Murder Uncorked

I loved Maddie Day's first book in the Cece Barton mystery series set in the fictional California wine country town of Colinas. The book is a delightful cozy mystery with no death messiness on the page, but enough action that kept me guessing on the ending. I also enjoyed that this story varied from the typical cozy mystery story pattern. While Cece is starting again in a small town, she is not the typical twenty or early thirty something as she is an older sleuth with a grown child. I also enjoyed the interactions between Cece and her sister Allie and her family.
I hope this book becomes a series so the characters and their interactions become more developed.

Thank you Net Galley and Kensington Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. I will post reviews on post this review on Goodreads, Bookbub, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

You had me at WINE :)
This first in series had a great setting, interesting characters, and contained a well-planned mystery that kept me guessing to the end. I have read other cozy mysteries by this author and this is my favorite yet. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

A great start to a new series and I really liked the wine theme. There were plenty of suspects for the murder and some twists also. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Kensington and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Interesting start to a new Cozy Mystery series set in California wine country. I like the main character, CeCe, although she definitely needs to build up her self-confidence. I enjoyed the mystery, descriptions of her town, the wine bar where she works, and meeting her family that lives in town. I'm intrigued to see where this mystery series goes, and if CeCe's character grows along with the series.

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Cece Barton has made the move from Los Angeles to the Northern California wine country to be near her twin sister and family. Cece is working as manager of Vino y Vida Wine Bar and enjoying her new life when a murder rocks the wine community.

Cece and her sister put their heads together to identify the killer so their small town can get back to normal.

#MurderUncorked

This was just an OK cozy mystery. I enjoyed the California Wine Bar setting and the small town. I had a hard time warming up the main character. She makes some questionable choices during her investigation. One of my biggest problems with this book is that this is the first book in a series but not the first time this sleuth solved a crime. She is first introduced in a Novella in Christmas Mittens Murder and the first mystery she solved is mentioned a lot. I did not read Christmas Mittens and I was very confused at the beginning. There are a lot of things are mentioned over and over again that do not have anything to do with the mystery. CeeCee does a lot of whining and is overly concerned with her food choices. The mystery was very easy to solve. I was able to figure out the who and motive early. I normally enjoy this author's other cozies but this one was boring.

This is a fun cozy mystery set in wine country.

I really enjoyed this adventure. CeCe Barton has moved to wine country in California to be closer to her family. Now Murder seems to follow her.

I can be very picky on my cozy mysteries. If they are too cheesy I can’t do it. This one is not one of those. CeCe feels so relatable and doesn’t feel like she is trying to hard to go over the police.

This is a medium paced story, it doesn’t feel like it’s dragging but it’s not fast paced like some thrillers.

Genre: Cozy Mystery
APK: Audio
Pages: 295
Audio Length: 7 Hrs. 50 Mins.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Book One in A CeCe Barton Mystery

Princess Fuzzypants here: I had the pleasure of reading an introductory novella earlier this year for this new series. This is the first book in the series and I think I am going to enjoy it. Cece is a transplant to Northern California where she now manages a wine bar in the same community where her twin sister, Allie, lives. She gets caught up in another murder when a rep from the local wineries association is killed. She, like so many others in town, had run ins with the abrasive man. She initially gets drawn in when the detective investigating questions her about the situation. It is a rather flimsy reason to get caught up but her curiosity gets the better of her.

That is until she realizes she has put herself in the cross hairs of the killer. Although she continues to help the police, the self awareness of her danger is refreshing. Nothing ruins a good story more than an oblivious heroine. While she is trying to be careful, she still manages to put herself at grave risk. The way it is done is both exciting and satisfying which gives me great hope going forward.

Five purrs and two paws up.

Raise a glass to Cecelia Barton a widowed single mom and recent L.A. transplant to California wine country, as she suddenly finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. As manager of Vino y Vida Wine bar in Colinas Cece first Alexander Valley harvest is a whirlwind of activity. Her sister Owen’s a nearby Victorian bed and breakfast and accustomed to the hustle and bustle of peak tourist season. Cece barely has a moment to enjoy her new home in between worrying about her estranged college age daughter juggling her responsibilities at the bar and sticky politics of the local wine association. Colinas is suddenly rocked by a murder within the wine community and Cece is a possible suspect. With her reputation and lively hood on the line, the Sonoma County sheriff breathing down her neck Cece starts her own investigation. Tensions are already high in the valley as a massive wild fire creeps towards Colinas,threatening homes, vineyards and vital tourist trade. With Allies help Cece is determined to catch the killer and clear her name before everything she’s worked for goes up in flames. This is a great story everyone will enjoy reading.

This is a fun start to a new cozy series! While it clearly kicked off in a prior crossover novella, you don’t need to have read it to enjoy this book. There’s clearly plenty of growth that needs to happen with the characters, but there’s plenty of time for that moving forward. This book established a solid setting with a sufficiently interesting cast. It’s a promising start to a series I’m looking forward to continuing.

