Killer Chardonnay earns 5/5 Wine Corks...Engaging Fun!

Kate Lansing has bottled up an engaging first-in-a-series tale using the traditional formula that has made me a cozy mystery fan. She’s added an entertaining writing style filled with sensory-laden descriptions to bring her literary world alive, realistic dialogue to illustrate emotion and personalities, wonderful characters to enjoy following with a “fur” friend Zin for fun, a romantic triangle to ponder, a clever murder mystery with plenty of misdirection, lots of suspects, a surprise motive, and a bit of nail-biting end to make a wonderful read. I did have the killer on my radar, but I was fooled with a few others to consider.

Introducing...Parker Valentine is turning her “crazy pipe dream” into reality with the grand opening of her own winery, Vino Valentine. She’s worried no one would attend, but fortunate her BFF Sage, her boyfriend, her brother Liam, his friend, and few more wine enthusiasts pop by for support. But, things don’t go smoothly. First an argument breaks out punctuated by one man wearing some Ski Lodge Cherry wine. Second, the arrival of Gaskel Brown, food and wine critic, was very unexpected, but he may save the day with a positive review. Unfortunately, third, the critic collapses and dies after drinking some of Parker’s Chardonnay ensuring the wrong kind of publicity. Parker can’t let this ruin her dream, so channeling her inner detective just might be necessary. Well paced, entertaining, and well worth joining in as a fan!

Bonus, yes, please! Throughout the book readers will enjoy talk about the winery business and wine, but at the back of the book there are three easy to-follow recipes and suggestions for the perfect wine pairing. Enjoy Mango Chutney Grilled Shrimp with a nice Sauvignon Blanc, Italian Ratatouille with Balsamic Glaze with a Pinot Noir, and Dark Chocolate Espresso Truffles with your favorite Cabernet.

What a delightful new series set in Boulder Colorado centered around a new winery with interesting names for the wines and many food descriptions.  It is like the best of all worlds for me.

Parker is quite an independent woman that thinks she does not have the support of her parents when she decides to open a winery.  It is her passion and she has put everything into seeing this business succeed.  However, she doesn't expect someone to be murdered on opening day and for this to create bad press for her winery.  Despite the police involvement in trying to solve this case, Parker decides they aren't moving fast enough and decides to do some sleuthing on her own.  As with most cozies, this almost lands her in some very hot water and possibly becoming a victim herself.

I was engrossed in this book from start to finish.  I tried to figure out who the killer was and while I had my suspicions about this character by the end, I had not figured out the why.  There are several red herrings, intriguing characters, and a potential love triangle.  This book really starts the series off with a bang and the author has a lot to live up to with the next book.

There were a few quotes that I really liked and I wanted to share them with you:

"Like a good red wine, sometimes you need to let a problem breathe - decant - to better understand its flavors."

"...two undeniably attractive men waiting on my doorstep like Amazon packages."

We give this book 5 paws up and we want to try some of the dishes and the wines!

Parker Valentine has always dreamed of opening her own winery in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. But she gets more than she bargained for when a food and wine critic unexpectedly shows up at Vino Valentine on opening day. A negative review could be fatal for her business, and not only does he seem to hate her chardonnay, he also collapses and dies shortly after drinking it.

Although Parker hoped that the attendees would put a cork in it, soon her winery is at the center of a social media firestorm. With #killerchardonnay trending online, Parker's business is in danger of closing, and she has no choice but to investigate the murder herself. To restore her reputation, catch a killer, and keep her struggling business open, Parker needs only one thing: some good proof.

This is a very good start to the series. The characters are really well developed. The detective, Eli, was competent, something that is often missing from cozy mysteries. Parker's relationship with her family feels real. Her friendship with Sage rings true. Also, Parker is smart, funny and does not fall into the "too dumb to live" category that many cozy mystery heroines do. Sure, she snoops, but not by herself and she doesn't keep pertinent facts from the police like so many.

This book also made me thirsty for wine, although not chardonnay.

The characters were likable enough, and the story was well-plotted, but I’ve never been a fan of present tense at all, so that really kept me from completely enjoying this book. I had considered the person who ended up being the killer, but of course the reasoning is something I never guess. The showdown was pretty exciting, and I have to commend Parker for her quick thinking. I’m not a fan of present tense or romantic triangles either, so as interesting as this series could have been, I will pass on the rest of the series. I enjoyed reading through the recipes and wine pairings and I did love the idea of a vineyard and winery.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Killer Chardonnay is a promising beginning to a new cozy mystery series. At the opening night of Parker’s winery, a well known local food critic dies after drinking the Chardonnay. Desperate to save her brand new business and professional dream, Parker becomes intent on figuring out who the killer is.

This mystery was very well written and paced beautifully. I enjoyed all the mentions of food and wine and I loved Parker’s passion for wine making. Loved her best friend and her brother and I even loved the romance (and slight love triangle!). I did guess the culprit from pretty early on in the book but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment at all and I actually think the author did a great job at throwing believable suspicion at several parties involved.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series and catching up with Parker and her friends again!

