"Great new wine mystery series. I don't drink wine and I loved it."

When Nikki Sands accidentally spills a drink on a nasty bimbo she was serving at her waitress job, she has no idea how it is going to change her life. The bimbo starts making a scene so Nikki quits. While getting a drink across the street, in walks the bimbo's date, the hunk. He buys her dinner. He was so impressed with her wine knowledge at the restaurant, so he has her order the wine for their dinner.

After dinner he offers her a job at Maleveaux Estates, a Napa Valley winery. He is Derek Maleveaux. Having nothing to lose, she flies with him to his winery to look into this job.

As Nikki is settling in at the guest cottage, she notices something strange outside. When she goes outside to check it out, she finds the murdered corpse of Gabriel Asant, Derek's winemaker and friend.

Nikki, a wannabe actress, once played a detective on TV, so she decides to do some investigating. The police are interested in Derek. She doesn't believe he did it.

Between the rival winery, Derek's strange family, and Gabriel's women, Nikki has plenty of people to investigate. But can she do that without becoming a victim herself?

This is a great first book in a new series. The characters are wonderful and the setting is delightful. I'm not a wine drinker, but the information about wine and its making is not overpowering. The author has blended it in well with the mystery. I found myself laughing out loud. It is a very fast, enjoyable read.

I can't wait for the next book. I highly recommend this book!

Reviewed by Dawn Dowdle
Posted October 31, 2005

Summary

Recipes and wine pairings included!

Nikki has just set foot on Napa Valley's rich soil when she realizes her new job may not be as safe as she thought. First off, Derek Malveaux is disconcertingly sexy. Second, his top winemaker is dead in the bushes outside Nikki's cottage. It doesn't take a connoisseur of foul play to know something's taken a terrible turn...

Nikki Sands was like every other aspiring actress—waiting tables between jobs. But Nikki had taken serving wines to heart. She knew enough to impress Napa Valley's golden boy, Derek Malveaux, who offered her a job at his vineyard. And though Nikki may have left her dreams of stardom behind, the world of wine is ripe with intrigue—and the seeds of sleuthing are planted...