Parker Valentine’s dream of opening her own winery in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, just came true. With the arrival of a famous food and wine critic that can either make or break her dream, Parker is ready to impress. Unfortunately, after one taste of Parker’s chardonnay, which the critic clearly didn’t like, the poor man ends up dead.

Once #killerchardonnay starts trending, Parker knows she has to prove her wine wasn’t the cause of the critic’s death. Determined to save her winery, Parker takes on the task of investigating the murder herself. With a little help from her friends, family and a cop that she knew back in high school, Parker might just save her winery from going under. That’s if she can stay alive to keep running it.

I love a good cozy series and KILLER CHARDONNAY is a solid start to the Colorado Wine Mystery series. I especially enjoyed this one because I could relate to what was going on. I’m more Parker’s best friend in real life though, who Parker has been trying to convert into a wine enthusiast. For the past year or so, my best friend has been taking me to different wine festivals in the hopes that I’ll come to love wine as much as she does. This may be Kate Lansing’s debut novel but you wouldn’t know it given her polished writing. There’s plenty of twists in the story to keep you guessing and the characters are not only likable but also smart enough to not be actively working against the police. The two possible love interests will be hard to choose from. I also really appreciated that Lansing used a unique setting for her adventure and didn’t go the typical California wine country route. I have no idea if Colorado has its own wine region but I’m interested in finding out if it does exist. If you love a fun, intriguing, plot-twisty mystery, KILLER CHARDONNAY has it all. This is a series and author I plan to watch out for.