Killer Chardonnay is the first in Kate Lansing's new A Colorado Wine mystery series.

Parker Valentine's dream of opening her own winery has finally come to fruition, unfortunately after her aunt Laura had passed away. Laura had supported Parker emotionally and financially in pursuing her dream.

Parker's winery is named Vino Valentine and is located in Boulder, Colorado where Parker lives. Parker is surprised when Gaskel Brown, a popular food and wine blogger, shows up for the winery's opening night. Other notable attendees are Moira and Carrick Murphy who own another local winery as well Reid Wallace, an executive chef from another local restaurant. Parker's friends, friend's of friends, and her brother Liam also attend, but her parents opt not to come.

During the event, Gaskel Brown begins to show signs of not feeling well and heads to the restroom. While he's in there, Parker takes the opportunity to read his notes on the review of her winery. The results are Parker's worst nightmare since he hates her wine. Things get worse when Gaskel never returns from the restroom and Parker ends up finding him dead on the restroom floor from an apparent poisoning.

Parker is a prime suspect, of course, since he had just been eating and drinking in her restaurant. Another possible suspect emerges from the police's perspective, Parker's brother Liam. Parker sets off to try to determine what happened to save her winery's reputation and her brother's innocence.

There are a lot of options for possible suspects. It made following along with Parker's investigation interesting and kept me guessing as she unraveled everyone's backstory and connections.

My favorite part of the book was Parker's relationship with her brother and, albeit less significantly, her parents. I liked that their relationships seemed believable. The love was there but they also had their own difficulties with each other.

I did also enjoy the wine references, especially the ones involving the wine making process and how particular flavors get brought out in the wine.

I'll be looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Vintner Parker Valentine just wants her new vintage and new wine shop in Boulder, Colorado, to open to success. That shouldn't be too much to ask! Yet Grand Opening sees an ugly breakup of a customer couple, dismay of a famous wine critic (there goes the ratings), corked by the sudden unexpected demise of the critic.


This is the Grand Opening that should never have occurred!


Includes recipes and wine-pairing, plus lots of gentle no-fuss education on the art and science of wine-making.

Parker Valentine made her dreams come true when she opened her own Colorado winery. When a well known restaurant critic and blogger shows up at her opening and drops dead after drinking her wine, she decides to help the investigation along by snooping. Although I had figured out who must be the killer almost from the start, the author created plenty of red herrings to divert attention from the person which probably worked more effectively for some readers than for me. The mystery is more engaging than many of today's cozies, and I might enjoy reading future installments. I liked Parker and the police detective. Most of the characters work although I'm a bit lukewarm on a few. This review is based on an advance electronic copy received through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

Parker has her hopes high to starting a business in Boulder... her hometown. Fate and a killer with the help of social media have put Parker's reputation and business at risk. She solves the mystery of Gaskel's death and saves herself though she looses some wine. The motive is classic, yet solving this mystery wasn't. Eli is an added bonus, can't wait for the next in this series.

For years, Parker has dreamed of opening a winery in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. That dream did not include a visit from a particularly nasty food and wine critic on her opening day – or his dropping dead shortly after drinking her chardonnay. When the hashtag #killerchardonnay takes over social media and her business plummets, she feels she has no choice but to investigate his death herself.

This is the first book in the Colorado Wine series, and is the author's first novel. I liked the setting and the way the town and its surroundings were described. The characters represented a well-rounded group of diverse interests and backgrounds, and I can't wait to get to know them better as the series progresses. It will be fun to watch some of the relationships grow, but I sincerely hope the author is not setting up a potential love triangle. There were plenty of suspects in the story, most with the same motive, but I was pretty sure I knew the identity of the culprit relatively early in the book. Surprisingly, for a change, I was right. My only complaint about the book is that it's written in the first-person present tense. It's jarring for some reason, and I've never been a fan. That said, I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

This was a fabulous start to a new series featuring Parker Valentine, and starts on opening day of her new winery in Boulder, CO. Of course, there is a murder and the author didn't make readers wait long. There are some well laid possibilities for future entries in the series, but more importantly the crime and characters in Killer Chardonnay kept my rapt attention (I cruised through this in a day easily). This one is a great representation of what a contemporary cozy can be, feeling very fresh and young. Definitely a series I look forward to seeing continue!

Cute cozy mystery! Great first in series. Would for sure read more in the series. For fans of wine cats and Colorado.

A new cozy mystery series for wine lovers! Killer Chardonnay is set in a newly opened winery in Boulder, Colorado. Readers are introduced to Parker Valentine, owner of Vino Valentine and soon-to-be amateur sleuth when a famous wine critic is found dead during her grand opening. The mystery will keep readers guessing until the end. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

The last few cozy mysteries that I’ve read have just been okay, so I was super happy when Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing turned out to be so good!

