Decanting a Murder

This is the first book in "A Sommelier Mystery" and I am ready to read the next one. The book opens with the protagonist, Katie Stillwell, failing the Sommelier Certification test. Hoping that attending the celebration of 100 years of Frontier Winery as the guest of her best friend Tessa will cheer her up, she tries to shake it off. The party starts off well, but shortly after the festivities get off the ground, a body is found in a vat of fermenting grapes. Tessa is the prime suspect, but Katie knows she would never kill anyone. Her goal is to prove her innocence. Katie's father is a well-known police chief and she had actually attended police academy with the intention of following in his footsteps so she is no stranger to solving show more crimes. Because of this, the detective in charge, Detective Dean, allows her to ride along and he listens to her when she has suspicions and gut feelings. It does not mean he will share everything, but he is a little freer with information than he should be. Of course as often happens, Katie ends up becoming a target as she gets closer to the truth.

Katie Stilwell is a great character. She’s level headed, smart, witty, charming, pays attention to detail, and proves that she does have pluck and sticktoitiveness. Tessa on the other hand, is the party girl who just wants to have fun. Unfortunately, this often gets her into trouble and she has difficulty holding down a job. I was not to impressed with her as a character, but the relationship between these women was very special. The author does a wonderful job getting us into their heads and developing their characters. The final character that I hope will be a main character in this series is Detective John Dean. He and Katie had a bit of a flirtatious relationship and I would love to see this develop. The mystery was well plotted with red herrings and real clues scattered throughout the story. I thought I knew who the killer was, then changed my mind multiple times as the story progressed. This makes for an enjoyable read to me. I loved the information given about the Sommelier process, wine pairings (although I would love to see food listed as well as atmosphere) and the Napa Valley area. There was just enough of this to make it an enjoyable read, but not overtake the story. A great cozy mystery, with enough suspense and description to make this a series that I will watch for. show less

Decanting a Murder by Nadine Nettmann is the first book in A Sommelier Mystery series. Katie Stillwell just took her Certified Sommelier Exam (the first step in a four step process to become a Master Sommelier). Katie knows she did not do well because she choked (which she does quite often) on the blind tasting portion (after bragging that she is The Palate). But she does not have time to dwell on it, because she is off to an exclusive event at the Frontier Winery to celebrate their 100th anniversary. The Frontier Winery is not open to the public (only members of the Frontier Wine Club). Katie is lucky that her friend, Tessa Blakely, works for the Frontier Wine Club and wangled her an invite. Katie is enjoying a wonderful wine and the show more company of Jeff Kingman (who is flirting with her) when they hear a scream. One of the servers has discovered an arm sticking out of a fermentation tank. The arm belongs to winery owner Mark Plueger. The number one suspect ends up being Katie’s friend, Tessa (who disappeared during the party). Katie wants to clear her friend (who is flighty, lively party girl who likes to drink) and involves herself in Detective Dean’s investigation (he is the lead detective on the case and is interested in Katie). Tessa protected Katie many years ago, and Katie will do anything for Tessa (blind loyalty). Will Katie be able to clear Tessa and find the real killer? What happens when the suspects start turning up dead? You will have to join Katie in Decanting a Murder!

Decanting a Murder was a wine, it would be considered a bad vintage (undrinkable). The pace is slow (snails were zipping by me). The novel just drags on and on toward the inevitable (and predictable) conclusion. The characters (as well as the book) are flat (they are just meh)! It lacks depth/substance. Clues are nonexistent (you do not need them though). The killer was obvious (actions speak louder than clues). I was hoping this would be a great new series, but I was disappointed (I’m sorry, but I am being honest). The premise (basic idea) is good, but I did not enjoy the final product (this book). I think the author needs to start over with new characters. Katie comes across as awkward (with issues) and Tessa is someone I would really rather not associate with (what winery would hire someone who drinks that much especially during a party when they are supposed to be working). I give Decanting a Murder 2 out of 5 stars. If there is another book in the series, will I read it? Probably not. There would have to be significant improvement for me to read it.

I received a complimentary copy of Decanting a Murder from NetGalley (courtesy of the publisher) in exchange for an honest review of the novel. show less

Napa Valley Wine Country provides the setting for this cosy mystery. Kate Stillwell - sommelier in training - has been invited to an exclusive vineyard for a tasting by her BFF Tessa Barkley.

Needless to say, murder, a missing BFF, and Kate joins the investigation in the hopes of clearing her friend's name. Sure enough, Kate herself becomes a suspect. Will she solve the crime in time to clear them both?

This was a quick light read - a heady mix of wine and murder - with each chapter paired by wine. There is great imagery in the setting; the characters are three dimensional - strong, flawed, with long hidden secrets. A couple of things did grate - the character of Kate, who comes off slightly arrogant; and of course the complete disregard show more of police procedure - which is pretty much standard in cosy mysteries (how else can our heroine insinuate herself into the investigation).

Having said that, there is a good build up to the plot twists and reveal, however, we are also left hanging as this will lead into the second in the series Uncorking a Lie. show less

The first book in A Sommelier Mystery series shows Katie Stillwell immediately after the Certified Sommelier Exam when she is headed to a private party at the Frontier Winery. While at Frontier, she tastes some phenomenal wine but then later finds the owner of Frontier floating in a wine tank. Since her friend's personalized cork screw is found near the body, Katie feels she has to work to clear her friend of suspicion.

The idea of this mystery was good, and I had read a later one so I felt I needed more background. I'm glad I read the later one (unusual for me) because otherwise I probably wouldn't have read on. The characters needed work as well as the writing style. But the future holds promise.

The concept of a sommelier was interesting when I heard the author speak at LCC Hawaii but the book really annoyed me as the main character kept putting herself in needless jeopardy. I also did not warm to the characters and will not seek out the next book in the series.