An engaging new mystery set in Sebastopol and rural West County
Santa Rosa author Scott Lipanovich’s new novel spins a web of intrigue, murder and magic in beautiful West County
West County is an unusual place by any measure. Filled with a mix of hippies, artists, outlaw growers and old-school rednecks, it has a breathtaking landscape of vineyards, dense forests, rolling meadows, and small, picturesque towns. Add a spectacular coastline and a snaking river valley, and it’s the very definition of Northern California. Magic and mystery abound.
It’s no coincidence that Scott Lipanovich’s new book, the fourth in a mystery series featuring former private detective Jeff Taylor, takes place here. Lipanovich moved to a ridge seven miles from Forestville in 1979, where the area’s natural beauty impressed him.
“I never tire of the landscapes … I never tire of driving to Jenner, north to Meyers Grade and up to the seemingly endless roads of the region,” Lipanovich said in a recent interview. Unsurprisingly the protagonist, Taylor, traverses winding back roads to arrive at unusual locations as he makes his way through the twisting plot of this latest book.
“In all my writing, my favorite part is creating distinctive, memorable characters,” Lipanovich added. “In West County, however, the most fulfilling aspect was trying to bring to life the astounding landscapes of Western Sonoma County.”
Which is not to say that characters, and plot turns for that matter, don’t figure prominently in West County. They do.
The novel’s protagonist, Jeff Taylor, a divorced doctor and a recent arrival in Appleton — er, Sebastopol — works at a local, fiscally challenged community health care clinic, where he’s not-so-secretly romantically involved with its director. Enter a mysterious woman known as “Teacher Lady,” and the story takes an ethereal turn. Add a bevy of hard-luck locals, an assault, a profitable illegal underground operation, a nefarious villain with bodyguards, spirituality gone sour and murder, and the plot thickens.
Between his habit of giving his health care patients his personal phone number and driving to their remote houses on his own dime to check up on them at any hour when needed, and his burning desire to see justice done, Taylor proves himself a likeably imperfect hero. Against the advice of his lover and in spite of criminal intervention and violence against him, Taylor finds himself compelled to track down a killer.
Interestingly, many towns and locations in the novel, such as Santa Rosa and Forestville, are referred to by their real names but some, such as Sebastopol, are given pseudonyms. A remote preserve known as SunSpot plays an integral role in the storyline.
West County is a fun, fictional dive into local culture. It has a bit of everything — sex, romance, crime, villains, heroes, mystery and a hint of magic; not necessarily in that order — which makes for a light and enjoyable read.
The story is fast paced, quickly propelling the reader into an underworld of colorful characters and curvy roads where danger lurks around each bend. I found myself picking the book up whenever I could in order to find out what happened next, and in short order I’d read it from cover to cover.
This mystery novel is for anyone who feels the pull of West County and who, like Lipanovich, never tires of its “seemingly endless roads.”
Santa Rosa author Scott Lipanovich worked at Santa Rosa Junior College for 31 years before retiring in 2018. His stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, and he has also published stories under a pseudonym. He is the author of several Jeff Taylor Mysteries: The Lost Coast (July 2021), The Golden Ceiling (July 2022), Sky Lake (July 2023) and now, West County (July 2025). He has also worked with Academy Award winners and Emmy-winning producers in the film industry. He is currently writing a young adult historical novel.
‘West County: A Jeff Taylor Mystery,’ by Scott Lipanovich was published by Encircle Publications on July 9, 2025. It is available at Copperfield’s Sebastopol (hopefully by today!) and on Amazon.
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I’ve requested from the library. Thanks!
From seeing a flyer at Copperfield’s have now enjoyed reading all of Scott’s books!