Killer Chardonnay

Written by Kate Lansing

Narrated by Brooke Hoover

A young winery owner won’t let one sour grape ruin the bunch in the first installment of this exciting cozy
mystery series.

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980070696

Reviews for Killer Chardonnay

[Teri Wise · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written and well narrated. The storyline makes sense as to why a private citizen would get involved in a murder investigation. I’m looking forward to the second book.

[Amanda Anson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! Wow! Wow! I loved this fun, smart and cozy-feel good book! Living in Colorado I was right at home as I read the descriptions of Boulder and Palisade! I am by no means a wine expert but Kate’s descriptive writing of the wines and their flavors had me wanting to go wine tasting (guess I am a bit like Sage!) I want to try every single one of Parker’s wines. Campy Cab just sounds like it might be my favorite! I enjoyed getting a little more insight of what goes into wine making.

Kate’s witty writing has me swooning, gasping and giggling. I adore the cast of characters. They all have great chemistry. Parker is so relatable. You really get to feel and root for her and the other characters as you get to know them! This book hit all the spots for me. Making me feel cozy and at home, while keeping me guessing who’s who. Reid can make truffles for me any time ?. I can’t wait to read the next book!

[manhattanite-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is basically a chick lit/teen romance disguised as a cozy mystery (the characters are not teenagers but they act like one). And the mystery is so light weight I guessed who the murderer was way before the half way mark. A huge letdown because I don't like to guess (I like to be surprised!) but it was so glaringly apparent, I couldn't help it. All could've been forgiven if the side stories were compelling and the characters warm, funny or endearing but nope. Characters were flat, boring & not all that interesting. The book was also overly maudlin in parts causing the whole story to just drag.It was a chore to finish this. The story is padded with so much filler and stretched out in such a deliberately contrived matter...it was annoying to read! The exact antithesis of fun. Akin to watching a tediously long, boring movie when you know how it's going to turn out and the end cannot come fast enough.

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Killer Chardonnay by Kate Lansing has Parker Valentine opening Vino Valentine in Boulder, Colorado. Parker is surprised when food and wine blogger, Gaskel Brown arrives for a tasting. His review could make or break her new venture. Gaskel tastes her chardonnay and does not seem to enjoy it. He then disappears into the restroom. When the critic fails to return, Parker finds him dead on the bathroom floor. Detective Eli Fuller, an old school chum, is on the case and it does not look good for Parker. Gaskel was poisoned which has #killerchardonnay trending online. Parker’s winery is in danger of closing if she cannot restore her reputation and prove she did not kill the critical critic. Killer Chardonnay is the debut of A Colorado Wine Mystery series. I found Killer Chardonnay to be nicely written with good pacing which made this lighthearted cozy mystery easy to read. Parker Valentine is a friendly and relatable main character with a passion for wine making. I liked her cat, Zin (Zinfandel is full name). There are a variety of secondary characters that include Parker’s parents, her brother, best friend, and a love interest or two. I liked the descriptions of Boulder and Parker’s winery, Vino Valentine. I could imagine the both from the author’s word imagery. It was interesting learning about the different wines and how they are made. I am amazed at the different flavor profiles that can be obtained from grapes (I could envision someone swirling a glass and taking a taste stating they could taste a hint of chocolate or pear with a hint of smokiness—you can tell I do not drink wine). The mystery had a variety of suspects along with misdirection. There was action as the killer attempted to warn off Parker and keep her from finding pertinent clues. The poison was unique, but I wish it had been harder to identify the guilty party. I could see Parker in my mind as she put together the final clue and identified the killer. There was a little too much romance for my taste plus I am never a fan of multiple of love interests. I prefer romantic relationships in cozies to develop slowly instead of instant passion like a romance novel. I would have preferred if the author had not used foul language in this story. There was some luscious food served in Killer Chardonnay. Recipes and wine pairings are included at the end of the book. Killer Chardonnay is a merry cozy mystery with a butchered blogger, wicked wines, a cute chef, social media madness, and a cunning killer.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[joannefm2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Parker Valentine has always wanted to own a winery, and finally her dream has come true. Her grand opening has come, and while it's not packed, there are, at least, several people, including her brother Liam and his friend Reid. Also present is a local restaurant blogger who showed up and Parker - snooping on his tablet - sees that he's given one of her wines a bad review. But it doesn't matter when the man almost immediately turns up dead, and now she's under investigation as a suspect, and her winery is put on the no-go list by people who liked the blogger. With her livelihood at stake, Parker knows if she's not the one to find a killer, she'll be out of business -- for good...I really love mysteries, and I really wanted to like this book. But, unfortunately, it read like a bad Foreign movie. To wit: it's as if someone were holding a camera behind another person, watching their every move as they go about their day. She tells us everything that happens in the right-here-and-now as it occurs. For example, if she drops a pin she'll say: 'I drop a pin and pick it up,' not 'I dropped a pin an picked it up." It's disconcerting. It's as I said, like following someone around to see what they're doing, like you're watching a documentary. It makes it difficult to believe that she knows what another person is thinking at exactly that time. This is what I personally disliked about the book. I don't mind books written in first person, many of them are of course quite good. But this is "happening right now" and I honestly don't care for this style of writing; in fact, I don't think I've ever read a book that was written like a documentary before. There were also a few other things, but they were minor, like her statement that her friend Sage was wearing "a fierce blouse that brings out the red in her hair." What, pray tell, is exactly a 'fierce blouse?' Is it angry? I also didn't really care for the potential love triangle, but then again, I really hate them in books anyway. I'm again stating that if it were a man stringing along two women, you wouldn't think much of him, so why is it okay when a woman does it? It's not. While this book has plenty of potential, and the author has a decent start to a series, I just didn't care for the follow-me-around-while-I-go-about-my-day-feeding-my-cat-etc.; I much prefer the past tense of "I fed my cat and drove to the store," not "I'm feeding my cat and driving to the store." Very sorry, but unless this author changes the narrator's tense, I won't be reading any more of these books.