Drink You a Little Coupe of Crime, Oenophile

Yes, it’s Crime Month here at The Austin Chronicle, and the bodies are piling up.

Bodies of articles, at least – like this one about the pistol that went missing from Bonnie Parker’s purse when she and Clyde Barrow were gunned down in Louisiana; like this one about the audio series Dr. Death; like this newest one about the Wine & Crime podcast that was just recorded live at the Paramount.

That last one, the Wine & Crime interview? Which is simultaneously part of our Crime Month series and our Drinks Issue theme? Reminds us that we’ve never reviewed thriller maestro Lenny Kleinfeld’s first novel, Shooters & Chasers, about bloody murder in the California wine industry.

And we figure, you’re reading this, you might want to check out that damn fine and funny romp through the treachery of certain vintners who can’t help but mix a little first-degree malice in with their Pinot Grigios and Cab Savs. Maybe turn those compelling pages while sipping at the remains of some Two-Buck Chuck as you relax on your sun-dappled South Austin balcony or, you know, whatever. Because, as others might deserve a little retaliatory bloodshed, that sort of literary pleasure is what you deserve.

Note: The novel is also the first part of Kleinfeld’s excellent Bergman/Dunegan cop trilogy that we have reviewed the second and just-released third parts of.

Go ahead, citizen – click those links and we’ll sing the praises directly into your eyes’ ears.