Corked by Cabernet

A Wine Lover's Mystery #5

by Michele Scott

Nikki Sands is exactly where she wants to be as the Manager of the Malveaux Estates in Napa Valley—and “shacking up” with the owner, her boyfriend Derek Malveaux. But she starts to lose control when some self-helpers arrive and steal her peace of mind…
Nikki couldn’t be happier settling into the vineyard with her boyfriend Derek. But when a guru and his followers check into the winery’s boutique hotel and spa for a retreat, she feels far from enlightened as she’s forced to take on the role of the event coordinator. Their first outing on the famous Napa Valley Wine train reinforces her doubt when a member goes missing. The guru’s devotee is found in the wine storage car where someone quite literally—and fatally—put a cork in him. It’s up to Nikki to stop a killer who’s developed a real taste for murder…

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Wine, Romance, Mystery Thriller

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 3, 2009

About the author

Michele Scott is an American author and the CEO/owner of equestrian sports medicine company Professional’s Choice, Inc. She has written over forty novels in various genres including thrillers, mysteries, young adult mysteries, fantasy, and women’s fiction. Her thriller Daddy’s Home from her Holly Jennings’ series written under her pen name of AK Alexander has sold over one million copies and was the #1 bestselling book in the UK Amazon. Her thriller Mommy, May I? and was number 2 on the Amazon list.

Subsequently, Daddy’s Home hit #4 in the US Amazon store (over all books). She was a featured author in Jeff Bezos letter to the shareholders and one of fifteen authors invited to the reveal of Kindle Fire. Amazon also produced a short documentary about her and her writing story and featured her in a book on bestselling Amazon writers. Daddy’s Home was also a top ten bestseller on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Michele’s bestselling mystery series (The Wine Lover’s Mysteries) has gone into multiple printings and has been optioned by a Los Angeles based producer and production company.

Michele is a lifelong equestrian, having horses since she was five-years-old. If you don’t find her at her desk writing, you’re sure to find her at the barn!

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars!

I had not read this series before, and that's my loss. This is the 5th in the series, and I need to go back and start over. This was fine as a stand-alone, and the story didn't suffer because I was unfamiliar with it.

In this story, our MC, Nikki, has moved into the Malveaux vineyard with boyfriend and owner Derek. In addition to the vineyard, there's the hotel and spa. A new age guru has booked the hotel for a weekend with his followers. Not all is bliss and peace, and while on the Napa wine train, a murder is committed. Once back at the vineyard, another murder...and obviously connected to the first. Can Nikki help the police solve this crime?

I liked the characters. The book was well written and the characters really came alive...of course, this being #5 in the series, there's been plenty of time for character development. Nice relationship between Nikki and Derek, and Nikki plays matchmaker later in the book which turns out nicely.

And recipes, boy do they look wonderful. I may have to make one or two. They made my mouth water.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cozy was a slow-burn read for me. I didn't think I was going to like it. A personal rule of reading a third before making a decision saved it...as it caught my interest in the nick of time. Then I wound up really enjoying how the mystery was unfolded.

Nikki Sands is up to her eyeballs in details when a last-minute new-age group retreat is dropped in her lap. This is while she is trying to move in with her boyfriend at Malveaux Estates--Derek Malveaux, get her bearings with helping run the vineyard, and prepare for the coming wine season. Then one of the guru's students is murdered on the planned outing of the Dinner Wine Train, she is asked by the detective assigned to the case--Jonah Robinson--to keep her eyes and ears open, her boyfriend gets stranded on the East Coast due to weather, and a second murder takes place at the hotel on the Estates. Now Nikki's intimately involved in the case. With a killer on the loose, everyone on edge, and the clues not adding up Detective Robinson and Nikki have their hands full ferreting out the killer.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good plot, characters we love, and murder. There is Nikki, doing
what she love’s managing the winery. This time it was a special group, to wine and dine them. Hoping there would be an endorsement out of it, to help Derek. The murder, and another, has you puzzled, why both, and the antics of Simon, made this a delightful read, and looking forward to more.