My husband and I love going to wineries, drinking wine, having wine tasting parties at our house, and making our own wine from kits. Because of this, I really, really enjoyed all the information that Lansing included in regards to wine, wine making, and pairing wine with food.

Lansing’s characters are very developed for a first book in a series. And the way she writes about family dynamics in regards to parents and siblings feels very true. By the end of the book a new romance has started, and has the potential to turn into a love triangle in future books. I’m not sure how I feel about that since I like the man she’s with, but in cozy mysteries it’s always good to have the help of the police.

The book’s location of Colorado was also very enjoyable to me, since that is usually where we go for vacation, and Lansing incorporates various venues and information about the state seamlessly into the story.

I had the killer pegged pretty early on in the book, but Lansing had a lot of red herrings and misdirection, so if you don’t pay close attention the killer will probably be a surprise for you.

I highly recommend Killer Chardonnay, and I will be reading book two when it comes out!

Killer Chardonnay is fun, intriguing, flirty, and suspenseful. Lansing writes characters with the same balance or detail, heart, and flavor that she writes wine. This made me want to open a bottle and plan a trip to Colorado. I look forward to more from this author. Thank you to the author and publisher for an early copy of this book. (cross-posted on Goodreads)

So grateful to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book! It was a wonderful start to a new cozy mystery series and I'm excited for more to come!

Killer Chardonnay is the first book in the Colorado Wine Mystery series. In this book we travel to the beautiful setting of Boulder, CO where our MC, Parker Valentine, is opening her brand new winery. It's been Parker's dream to open her very own winery after falling in love with winemaking. She's poured her heart and soul - not to mention her savings - into the endeavor. When a very prickly food critic shows up on opening day - and in short order winds up dead in the winery's bathroom - Parker starts to panic. When the police investigation reveals that the man was poisoned by something in a glass of Parker's chardonnay, she's sure her dream is dead (corked?). Despite the fact that the hashtag #KillerChardonnay is trending on social media, Parker won't give up without a fight! Can she find the culprit before her dreams are completely washed down the drain?

I loved the setting of Boulder, CO. I could see the gorgeous mountain scenery and feel the clean Colorado air. Parker is a strong, determined woman who has everything riding on the success of her winery. I loved that we got to see her strength as well as her vulnerability (for example, when it came to her relationship with her parents.) I also liked her strong friendship with her bestie Sage. The two love interests were compelling! Can't say I would've chosen who she chose, but clearly it's not all said and done just yet... The wine factoids were super fun. I'm a big wine fan myself and definitely learned some things!

Overall a wonderful start to a new series with great characters who have the potential to grow and a wonderful setting I can't wait to go back to!

“Killer Chardonnay" by Kate Lansing the first in her new “Colorado Wine Mystery” series. What a great start to a new series! I’m not a wine drinker but I enjoyed learning about wine, and things to pair with them. Luckily there are some great recipes at the back of the book.

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in two sittings. It was entertaining, full of twists and turns as well as a few surprises.

I loved the characters which are well developed, especially Parker she made a good protagonist. The secondary characters were likeable as well. It ended with two men vying for Parker’s attention... I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Kate Lansing has a very fluid writing style that pulled me into the mind of Parker Valentine in the first paragraph. After many years of struggling to open a winery with her own wine label, Parker was getting ready for the grand opening of her shop. She was nervous that her cabernet , pinot noir, sauvignon, and chardonnay would not meet the pleasure of her patrons, She never anticipated her opening night would include the murder of a prominent food blogger in her winery's bathroom. I couldn't put down the book. I'm hoping there will be many more books about Parker, Reid, Eli, Sage, and Liam. Well done!

3.5, rounded up. I'm new to the cozy mystery genre, so I'm still getting used to the plotting, but this was a very pleasant read (especially in the midst of the craziness happening now).

Parker is a strong character; I appreciate that Lansing highlights her business acumen, and she clearly did her research on wine and wineries. Lansing also does a nice job with the side characters; they feel reasonably fleshed out. As a Colorado resident, I also reveled in Lansing's descriptions of Boulder and the surrounding areas. While I predicted the murderer early on, the mystery was still compelling enough to keep me reading. The love triangle seemed like it was hastily established at the end, but I look forward to seeing what Parker decides in subsequent books.

Also, as an added bonus, there are recipes and wine pairings at the end of the book!

Killer Chardonnay was such a delightful read! Kate Lansing's writing is smooth and free-flowing, and I loved the sumptuous descriptions of wine, food, fashion, and the setting in Boulder, CO (warning: this book will make you crave wine & cheese!) The pacing was perfect, effortlessly transitioning from scenes with friends to suspects to family members (and a sexy romance, to boot!) The mystery keeps you guessing - I was feeling pretty smug early on that I had the killer pegged, but ended up changing my mind several different times while reading (only to be wrong in the end!)

I highly recommend starting this book during happy hour so you enjoy your favorite glass of wine while savoring every word. Looking forward to more in this series!