This is the second in Maddie Day’s Cece Barton Cozy Mystery series. Cece is a widow who manages a wine bar in Alexander Valley in California wine country. She had previously been involved in solving a murder, so when her friend Jo calls her late one night asking for help, she doesn’t hesitate. Jo is a mechanic and her ex-husband is found dead in her garage, so she is the prime suspect. Problem is, her ex had made a lot of enemies, so there was no shortage of other potential suspects. Of course, Cece cannot help herself and starts digging for the truth. This is a fun cozy set, and since I love the California wine country, I love the setting. This is definitely a good series to follow. I received an arc of this book for my honest review.

Cece gets an early call from her mechanic, Jo. She's discovered her former husband dead inside the garage. The man also had done electrical work at the wine bar recently. Cece and Allie, along with a cohort of friends work to help solve the murder. This is the second book in the series and it is excellent! The characters continue to grow in new ways and the plot was well laid out. I enjoy the wine expertise and the many cat connections throughout the book. Highly recommend spending time in this book!
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed the mystery in Deadly Crush but I was not sucked into this story like I usually am with cozy mysteries. I loved the characters in the last book in the series but this time they just didn’t seem to capture me. As I said, the mystery was strong and piecing the clues together was fun. But over all, Deadly Crush wasn’t everything I want from a cozy.

Colinas sounds like such a lovely, historic town despite its murder rate. I find myself wanting to sit in the wine bar Cece manages, sip wine, and listen to all the gossip from the locals. And the locals are such an interesting bunch. Cece is pulled into a murder scene by an acquaintance who is aware of her reputation as a crime solver. As an underachiever for years compared to her twin, and full of doubts, Cece seems to have finally found her niche.

This is the second in a series- and will be fine as a standalone. Cece's life is running smoothly until there's a murder-not one she committed but one she must solve! This is classic cozy territory with a victim who others didn't like. This is a little less frenetic than the first installment and there's a new character or two to help round things out. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For cozy fans.

I really enjoy books by this author so I was looking forward to this one. I liked how the scene was so well developed that you could really imagine being there. There is a suitable cast of characters and suspects to keep you guessing as to who-dunnit. The book does not have any down moments so it moves right along and takes you with it. my only disappointment was the motive at the end was rather weak.

Cece Barton regrets choosing electrician Karl Meier to do some work on Vino y Vida, the Colinas wine bar she manages. But she's shocked to get a frantic early morning call from Jo, the mechanic who works on her beloved vintage car. Karl is her ex-husband & she has found him crushed to death beneath the lift in her automotive shop.

Cece soon learns that many customers and locals did not like Karl. With the help of her fraternal twin Allie, Cece probes Karl's past to find the motive behind his murder. This was another solid entry in this new cozy series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Kensington. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed another visit to wine country with Cece, Allie and family and Cece growing circle of friends and customers. Even though it's a cool January in California, Cece is happy, the wine bar is making money, and people enjoy the changes she's made, her relationship with her daughter Zoe is slowly improving and she is dating and interesting and caring man. When her friend and the mechanic for her vintage, Mustang calls her at 7:30 in the morning, sounds shaken, and asks her to come to the garage Cece comes. When Jo shows her into the garage, she sees the body of Jo's ex, crushed under one of the car lifts and obviously dead. Knowing that Jo is going to be a main suspect, Cece starts asking a few questions. The fact that the man was a shoddy electrician, a mean employer, and had money issues gives Cece plenty of suspects. Come along as Cece narrows the search with the help of friends, family, and customers. A very pleasant read! Thanks to #Netgally, #KensingtonCozies, and the author for a chance to read. #DeadlyCrush #CeceBartonMysteries #MaddieDay #bookreview #bookideas #retiredreader

Cece's mechanic, Jo, calls her in the middle of the night one night after she discovers her ex-husband crushed to death beneath the vehicle lift at her shop. The police focus on Jo but Cece is certain the woman is innocent. Can Cece find the killer and clear Jo's name? Or will Cece be the killer's next victim?

The setting of this series is great, I love the old adobe buildings along the river and the mountains with views of the valley. There are some fun characters too, like Mooncat and Cece's nephews. Cece's character is growing on me a bit, though her relationship with her daughter is a little cringy. I REALLY don't like Benjamin, Cece's boyfriend. I hope he turns out to be the killer in a future book because he is not appealing as a love interest at all, there's just something sleazy and off about him.

