A Pairing to Die For by Kate Lansing

Title: A Pairing to Die For
Author: Kate Lansing
Series: Colorado Wine Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Takes Place: Boulder, CO
Main Character: Parker, Reid
Other Characters: Gary, Camilla, Ben, Tristan, Oscar, Nick, Katy, Sage, Eli, Brit, Tony
Pets: 2 cats Zin & William
Stars: 4

A Pairing to Die For is the 2nd book in the Colorado Wine Mystery. Even though I am a wine lover, I found all the references on making wine a bit drawn out. I enjoyed some of it but then it got a bit old because I found it bit redundant. I am not a foodie so some of the references to the food, got a bit old so I would skip over some of it. I wanted to get on with the murder and solving the case.

Parker and Reid are in the early stages of establishing a relationship and things are progressing nicely. Parker has her own Winery and Reid has opened his new restaurant. They collaborate on wine pairings to match Reid’s recipes. When Reid’s estranged family come to town to celebrate the grand opening of his new restaurant, Parker is ready to make a great first impression, but that won’t be enough when disaster strikes. This sends Reid to the kitchen so Parker has to deal with his family alone. To top the evening off, Reid’s Sous chef is found dead in the alley behind the restaurant and Reid is arrested for the crime. Things definitely aren’t going as planned. According to the police this case is so clear-cut that they aren’t even looking for any other suspects.Parker is convinced that Reid could not have done this heinous crime and she is determined to prove it. There are a few people who could have had motive to want the sous chef gone but who would have been willing to kill him! Could Parker’s investigation put her in jeopardy?

I really liked this book and the mystery. The only reason I gave this book a 4 is due to all the references on making wine and food got a bit distracting but over all, it was great mystery. The characters are well developed and I felt like I knew them. Parker & Reid’s relationship is sweet and I love seeing where it is going to go. There may also be another romantic relationship in the works. The mystery was good with lots of twists and even though I had my suspicions on who the killer was, there was a twist I didn’t see coming.

“When you find someone who truly complements you, who brings out new sides of yourself you didn’t know existed, well, that just might be a pairing worth dying for.”

Happy Reading!