets Navy SEAL Royal Tanner, who’s been watching the place on Tasha’s behalf ever since a series of unsettling incidents occurred, and Tasha’s secretary, Marcus Singer, whose criminal record and unforthcoming demeanor make for an uneasy relationship with his new boss. After learning that her aunt’s death may have been murder rather than the heart attack attorney Stanton Lane had mentioned, Cait must decide whether she wants to remain on the valuable and fascinating property or return to Ohio. As Cait digs deeper into her family’s past, she uncovers some shocking news that will change her life. But the troubling past may not be the only factor to place her in mortal danger if she continues with her plans to take over the reins of her aunt’s enterprises.

Suspense and romance, though not much mystery, meet in Price’s debut, first in a planned series.