[BeverlyB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great Nicki Sands murder mystery! I'm really enjoying this series. The books are a light fast read and the recipes and wine pairings are interesting and I'm thinking I will definitely have to try a few of both--the recipes and the wine.

[clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all these Wine Lovers books, but all seem to have missed editing. There are many grammatical errors---many sentence fragments, throughout the book. That doesn't detract from the story or from my enjoyment of the book. It does seem as if it could have been edited more carefully.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series & characters!! I'm so glad I came across it. Each book is well worth the read. This one had me guessing until the very end. I can't wait to see what mystery comes up next.

[Monica Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the characters. Even though I started not with the first in the series, it didn't leave me lost. I had my who near the end, just not why.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thumbs up

Another great book you have here to keep us on our toes . . . . . . . .

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting use of a cork. Love the information around Napa and the wineries. Very diverse cast of characters and seeing how much each person paid to take part in this retreat.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a mystery? This is a quick fun easy read. Even more fun if you are into wines and food.
Keeps you guessing.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great book

We finally get to meet Guru Sansibaba. And of course Nikki solves another murder and gets herself hurt again. Oh but this one has a great ending!

[Crystal Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. it is #5 in a series but can be read on its own. I didn't guess who did it. so that was good. I took a little bit to get into it.

[Roseann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malveaux Estates manager Nikki Sands is caught up in murder...again. This time self-help guru Alan Sansi and his Source of Enlightened Elite (SEE) are having a retreat at the winery when one of his associates is found corked (literally) by some of Nikki's wine. With her boyfriend (and winery owner) Derek gone, Nikki has to work this one alone (albeit with some help from sexy detective Jonah Robinson). When another guest is found murdered in the same style, it's evident that someone staying at the retreat is the killer and Nikki just may be the next target!

Without having read the other four prior stories I was able to get to know the characters easily and had no trouble catching up. I was very happy with the "whodunit" portion and although it came a bit quick at the end was not disappointed.

I will definitely read Nikki's other adventures and look forward to future books from this delightful author.

[Leya · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the fifth installement of the series, we find Nikki organizing a retreat for guru Sansibaba and his followers - S.E.E. (Source of Enlightened Elite) the newest pet project of Simon and Marco. Derek is out of town for business. The first event Nikki finds the body of one of the members of S.E.E.. Detective Yummy, excuse, Robinson asks Nikki to keep her ears open, basically he asks for her help.

The book has the usual fast pace that I expect for a Michele Scott book. There's also the comic relief of Simon and Marco, I love those two, but they've also grown on me...there's a depth in each of them that I hadn't seen yet. We're also given a little info on Robinson's life, which explains a lot for me. And then there's Derek, although we don't see him all that much in this book, he does put on quite a performance at the end.

Getting to the murder, and the motive behind it, it just doesn't make sense, to me at least. It was explained, but it felt like a weak excuse.

[WifeMomKnitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was chosen to receive this book to review on Goodreads.com.

This was my first foray into Michele Scott's "Wine Lover's Mystery" series and I was not disappointed.

The novel takes place at the Malveaux Estate in Napa Valley. The main character, Nikki Sands, is the spunky manager of the vineyard's hotel and spa who, apparently, always seems to attract trouble. A new-age guru and his followers check into the hotel for a retreat and two of the members end up getting murder with a cork shoved in their mouth. So the question is whodunit?

What I really loved about the novel and is that, although it's the fifth book in the Wine Lover's Mystery series, this novel is also fine just as a stand alone story. The recipe and wine pairings are also a nice feature as well.

I'm looking forward to reading the other four books in the series.

