Cece Barton #2
In Maddie Day’s second Cece Barton novel, Deadly Crush, her protagonist has moved to Alexander Valley in California and manages a local wine bar known as Vino Y Vida. With the exception of being integral in solving a murder in her previous adventure, Cece is adapting well to her new life. She is taking care to get security cameras and new wiring in the wine bar and has hired local electrician Karl Meier to do it, which turns into a disaster. He’s not only slow in his work, he’s abusive to his assistant who was also his nephew, and is just a genuinely unpleasant individual. Given that everyone who knows Carl seems to have the same impression, Cece makes the decision to never enlist his services again.
It turns out it’s an easy resolution to keep when he turns up crushed to death in an auto repair shop – specifically, the one that Cece uses for her own older vehicle, and that happens to be run by Karl’s ex-wife Josie. Hoping to lean on her sleuthing prowess, Josie calls Cece even before the police to let her know what’s happened. After getting there and seeing the gruesome scene, Cece convinces Josie to call the police. They aren’t pleased to see the amateur detective there, even if she insists she isn’t investigating anything. Unfortunately for Cece, she is very observant, and already deduced that the crime scene was no accident and that a murderer is lurking around their Californian town. As one of the first two on scene, Cece knows that she and Josie are definitely on the suspects list from the start. The best way to protect themselves, as she sees it, is to check things out for herself. She has the help of her twin sister Allie, who also lives in town with her own family. Her sleuthing style is more observation based, listening to conversations, and making connections between what people tell her as well, sometimes seeing things that the police either can’t or wouldn’t connect otherwise.
For those who enjoyed the first book in the Cece Barton mysteries, Deadly Crush is a must have. Maddie Day’s writing style is easy to follow and the story flows in a very natural way as Cece investigates and lives her life. Readers who decide to start on Deadly Crush instead won’t have any problems following the story, or knowing who is who in relation to Cece. There is some extra personal drama for Cece that seems to have evolved since the first book, and so readers might find themselves drawn to get more details about that. Deadly Crush comes to a satisfying conclusion, and I think readers will enjoy trying to figure out whodunit. Maddie Day provides plenty of suspects, each with a credible motive. I suggest Deadly Crush for cozy readers who like a sleuth who is invested in solving the mystery, but also focused on living their lives. She is determined to make the Vino Y Vida a success, maintain a good relationship with her family, and establish herself in her new town. – Carla Schantz