CANNED: crime novel set at Penticton brewery

John Arendt
about 22 hours ago

Crime novel set at Penticton brewery

Canned, by Lynda Lock, is set in Penticton’s thriving brewery scene

Lynda Lock’s book, Canned, is a crime story featuring Penticton’s brewery scene. The book is the fourth in Lock’s Death in the Vineyard Mystery series, all set in the South Okanagan. With Lock is her dog, Sparky, who is also featured in the novel.John Arendt/Summerland Review

A crime novel, written by a Penticton author, it features the city’s thriving brewery scene.

Canned, by Lynda L. Lock, features Jessica Sanderson and her mutt, Sparky, in the aftermath of an accident at a fictional craft brewery in Penticton.

While police investigate the death, Sanderson — who is not a police officer — also does some sleuthing and uncovers clues in the case.

While Lock describes the book as a beach read, the story also touches on drug use and addiction, which are noticeable in the city and throughout the country.

“My stories are fluffy, but I also want them based on fact,” she said.

The book is the fourth in Lock’s Death in the Vineyard Mystery series, all set in the South Okanagan.

While her previous B.C. novels feature the region’s wineries and wine culture, Canned involves a death at a brewery.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for the breweries here,” Lock said.

She is familiar with the world of craft beer as she and her husband Lawrie moved to Penticton in 1992, and in 1995 the couple opened Tin Whistle Brewery Co, in partnership with Linda and Richard Grierson. It was the 12th craft brewery to open in the province, and the first in Penticton. The group sold the brewery in 1998. 

Lock’s novel, Canned, was released around 30 years after the brewery started, and 24 years after Cannery Brewing, another well-established Penticton brewery was formed. The release also occurred around the Okanagan Fest of Ale, the long-running Penticton beer festival. 

In addition to her four Okanagan novels, Lock is also the author of the Isla Mujeres Mysteries, a series of seven books all set in Mexico and written when she lived in the area. She has also written three children’s books.

Canned on 293 pages and is available through Amazon Canada and other booksellers.

A launch party for Canned is scheduled for Sunday, April 27 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Cannery Brewing, 198 Ellis St., Penticton. The public is invited to meet the author and have their books signed.

In the beginning: South Okanagan's 1st craft brewery

 

Logan Lockhart
Apr 2, 2022 3:25 PM

The start of the South Okanagan’s brewery scene can be traced back to 1994

Early results indicated that Tin Whistle was a success shortly after its official opening in 1995

The late Lawrie Lock, one of the co-founders of the South Okanagan’s first brewery, pictured in the mid-1990s inside his business. (Photo courtesy of Lynda Lock).

When Lynda Lock and her husband, Lawrie, moved to the Okanagan from Vancouver in 1992, they wanted to put their passion for being adventurous to the test.

Their idea of starting the region’s first brewery may have been simple, but to many, it was too ambitious. The two individuals, along with Lawrie’s sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Richard Grierson, embraced the challenge.

Front: Steve, Richard Grierson, Lynda Lock, Dave Prechel.
Back: Lawrie Lock and Linda Grierson

And from there, Tin Whistle, the South Okanagan’s first brewery, was born in 1994.

“For us to do the brewery, it was just a fun, crazy thing to try,” Lynda said.

At the time, there were eight wineries in the Okanagan. Before their arrival from the Lower Mainland, the Locks always believed they were destined for the wine business.

After realizing the opportunity they had to lead a new scene in the region, however, their approach quickly led to excelling in the brewery business.

“With wine, we didn’t have a clue,” she said.

“You had to grow the grapes and then you harvest them, crush them, go through a bunch of other stuff. So we just decided to stick with something much easier.”

Early results indicated that Tin Whistle was a success shortly after its official opening in the summer of 1995.

But little did the Locks know that their venture would be partially responsible for starting the now vibrant brewery scene in the South Okanagan.

“It was amazing how well it was received at that time,” Lynda said. “And today, you see about 10 breweries within 20 kilometres of each other.”

Opening Tin Whistle didn’t come without feedback from skeptics within the community, who believed the idea of owning a sustainable brewery wasn’t possible in what was known as “wine country.”

“People said ‘are you crazy?’ and I said, yes, I guess we are,” she added.

Lynda Lock is proud of the legacy Tin Whistle, the South Okanagan’s first brewery, has left on the community almost 30 years later. (Photo courtesy of Lynda Lock)

The family sold Tin Whistle in 1998 after three years of existing among the South Okanagan’s first-ever breweries. Lock’s husband passed away in 2018 due to Rapid Onset ALS.

That didn’t come before he sparked the idea to start the community’s very own beer festival, better known today as the Okanagan Fest of Ale.

“Lawrie told the sales manager at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre about this festival in Victoria,” Lynda explained. “They checked it out for themselves and then in the spring of 1996, a board of directors at the centre decided to do the same thing right here.”

Since then, the festival has been a community success each year. The 2022 edition of the Okanagan Fest of Ale is set to begin on May 14.

Reminiscing about the start of the festival and what Tin Whistle’s legacy has meant to Penticton after all these years still makes Lock as proud as ever.

“It’s nice to get a little bit of acknowledgment that we as a group of four people did something kind of cool and different and has helped spawn this other part of the tourism scene,” she said.

Alexis Esseltine and Tim Scoon purchased Tin Whistle Brewing on Oct. 30, 2020, and continue to call the business “the original craft brewery of the South Okanagan.”

Tangled Isla #20 in Best Sellers in Canadian Women Writers!

 

Tangled Isla Book #7, Isla Mujeres Mysteries

#20 of the Best Sellers in Canadian Women Writers.

Grab your copy today!

Has an unidentified killer of several Florida women relocated to the tropical paradise of Isla Mujeres?

Leading up to the busiest time of the year on Isla Mujeres, four young women similar in appearance to the Florida victims, are unaccounted for and have been reported as missing by concerned friends.

Longing for a reunion with her island friends Jessica Sanderson returns to Mexico on a solo visit, leaving her partner Mike Lyons with the challenging task of babysitting her legendary and finicky dog, Sparky.

When Jessica arrives on the island she is persuaded to participate in the annual children’s parade, wearing the Minnie Mouse costume. The parade is disrupted by an unexplained event, and Jessica becomes entangled in the mystery of the missing women.

Will Jessica be able to solve this mystery without the help of Sparky, her famous clue-finding pooch?

Available in online bookstores.