[Lanelibrarylady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latest in the series...More of the same from author Scott...cute and cheeky Nikki is back in Napa and must play hostess to a New Age group that Simon and Marco have joined. Derek is stranded in New York, leaving Nikki to manage the winery on her own. On the first evening, one of the guests is found murdered, with a cork placed in his mouth. To make matters worse, his mistress is the next victim. In this installment, Nikki plays hostess, junior detective (this time WITH local police consent)and matchmaker while trying to avoid becoming a target herself. As in all of the books, recipes and wine pairings are included.
A little cheesy, but hey, it goes well with the wine :-)

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading another in the series of wine lover's mysteries. This one took place on the Wine Train in Napa Valley, CA. This one has a guru who has come with his group of followers to a retreat and one is murdered on the wine train as is his companion. Takes a long time to locate the guilty party. Fun interaction between the m.c. and her staff.
Her live-in lover is away in NYC during snowstorm trying to put together a deal for the wines and a sponsor. Fun mystery with recipes at the end of several chapters.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun diversion - easy to read, good distraction. I'm glad the romance part has finally been worked out. I'd like Nikki to figure out who did it - and have them aprehended - before that person tries to kill her at least once in the series. I didn't get the same satisfaction from reading this as I did the others in the series -- not sure if this was my mood, or reading on my ebook (although so far I am loving the ebook), or if maybe this was just not my favorite story.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first reading of a book from the Wine Lover's Mystery series and I really liked it. I thought the writing was well done. I especially liked the characters. Often when I read a series I get attached to the characters and look forward to the next book so I can see how they're doing. I could definitely see myself feeling that way about these guys, especially Simon and Marcus. I will be reading the series from the beginning.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite of the entire series. I loved the locations, the characters and the recipes/wine pairings. You are introduced to the killer early on but it doesn't quite tie in until the ending.

The main characters give you satisfaction in that you have past issues resolved and yet you know there are more to come.

I hope this series continues and we have many more years with Nikki and company.

Michele Scott is a fine writer.

[Kwoomac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly predictable mystery which takes place at a vineyard. In addition to the story, the author shares recipes and wine pairings. The author steps out of the story and speaks directly to the reader when talking about the recipes. It's disconcerting; they're not at the end of the book but interspersed in the story, so all of a sudden, the story's on hold while the author talks about her recipe. Thrift store purchase so I got my money's worth.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Michele Scott's Wine Country Mysteries for a quick Sunday read. Though her previous book, A Vintage Murder, was a letdown I've sort of grown fond of the characters and decided to go on and read Corked By Cabernet and she is back in good form. This series is printed as paperback originals so go ahead and indulge your lighter side. Recipes and wine pairings included!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is technically good but still falls a bit flat for some of the major characters - Simon and Marco are well done, some of the others are still not there. Some opportunities were missed to make the mystery more robust and involved and I felt there was more emphasis on food than wine for a wine series.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good but maybe not as exciting as some of the others in the series. The guru Sansibaba and his "enlightened followers" come to the winery for a retreat that Nikki is in charge of. When they are on a trip on the wine train, one of the followers is found dead. The ending made me look forward to the next book in the series, which I hope is a little more exciting.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any of the previous books in this series, but now I plan to. It was a fun, light read with a good mystery. I associated with Nikki b/c I can be quite nosey! I would like to learn more about her relationship with Derek (so, I will start at the beginning), and I loved the ending!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started 12-06-10
Finished 12-14-10

This is the first book I've read by this author and I found it simple in style and had some humorous spots. I will look for others in this series as well as her 'horsy' set offerings and give her another chance.

[VJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. It didn't hold my interest as much as other books. There was a return to PG-13 bordering on R rated language in this one as well as the last. I'm really not a fan of the F-bomb. I can understand in a gritty police procedural but not a cozy mystery. It's uncalled for.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but I'm still looking for a good wine-oriented mystery series. Started out well, but then just dragged on. The story was a bit too contrived. Liked the detail about Napa. Fairly simplistic from the wine perspective.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't quite as good as the others. But I like the characters and will probably keep reading to see what happens to them.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the whodunit twist at the end of all Michele Scott's books. Entertaining.