Lifting the Lid

Lifting the Lid

By Bonnie Espie

Pages

255

Rating

4.50

Year

2026

Cozy MysteryMysterySouth Africa

Description

Secrets are stacking up like wine barrels in the heat. And this year’s ferment? It’s definitely going sour.

Winifred and Sylvie are keeping one eye on the dwindling bank balance of their bookshop-café and another on the menacing villager who knows too much about their side-hustle, which is anything but legal. When a wine-themed reality TV show rolls into town, the village of Riviersvalleij erupts in excitement. For Winnie and Sylvie, it should be a welcome distraction. But there’s nothing more real than reality TV and the cameras bring their own complications.

Sylvie is convinced the slick presenter is greasier than her freshest vetkoek and Winnie chokes on her Sauvignon Blanc when she hears that Skokiaan, the mampoer king, is suddenly bottling five-star wine.

But then a body turns up in the leiwater... When survival depends on keeping the freezer door — or wine vat — firmly shut, how far will Winifred and Sylvie go to protect their deadly secret?

Lifting the Lid by Bonnie Espie - Bookist