Dani Simms

Dani Simms writes cozy mysteries that combine local investigations with her interests in dogs and wine culture. Murder at the Festival is the first full novel in the Read Between the Wines Cozy Mystery series, following the introductory cellar series novella. The story brings Avery Parker back to her hometown after the death of her husband and places her at the annual wine festival connected with Le Blanc Cellars. When a visitor is found dead, her sympathy for his widow draws her into an inquiry involving a curious stone and a larger local scandal. Simms lives in Southern California with her three sons and a German shepherd mix, and she has described visits to central California wine country as part of her continuing regional research. Published in 2023, Murder at the Festival adds recipes and wine pairings to its conventional puzzle structure. Its vineyard setting, amateur investigator, recurring community, and restrained treatment of crime place the novel firmly within contemporary cozy mystery rather than those of procedural or hardboiled fiction.