Murder Uncorked

A CeCe Barton Mystery, Book 1

By: Maddie Day

Narrated by: Linda Jones

Raise a glass to Cece Barton, a widowed single mom and recent L.A. transplant to California wine country, who suddenly finds herself at the center of a murder investigation in this sparkling new mystery series from Agatha Award-winning and national bestselling author Maddie Day.

As the manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar in Colinas, Cecelia "Cece" Barton's first Alexander Valley harvest is a whirlwind of activity. Her twin sister, Allie Halstead, who owns a nearby Victorian bed & breakfast, is accustomed to the hustle and bustle of peak tourist season. Just when it seems things can't grow any more intense, Colinas is rocked by a murder within the wine community . . . and Cece is identified as a possible suspect!

With her reputation and her livelihood on the line—and the Sonoma County deputy sheriff breathing down her neck—Cece has no choice but to open up her own murder investigation. Tensions are already high in the valley, as a massive wildfire creeps toward Colinas, threatening homes, vineyards, and the vital tourist trade. And now, with a murderer on the loose, and Cece's sleuthing exposing the valley's bitterest old rivalries and secret new alliances, Colinas feels ready to pop! But with Allie's help, Cece is determined to catch the killer and clear her name before everything she's worked so hard for goes up in flames . . .

©2023 Edith Maxwell (P)2023 Tantor

Good beach read

This is a light who done it type of mystery. interesting characters in a small town.

Something to Wine and Dine with

Loved the coziness of the story, nice to see an older heroine as well. I will admit there were moments where I felt she acted out if character or did something sort of stupid, but being in the moment, can see how someone would act the same way. I am a curious person by nature so I'd want to know who had it out for me as well as protect my loved ones.

I will say the murderer became obvious towards the end, but it was also anyone's game right until the last 45 minutes. The fact that it all boiled down to inheritance and the victim and the murderer lost the chance to build a family was very sad. Still, consequences do have actions and they paid the price for their selfishness.

I also found the potential love interest kind of refreshing, especially as the FMC was a widow who knew when to not settle and was holding our for someone who tested her right and would accept nothing less than just that. It was also nice to not see her acting like a horny teenager either.

All in all, the story was fun, the setting lovely, and the characters themselves lively and ones I would want to know in real life (minus the murderer, the victim, the thief and Nico - IYKYK). Will be reading more of this series.

Enjoyable cozy mystery

Murder Uncorked is an enjoyable cozy mystery with engaging characters and entertaining plot. I look forward to the next book.

location descriptions

Great characters & inter actions. plot twists make you pick a murderer than chanchange to another

Preachy

The overall story was okay but it was just too preachy with about as many politically correct thoughts that a person could come up with. And still Cece ate a peach that was not locally grown. Shame! I have always liked this author but I don’t know if I would read another in this series.