The Proof Is In the Pudding - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: The Proof is in the Poison (Southern Homebrew Mystery #2) by Diane Kelly

Rating: Liked It!
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Now that her moonshine shop is up and running, Hattie Hayes can focus her efforts on expanding her fledgling business to events in the area, like the Chattanooga Choo Choo Model Train Convention, which is running full steam ahead at the convention center down the block. Hattie is all aboard, seizing this perfect opportunity to promote her Southern homebrew to the folks who have come to the city for the annual event.

But when an attendee dies after drinking some of Hattie's moonshine, she'll need to prove her innocence. Between tight-lipped train hobbyists and competitors for a coveted convention prize, Hattie has a wide array of suspects to choose from, and she'll need to use all the tricks up her sleeve to make sure her moonshine business can survive a murderer and stay on track.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I enjoyed the first book in the series and I love Chattanooga so I couldn't resist picking up this book.

My Impression: Chattanooga is a train lover's dream and throw in a model train convention and it's even better.  Since trains are such a huge part of the culture of the town I really enjoyed how the author pulled that into this book and it made the absolute perfect setup for a murder.  

Hattie has big plans on how to promote her moonshine shop with the train convention and at the beginning it looks like everything is going well- that is until a participant falls over dead and Hattie's shine is to blame.  Hattie reluctantly gets pulled into the investigation in order to save her shop.  I'm not a huge train fan but I did find all the model train information really interesting and I enjoyed all the characters that the convention brought in.  The side characters are also a lot of fun - especially Hattie's grandfather.  

The mystery was interesting and did keep me guessing as there were more than a few people who weren't going to be shedding tears over the victim's death.  I enjoyed the read and the virtual visit to Chattanooga.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Definitely!  I enjoyed this book and other books I've read by the author.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy cozies with a bit of quirkiness this is a great series though I do recommend starting with the first book.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *