Guess what…? It’s Mystery month for our Book Club Pairings, which means scintillating stories, tantalizing tastes and edge of your seat suspense! Set the mood and the table for your clandestine gathering (a.k.a. friendly get-together) with a medley of mysterious sips and dark flavors like these.

Conundrum Wine Blends: The secret of these wines lies in their ever-shifting blends. The recipes change each year to allow the use of what grape varietals Mother Nature has ripened the best. Conundrum White is a crisp, refreshing wine with notes of pear, apricot and tangerine, all balanced by crisp acidity that keeps the fruit flavors from being to sweet. Conundrum Red is a big bold wine with smoky notes, chocolate-covered cherry flavors and ripe fruit flavors that are complemented by the round tannins that provide body and structure.

Cosentino The Dark: Dark black in color with aromas of juniper and spice, this deep, dark red blend is perfect for pairing with broody, noir-esque whodunits. It has a lush, velvety texture with flavors of blackberry, cassis, plum, and just a hint of milk chocolate on the lingering finish.

Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion: Secret identity, meet secret recipe. Each batch of this beer is brewed in secret, and each time the hops used to create the aromas and bitterness are an ever-evolving mix designed to deliver a unique, mind-blowing flavor. The current release is batch No. 005, brewed with hops grown in Washington state and featuring tropical flavors of mango, pineapple and papaya.

Tantalize your taste buds further with a spread of thrilling snacks. Super dark chocolate like TCHO 81% Extra Dark or Blanxart 82% Congo fit the shadowy motif, as does Bandage Wrapped Cheddar—the unfortunate victim of Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the cheese knife.

For your literary sleuthing pleasure, sample perplexing titles from authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame), Alexander McCall Smith (creator of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) and Agatha Christie (the mastermind behind Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot). For a little comedy with your crime, you can also try Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale or Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.

For even more mysterious fiction, visit your local bookstore or library. You can also track down a few more suspects for your food and beverage line-up at your local Nugget Markets.

Case closed.