A Poisonous Pour

Cece Barton Mystery #3

by Maddie Day

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 . . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

304 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 28, 2026

About the 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.

Reviews

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really like Maddie Day's writing and this series is really good so far, so I was very excited to get my hands on the third book in this series. A Poisonous Pour follows Cece as she gets involved in another mystery, a much disliked women dies and her neighbor recently wrote an article about her power hungry ways. Cece knows her neighbor Richard isn't the killer and gets involved trying to figure out who is.

I really like this series so far and enjoyed returning to Colinas and reading about Cece and her friends and family again. The mystery in this one kept me guessing, there were some suspects and new information that came to light throughout, but most of them stayed a plausible suspects until the end. I was a bit disappointed Cece wasn't the one who figured it out as the killer confronted it, but it was a solid mystery.

While I enjoy the mystery, what really makes this series for me is the characters and the daily life scenes. I really enjoy reading about Cece, seeing her interact with her friends and family and reading about her daily life. It's just so cozy and comforting and I really enjoy it. There are some new characters that gets introduced in this one, among which one I think will stay Cece's friend. There's also more about Cece's romance and some sweet scenes involving them.

To summarize: Another solid installment in this series. I really like reading about Cece and her friends and family. The mystery kept me guessing with plenty of suspects, but I wasn't sure who did it. The reveal made sense, but the killer confronted Cece instead of her figuring it out, which I prefer. I especially like reading about Cece and her daily life and seeing her interact with the other characters. I really enjoyed this one and really like the author's writing.

[LittleRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Cece’s neighbor is suspected of killing a woman, she steps in and decides to clear his name. But can CeCe and Allie find the killer before the killer finds them and strikes again?

What I like most about Maddie Day’s books is that she develops
Her characters well and weaves a solid whodunit. Each of her series progresses the lives of the cast and feels like a visit with friends. Even if they are friends that seem to stumble over dead bodies all the time.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this series is like visiting with old friends. The author does an excellent job with character development keeping the reader invested in the outcome. The setting also becomes familiar and comforting, and having visited this part of California about 15 years ago, the description makes me want to return sooner rather than later. The mystery is well done with almost a surprise ending. I didn't guess the killer this time. Kudos to the author!

[Cozybooklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading A Poisonous Pour, especially since the characters are all so likable.
In this story, Regan Greene, director of a valley district organization, who isn't well liked, winds up dead, and Cece's favorite neighbor and friend is a prime suspect.
Cece knows Richard would never hurt anyone, so she starts to ask questions and won't stop until she finds the truth.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cece and her twin sister are on another case after a power hungry local organizer is found murdered. Regan Greene seemed to have more enemies than friends and everyone is a suspect, even Cece's ninety- plus neighbor Richard. Cece knows he is innocent so she and Allie set out to find the real killer. Another fun read in this series.