
Part of Series
Since moving from L.A. to California’s verdant wine country, widowed single mom Cece Barton has gone from Colinas wine bar manager to wine bar owner—with a chaser of sleuthing . . . It’s Memorial Day weekend and Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley is buzzing with activity. For Cece, business at Vino y Vida is going great, as is her romance with new beau, Benjamin. Meanwhile, Cece’s neighbor, Richard Flora, is stirring up controversy with his newest article, an exposé of Regan Greene, power-hungry chair of a valley district organization. Also in the mix is the town’s upcoming big classic car show, paired with wine tastings . . . Cece is concerned the tastings will cut into her holiday weekend profits—until she and her mechanic, Josie Jarvin, are asked to co-sponsor a booth... At the show, Cece spots Regan Greene, who is displaying her restored green ’72 Thunderbird convertible. As Cece pours tastes, she witnesses several heated discussions with Regan—including an argument with wine afficionado and new Colinas hardware store owner Greg Jardis. Otherwise, all goes smoothly—until Sunday brings shocking news. Regan has been murdered . . . Rumors fly that Richard may have orchestrated the homicide—or even committed it. But Cece knows that’s absurd. And others in Cece’s orbit seem to have discomfiting connections to Regan, from Cece’s employee, Dane, to her winemaking teacher’s sister, Yolanda, to Colinas Mayor Guittierez. And after Yolanda visits the wine bar, Benjamin says he recognizes her from a road race. Determined to clear Richard’s name, and failing to extract any clues from detectives, Cece once again enlists her twin, Allie, as her partner-in-sleuthing. But they’ll have to act quickly, before the trail goes sour . . .
Author

Maddie Day is a pseudonym for Agatha Award-winning mystery author Edith Maxwell. As Maddie Day, Edith writes the Country Store Mysteries, from Kensington, set in southern Indiana. Maddie lived in the area some years ago and loves writing the adventures of Robbie Jordan, a country store owner and chef in South Lick, Indiana. She also writes the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, with bike shop owner Mackenzie Almeida and her cozy mystery book group solving murders in a fictional Cape Cod village. Her new Cece Barton Mysteries series, set northern California wine country, releases in fall, 2023 Please see Edith Maxwell's author page for more information about her other mystery series and her award-winning short stories.

