Reading journalist Jamie Goode’s post recently on Twitter about ‘every good writer needs to read in order to become a better writer’ reminded me that we are now all so busy and consumed with online social media that when we aren’t trawling through Facebook or Twitter we are probably eating or sleeping. But I have to say, I do love a good read and while I’m normally too tired in the evenings to read in bed like my good wife does, a weekend away or a nice half-term break is normally a good queue for pulling out a good book.

But of course those of us in the wine trade can get a bit “wined out” and holiday reading often takes on a completely different subject matter, or in my case, it is normally a fine tomb of non-fiction history or else a top sports autobiography. So it was a great surprise to be sent a pre-release review copy of novel “Root Cause” by author Steven Laine.

I’m not going to rehash the whole storyline in a non-spoiler kind of way but needless to say, this is a really fun, clever, well written fiction soft back novel that covers a wine trade team comprised of Corvina and Brian who together set about investigating and discovering the cause and spread of a new genetically modified strain of resistant phylloxera that threatens to wipe out the world’s great vineyards once again.

So if you do get a chance to pick up a few new books this summer, you could certainly do a lot worse than reading this enjoyable, creative, globe trotting wine themed novel by Steven Laine. It won’t change your life but it will keep you entertained.