Bottle-Shock: A Deadman Gulch Mystery

by Kim Fielding

Just don’t call it a midlife crisis.

Everett Vaughn divorced his husband, quit his job as a Chicago attorney, and spent a year wandering the country as he tried to decide what to do with the rest of his life. Now he’s landed temporarily in the former gold rush town of Deadman Gulch, California, where he’s helping his sister open a new bookshop just in time for the annual celebration of local wineries.

When property developer Blake Cannon is in need of a handyman, it seems like an easy way for Everett to pad his dwindling bank account—until Cannon balks at paying him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Everett soon discovers him dead in Cannon’s wine cellar.

Eager to remove his name from the list of suspects, Everett starts to do a little nosing around, much to the displeasure of his sister and the insufferably smug and handsome investigating sheriff, Sergeant Cole McBeth. In a town where most people are happy to see the last of Cannon but otherwise seem like very nice folk, Everett faces a challenge bigger than any of his courtroom battles.

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 21, 2026

About the author

Kim Fielding lives in Oregon and travels as often as she can manage. A professor by day, at night she rushes into a phone booth to change into her author costume (which involves comfy clothes instead of Spandex and is, sadly, lacking a cape). Her superpowers include the ability to write nearly anywhere, often while simultaneously doling out assistance to her family. Her favorite word to describe herself is "eclectic" and she finally got that seventh tattoo.

Reviews

[Kim]

I'm so excited for this new series in a new-to-me genre! Bottle-Shock is a cozy mystery set in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Expect an amateur detective in way over his head, a quirky town full of quirky characters, and, of course, a murder to be solved. Oh, and then there's the hunky cop....

If you've read my book Rattlesnake, you can imagine that Deadman Gulch is set not far from there. This is wine country, although it's very different from some of California's glitzier places like Napa and Sonoma. If you're familiar with the region, think Murphys.

This is not a romance, although there's a touch of that in this story (did I mention the hunky cop?). I hope you'll join me in my newest literary direction!

[Jennie Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this first book in Kim Fielding’s cozy mystery series! The character development - all the details of the side characters that I can anticipate knowing better as the series progresses makes the story relatable and engaging.
In this series, Everett Vaughn is an ex-lawyer with an ex-husband starting over in a small western town. As he figures out what to do next in his life (what to be when he grows up), he finds himself the suspect of a murder. He thinks he just may be able to solve the mystery himself.
I love Everett because he has such a quirky sense of humor and does not take himself too seriously. He has an active imagination and hasn’t quite figured out if he has a crush on the local deputy or the receptionist at the veterinarian’s office.
I definitely want to read what’s next!