What do you think?
Food and Wine Club Mystery #1
A Special Blend of Murder: A Food & Wine Club Mystery Book 1
A Good Wine, Good Friends and a little Murder
Nicki Connors likes her life in the center of Northern California's wine country. She has a thriving freelance writing career, good friends close by, a handsome boyfriend and now the perfect kitchen to cook in. What more could a could a girl want? Certainly not to stumble across a spilled bottle of wine, a shattered glass and a dead body!
The well-known winemaker was, as the Chief of Police declared, “dead as a doornail”, and Nicki is sure it’s murder! Along with her good friends, Alex and Jana, and her one-of-a-kind landlady, Maxie, Nicki’s determined to uncover who killed the much-despised winemaker, and what was so special about his personal blend of wine?
In the very best tradition of a riveting “whodunit” mystery-- with twists and turns to keep you guessing, Nicki and her friends of amateur detectives will make you laugh and wonder “who murdered the winemaker” until the very last clue!
A Special Blend of Murder has recurring characters, but can easily be read as a stand alone book.
Download your copy today- and be prepared to put your thinking cap on!
Author’s Interview:
Why a Murder Mystery?
I love a good mystery, especially if the clues are all there but you’re still guessing until the very end—and then it’s “Oh, of course!” Agatha Christie was a master at it, and who doesn’t love Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote? I love the cozy mystery books, and even any mystery movie they’re made into!
You wrote romances, why the switch?
I still do write them. Never sell a romance reader short—they literally love a good story! Quite a number of my romance novels end up with a murder or some other major element of suspense. A good romance story needs a bit of something more than longing looks and a string of misunderstandings. I honestly think a little suspense, action or mystery, helps any story along. But in a romance, it’s all about the love story with some mystery on the side. In a mystery, it’s all about solving the puzzle, with friends—and maybe some romance—on the side. And I do love to read them both!
And how did you come up with your characters?
Like all writers do, they’re partly based on people I know or have met. But mostly, I like characters who are close and interact naturally with each other. And books are a fantasy world. Who doesn’t want a group of close-knit people you can always count on? Friends, who are not only like family but who know you really well and like you anyway? I think that’s something everyone wants in his or her life. Including me!
Nicki Connors likes her life in the center of Northern California's wine country. She has a thriving freelance writing career, good friends close by, a handsome boyfriend and now the perfect kitchen to cook in. What more could a could a girl want? Certainly not to stumble across a spilled bottle of wine, a shattered glass and a dead body!
The well-known winemaker was, as the Chief of Police declared, “dead as a doornail”, and Nicki is sure it’s murder! Along with her good friends, Alex and Jana, and her one-of-a-kind landlady, Maxie, Nicki’s determined to uncover who killed the much-despised winemaker, and what was so special about his personal blend of wine?
In the very best tradition of a riveting “whodunit” mystery-- with twists and turns to keep you guessing, Nicki and her friends of amateur detectives will make you laugh and wonder “who murdered the winemaker” until the very last clue!
A Special Blend of Murder has recurring characters, but can easily be read as a stand alone book.
Download your copy today- and be prepared to put your thinking cap on!
Author’s Interview:
Why a Murder Mystery?
I love a good mystery, especially if the clues are all there but you’re still guessing until the very end—and then it’s “Oh, of course!” Agatha Christie was a master at it, and who doesn’t love Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote? I love the cozy mystery books, and even any mystery movie they’re made into!
You wrote romances, why the switch?
I still do write them. Never sell a romance reader short—they literally love a good story! Quite a number of my romance novels end up with a murder or some other major element of suspense. A good romance story needs a bit of something more than longing looks and a string of misunderstandings. I honestly think a little suspense, action or mystery, helps any story along. But in a romance, it’s all about the love story with some mystery on the side. In a mystery, it’s all about solving the puzzle, with friends—and maybe some romance—on the side. And I do love to read them both!
And how did you come up with your characters?
Like all writers do, they’re partly based on people I know or have met. But mostly, I like characters who are close and interact naturally with each other. And books are a fantasy world. Who doesn’t want a group of close-knit people you can always count on? Friends, who are not only like family but who know you really well and like you anyway? I think that’s something everyone wants in his or her life. Including me!
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
260 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 16, 2017
A refreshing, fast paced, and cleverly plotted cozy mystery. Ms. Chandler is a new author to me and this is a first book in a new series that takes place near the Sonoma wine country of California. I enjoyed the protagonist Nicki Connors and her two best friends--Jenna, a tech whiz; and Alex, a doctor--they stick together through thick and thin. Nicki is a freelance writer, concentrating on food & leisure activities plus she writes a popular spy novel series. When a murder occurs at a private wine unveiling event, Nicki is swirled into the behind the scenes blackmail and corruption of a group of rivaling winery owners. I learned interesting details about wine making that I didn't know, which is always a pleasure! I'm looking forward to the next story.
July 31, 2017
Bel gruppo di personaggi e un buon mistero; inoltre, il libro si fa leggere, per così dire. Ottimo debutto: non vedo l'ora di leggere il seguito!
July 12, 2017
Wow! I can't wait for the next book!!! I enjoyed the fast pace and especially each individual character! Nicki, Jenna and Alex are the best of friends and I feel like they are now mine! I loved the plot and setting, and how the ending totally took me by surprise!!! Looking for that good mystery? THIS IS YOUR BOOK!!!!
June 14, 2017
Awesome
This is a definite 5 star read. The story was informative as well as a very good mystery. The characters were fun and I enjoyed the predicaments they managed to get into. I sincerely hope that there will be another one in the near future.
This is a definite 5 star read. The story was informative as well as a very good mystery. The characters were fun and I enjoyed the predicaments they managed to get into. I sincerely hope that there will be another one in the near future.
June 5, 2017
Yay
Once again one of my favorite authors had a new book out it's a step away from her other series but I am looking forward to more from her and these characters lol love Maxie!!!!
Once again one of my favorite authors had a new book out it's a step away from her other series but I am looking forward to more from her and these characters lol love Maxie!!!!
April 9, 2018
Fun read, nothing literary. Could have used a better editor.
January 22, 2024
Fun Fun Fun!!! First book club read! Definitely kept me engaged and really had us going back n forth of who we thought could have done it!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews