Hi, everybody. I’m Allie Halstead. I’m a real estate agent, and I also run a B&B in a big Victorian where I live with my husband and twin ten-year-old boys in Colinas, a lovely little historic town in the scenic wine-producing Alexander Valley about ninety minutes north of San Francisco.

More importantly today, I’m Cece Barton’s fraternal twin sister. We talk about everything, as you can imagine, and I’m so glad I convinced her to move up to Colinas from Pasadena last year. She found a job managing the wine bar in town, and she’s doing great at it.

Today I had walked my sons to the bus stop and was catching up on some listings at home when Cece rode her bike over. She’d just seen a dead body at her car mechanic’s shop and wanted to share the news. Josie Jarvin had found the dude and called Cece in a panic.

After it turned out to be a homicide and Josie was the first suspect, I helped Cece figure out, well, whodunnit. Things got a little dicey when we tracked down the killer, but we managed to rescue ourselves. We make a good team that way.

And then, of course, we celebrated at Vino y Vida. You should stop by for a glass sometime!

Deadly Crush, A Cece Barton Mystery Book 2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: November 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

It’s the beginning of a new year, and for widowed single mom and recent L.A. transplant to California wine country, Cece Barton, that means green hillsides, flowing streams from winter rains, pruned vineyards—and a murder to solve . . .

After a mostly stress-free Christmas with her college-age daughter, and despite enjoying a current budding romance with fellow newcomer, Benjamin Cohen, it’s time for Cece to focus on Vino y Vida, the Colinas wine bar she manages. Electrical work and an outdoor security camera are needed, and she’s hired local electrician Karl Meier to do the job, along with the help of his nephew Ian. But she regrets her choice when she witnesses Karl needlessy berating Ian in her presence. On top of that, Karl leers at her, then presents her with an inflated bill before the work is complete. Still, she’s shocked when she gets a call from Karl’s ex-wife, Josie, that she’s found Karl . . . crushed to death beneath the lift in her automotive shop.

Cece convinces Josie to call the police, even though Josie is terrified. After all, Karl was an abusive husband, was threatening her, and she has no alibi. With Josie’s future on the line, and maybe her own, Cece starts her own investigation. From the customers Karl cheated to the other women he harassed, she finds there’s no lack of suspects—other than the shelter kittens to whom he was an uncharacteristically sweet volunteer. With a bouquet of motives and unanswered questions, Cece is going to need the help of her twin, Allie, who owns a nearby B & B, as she dives into Karl’s past—before the killer catches up with her, and the lights go out for good . . .

About the author
Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the new Cece Barton Mysteries. As Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell, she writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and short crime fiction. Day/Maxwell lives with her beau and cat Martin north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at EdithMaxwell.com, wickedauthors.com, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, and on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.