One for the Road

At the start of this diverting series launch from Ellis (the Kate Weller series), Chicago travel writer Jill Curtis and Michael Erikson, “her videographer sidekick,” head to Roseville, Ky., “to discover why thousands of tourists flock to bourbon country every year.” They stay at a bed and breakfast owned by a cousin of Jill’s, whose husband, Roger Clark, owns the Black Creek distillery. After learning about the 200-year-old feud between the Clarks and the Shelbys, a family that owns a rival distillery, Jill and Michael make a beeline for Black Creek, where Jill finds Roger lying dead on the floor of his aging barn. She promptly becomes a suspect in Roger’s murder, and just as promptly is exonerated, which allows her plenty of time to be pursued by potential suitors, including handsome Jamie Shelby (“Mister-Tall-Dark-and-Rich”) and “relatively handsome” Lt. Nick Harris of the Kentucky State Police. Jill asks a lot of questions but does no actual detecting, and the simple, often silly plot is heavy on romantic backstories. This cozy is sure to delight Ellis’s fans. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Literary. (Jan.)