Murder Uncorked by Maddie Day was a struggle for me to read. The biggest problem is the unlikeable Cece Barton. Cece lacks confidence in herself, which we get to hear about often. She tends to blather on about her food choices (I could care less) and other mundane subjects. We also get to hear how Cece is estranged from her college aged daughter, her twin sister’s busy life, and Cece’s new job. This information allows us to get to know the character, but I do not feel the details need to be repeated (repetition is a big problem in this book). The characters lack development. When Cece reaches out to her daughter during the case (a bid for sympathy), the situation feels contrived. The scene had me rolling my eyes. The mystery is simple. It is silly that Cece sees herself as a suspect and feels the need to clear her name. There is a small suspect pool. The killer can easily be identified (did everything but hire a skywriter). Cece goes over the clues and suspect list repeatedly. She withholds information from the police. I know that is common for amateur sleuths in cozy mysteries, but I feel that when your life is endangered, it is time to talk to the cops. I found it annoying the number of times that Cece would put off looking up or doing something to aid the case (once or twice maybe, but multiple times). Quilt stalling and solve the case already (of course, I already knew who did it but I wanted confirmation). The pacing is slow (which made the book feel long). The character’s dialogue tended to meander (I would reread a conversation trying to figure it out). I did not appreciate the author using the book as a platform for her politics. I read books to escape reality, not to be preached to. While Murder Uncorked is technically the first book A Cece Barton Mysteries, we are introduced to Cece in Murderous Mittens which is one of the books in Christmas Mittens Murder. The mystery from Murderous Mittens is mentioned more than once in Murder Uncorked. This book felt like something a newbie writer would produce instead of an established author like Edith Maxwell. I will not be continuing with this series. As you can tell, A Cece Barton Mysteries is not for me (I do suggest you download a sample to judge it for yourself).

Loved this first book of the series! I love reading about wineries and winemaking. This was a fun read and I'm excited to read more in the series!

Tried so hard to like this book but I was just so bored. There is a murder and the main character starts to investigate, I have no clue why. The first 30% of the book is just the main character driving around and talking to people.
Also, the author is setting the tone with her own political views and I'm not sure that it added anything to the book.

I really loved the setting and the wine bar, but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.

This was a great fall book- although it didn't really specify time of year. I think it's the wine setting - I live in New England and our favorite wine tour time is always in the Spring and Fall. When it's still chilly and the wine warms you up!

The atmosphere was fabulous - and I enjoyed the main character Cece, and the development of Cece's love life, the development of her relationship with her daughter and the VOM (very old man) who lives next door. While the mystery kept me engaged and the activity kept me going; the last 2-3 chapters seemed to drag out a bit. I would have liked some of that wrap up (with her possible love interest) - done earlier versus after the climax scene (where we find out who-dun-it). I had been waiting for some follow up but after the climax the information felt something that would have been best to take into the next book. Versus a quick solution here that was dragged out.

Overall a solid start to a new cozy mysteries and I look forward to the next one!


Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for this ARC!

I wanted to love this one as I love Maddie's other series. But I couldn't relate to the heroine in this one. Heck I didn't even like her. Though I did enjoy the mystery. But since you spend the whole series with one character the heroine as the one solving the mystery you have to at least be able to stand to be in their head.

Great 1st book a new series. Cece Barton is new in town and the new manage to Vino y Vida Wine Bar. She moved to Colinas to be close to her twin sister and family, and be closer to her daughter who is in college. Things are going well until murder happens and she becomes a suspect.
Perfect cozy read. Looking forward to book 2

This was a great and solid start to a new cozy mystery series. I really enjoyed the setting, characters, storyline and the author's overall writing style! I also appreciate that some of the dialogue used was more modern.

Set in the quaint artsy community of Colinas, CA. I don't drink, but I loved all of the scenes at the Vino y Vida wine bar. It was the perfect place to pick up on local gossip and meet this new cast of characters.

CeCe was a refreshing lead. She's a widow in her early 40s and her life isn't perfect making her incredibly realistic. I'm curious to see her repair her relationship with her college aged daughter and explore dating once again now that the hunky, yet mysterious love interest has been introduced. I loved CeCe's relationship with her twin, Allie. The two have opposite personalities, but a clear bond. Her nephews make me smile too. My favorite character was easily Richard - better known as VOM (very old man).

The mystery was well paced and intriguing. There were a few plausible red herrings and suspects. I really enjoyed seeing CeCe interact with the detective.

I would love to see this series continue!

I really look forward to reading more in this series! I am obsessed with cozy mysteries, and this fits right in with the likes of Jenn McKinlay (whom I love!)

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 Stars

Maddie Day takes her readers to beautiful wine country California in Murder Uncorked. The debut novel in the Cece Barton mystery Series.

Cece is a widowed single mom who is trying to start a new chapter of her life. She is the manager of Vino y Vida. She’s trying to settle into a new town learning to deal with the hustle and bustle of tourist season and trying to understand the politics of the local wine Association. Just as she begins to navigate the waters of all this newness, she finds herself being a prime suspect of a murder within the wine community.

Murder Uncorked is a wonderful introduction to the series. I very much enjoyed this week. Not only did we get a good mystery that was well written and kept you guessing. We also get the story of a woman trying to restart her life. The wine bar she manages is in the same little town as her twin sister, who runs a bed-and-breakfast. Her sister is a suspect as well. I love how they stick together and take on the job of amateur sluice to clear their own names. Cece does not have the best relationship with her daughter, and we get to see how that truly affects her and how much she wants that change. As I said, this is a great introduction to what I think it’s going to be not just a good mystery series, but the story of a woman who had changes later in life and is trying to make a new life with them.

I really liked this book! CeCe was a well written character, as were all the surrounding characters. I thought I knew where the story was going and was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. I will be looking for other books by this author as I wait for the next book in this mystery series.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.