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A review by bookwyrm_lark
Deadly Dram by Melinda Mullet
4.0
The Whiskey Business series continues to delight me. Of course, it’s set in Scotland, a country I’ve visited twice and have always felt drawn to. Ms. Mullet does a good job with description and scene setting, vividly depicting Abbey Glen, the nearby village, and other Scottish venues such as the country-house hotel in this novel.
But it’s her characters that come most alive for me. Abi is a wonderful personality, and her experience as a professional photojournalist makes her curiosity and propensity for involving herself in murder investigations both likely and believable. I love her unruly but loyal wheaten terrier, Liam; her best friend, Patrick; and her complex relationship with Abbey Glen’s master brewer, Grant. (There were hints before the start of this book that things might tend in a romantic direction between Abi and Grant, but don’t hold your breath.) And I enjoy the relationship between Abi and the police inspector, Michaelson, which is also complex. Michaelson is slightly antagonistic even when he has to make use of her as a witness or as a photographer, but at the same time, he and Abi are both are coming to recognize and respect the skills of the other.
The mystery in this third book truly kept me guessing right up to the denouement, and the accumulating evidence had me looking at all the wrong people… which put me in good company, since both Michaelson and Abi did the same. There are rather a lot of suspects and potential victims to keep track of; I would have appreciated a “cast of characters” list to help me out until I had everyone’s name and pertinent information memorized. But once I had everyone sorted, I was quickly swept up into the story.
One side effect of following this series is that I’ve learned quit a bit about whiskey, in particular Scots (or “Scotch”) whiskey. I only regret that I’ve not developed a palate for it — yet. However, my well-developed mystery palate was quite happy to imbibe a Deadly Dram!
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.
But it’s her characters that come most alive for me. Abi is a wonderful personality, and her experience as a professional photojournalist makes her curiosity and propensity for involving herself in murder investigations both likely and believable. I love her unruly but loyal wheaten terrier, Liam; her best friend, Patrick; and her complex relationship with Abbey Glen’s master brewer, Grant. (There were hints before the start of this book that things might tend in a romantic direction between Abi and Grant, but don’t hold your breath.) And I enjoy the relationship between Abi and the police inspector, Michaelson, which is also complex. Michaelson is slightly antagonistic even when he has to make use of her as a witness or as a photographer, but at the same time, he and Abi are both are coming to recognize and respect the skills of the other.
The mystery in this third book truly kept me guessing right up to the denouement, and the accumulating evidence had me looking at all the wrong people… which put me in good company, since both Michaelson and Abi did the same. There are rather a lot of suspects and potential victims to keep track of; I would have appreciated a “cast of characters” list to help me out until I had everyone’s name and pertinent information memorized. But once I had everyone sorted, I was quickly swept up into the story.
One side effect of following this series is that I’ve learned quit a bit about whiskey, in particular Scots (or “Scotch”) whiskey. I only regret that I’ve not developed a palate for it — yet. However, my well-developed mystery palate was quite happy to imbibe a Deadly Dram!
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.