This series is not my favorite by this author, but it has a lot of potential.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

twins, families, family-dynamics, siblings, small-business, small-town, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, friendship, friends, amateur-sleuth, California, cozy-mystery, murder, investigation, empty-nester, pet-cat, shelter-pets, widow, suspense, framed, wine-country, wine, winery, unpleasant-victims, relationships, relatives, threats*****

The man put down everyone in his vicinity, especially if there was an audience. He wouldn't be missed by many, but getting squashed under the lift in his ex-wife's automotive garage was a bit much.
Of course she didn't do it, but investigating to find out who did became Cece's crusade. The characters are paramount to the story and are a very interesting lot. The plot moves well with some really sneaky twists and diversions. Good read!
Not an unbiased review because she is one of my favorite authors.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected proof from Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you!
#DeadlyCrush by @MaddieDayAuthor #CeceBartonMysteriesBk2 #NetGalley @KensingtonBooks

I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel. I loved CeCee’s small town which also has a big city sophistication. The plot advancement was very satisfying while leaving room for future opportunities for CeCee.

Now on to the mystery! It was very well written and kept me guessing to the end while keeping me on the edge worried about CeCee. Perfect balance I think of mystery and mayhem.

Dare I say this series has the slightest feel of beloved Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. Just the slightest which is enough. 😊

I am very much looking forward to next book in this series.

All opinions are my own and Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Maddie Day for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Deadly Crush coming out November 26, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I love cozy mysteries and this author’s writing! I haven’t read the first book yet, but I was excited to check this one out. Food mysteries are really fun to me. I love that Cece had a twin who helps her solve cases. I love the budding relationship with Benjamin. I think there are a great cast of characters and I love the setting. I would definitely check out more books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries!

Loved reading this book and series. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend doing so. I would recommend her other series also

As a cozy mystery fan, I always give a chance to those author's (who I've already read) new series, and when Maddie Day's Cece Barton's series kicked off last year, who couldn't resist one set in a vineyard town? Deadly Crush opens with an electrician who clearly has made some enemies, so it's no surprise when he's the victim... but the volume of people who disliked him and his obnoxious ways was bigger than you'd think. Which one of them killed the guy? As things come together, we find there are people working with each other to keep secrets. And the biggest one of all is connected to the identity of all the new characters in the story. Enjoyed the setting. Good mystery. One more book and I'll know if the series is a total keeper, tho I tend to love most things the author writes already!

NetGalley kindly gave me an advanced reader’s copy of Maddie Day’s new book. My delighted opinion is my own. When an author writes multiple series, it is sometimes difficult to enjoy them all. This is not the case with this author. Whether her characters are in Southern Indiana, Cape Cod or California wine country, the storylines are strong. This latest entry In California was no exception. Try to read the books in order, but they also work as a stand alones. Enjoy!

I love this series, and this book hooked me in like the others.
Cee and Allie, and all their friends are back for another mystery. This time, the town's most unlikable electrician has been found crushed in her friend Jo's shop, and she is determined to figure out who did it before Jo takes the blame.
This is a fast paced, quick read, cozy mystery that kept me guessing from start to finish. Love the characters, and all their personalities. This can be read as a stand alone as well.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow…after finishing this atmospheric and thrilling cozy mystery I need that single malt Scotch that Cece and Allie were enjoying in the book!

This was the second mystery book in the Cece Barton Mystery series (plus the novella that preceded them), and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Ms. Day is a brilliant and prolific cozy mystery writer, which I do so appreciate because I have more books in her series to look forward to reading.

Her characters are “alive” and we are allowed inside the protagonists’ mind, so we are “seeing” the action through her eyes. Some people were not what they seemed, which added to this intriguing plot. It was a nail biter in the end, and I could not guess whodunnit, which was a great surprise. All “issues” were cleared up, and all is well in Cece’s world, so everybody can drink in peace…until the next mystery comes along.

I highly recommend this book and the 2.5 books in this series, as well as all the other series that Ms. Day writes, including those she writes as Edith Maxwell.

I thank Net Galley and Kensington Cozies for making an advance reader’s version available for me to read and post a personal review. I also thank Maddie Day for writing this book.

Maddie Day is a fantastic author. I read multiple series she writes.

This is books two in her new series. It can definitely be read as a stand alone book. A good mix of mystery and learning about the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Cece is a down-to-earth wine bar owner in a small California town. She has a college-age daughter, a twin sister, a loving partner who is also a businessman in the community, and a growing circle of friends in the community. Unfortunately, she also has a habit of running into corpses.

In the latest installment, the victim is an unpopular guy and quite a few of the people she cares about are under suspicion. Cece feels she must help out the police with her own investigations, and her friends and family ae willing to help -- but will they be put in danger by their curiosity?

The cast of characters is diverse and interesting, with development for the ongoing figures in the series. The local color and descriptions of food and drink are beguiling, and the story is both cozy and fast-moving. An enjoyable read.

I highly recommend this author. I recommend this series, This is a good book with a good mystery, The victim had many enemies who wanted him dead.