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Killer Chardonnay by Kate LansingBelow is my review of this new cozy mystery series and my first experience with a wine-themed cozy!
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If I have to describe this book in one word, the word I would choose is clever. The sleuth, the mystery, it's clever. Parker Valentine through one part inheritance and one part hard work opens her own winery--quite a feat for someone under 30. Alas, this being a murder mystery and all, someone is killed at the Grand Opening!
I have a very strong suspicion early on about who the killer was, and that was confirmed. It was enjoyable to watch how things played out. Great use of social media in keeping the tension high as Parker tries to save her new business from falling going under before it's even begun.
This is the first book in a new series and I will be back to see what happens next. "Killer Chardonnay" had a relatively high amount of character growth for a Cozy, there weren't too many subplots hanging opened at the end which was quite alright with me. The setting of Boulder, Colorado was larger than the typical Cozy small town, which I think works well for future murders. Author Kate Lansing does a nice job of keeping the number of characters easy for the reader to keep track of and gives side characters nice depth. One of my favorite book details was that Parker doesn't drive a car and relies on public transportation. The book talks about the craft of winemaking in an accessible way that I found engaging.
There seems to be potential for a love triangle and to be honest; I hope it doesn't happen. To keep it vague for anyone reading this, one potential love interest is a character I have already read many times in many books and I'm not a fan of this character trope. As it stands in this book I really liked the love interest portion of the book and I hope that things work out with Parker and BLANK.
All in all, this is a fresh new cozy mystery series--I'm a fan!
View all my reviews
This looks fun!!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! This sounds like a fun afternoon read. I'd love to check out your book club meeting on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteHave an awesome week!
I read this one last year and loved it. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
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