Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Fiddling with Fate - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Fiddling with Fate (Southern Homebrew Mystery #3) by Diane Kelly

Rating:  Liked It! (3.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  It's late August in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and moonshiner Hattie Hayes has collaborated to serve her moonshine at a nearby vineyard for a Wine and 'Shine event. Not only is this an opportunity for Hattie to gain more moonshine fans, but she's also excited to see the Bootlegging Brothers, a popular bluegrass band. But not every attendee is looking for harmony, and when one of the brothers disappears after the event and is presumed dead, Hattie realizes her grace note event has suddenly turned more sour than her mash.

Unearthing what happened to the missing musician is more difficult than Hattie first expected, and when Hattie's moonshine is tied to the crime, there's no time to fiddle around. She has to step up to solve the case. Luckily, Hattie's cool head and quick mind help her understand that when investigating a musical crime, always stay sharp.

Genre:  Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I really enjoyed the previous books in this series so of course I had to pick up the next book.  

My Impression:   It's always fun to go to Chattanooga to hang out with Hattie and the rest of the Moonshine Shack crew.  This book involves a bluegrass festival and Hattie's efforts to gain more name recognition for her business.  I really enjoyed seeing the business details and seeing some of the behind the scenes of running a small business.   It also introduced the characters of the Bootlegging Brothers to the reader so we could see their dysfunctional dynamics.  

The mystery did take awhile to get going as nothing really happened until after the first third of the book and that in turn made the book feel a bit slow in places.  Once the mystery got going it pulled me in a bit more but there was some repetition in dialogue that did make it feel a bit slower.  Kelly's books are always fun to read and while I enjoyed this one it wasn't my favorite in the series.  I am looking forward to seeing what kind of mess Hattie gets into next.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Definitely!  I've read several series by this author and always enjoy them.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of Hattie's hijinks in the next book.

Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy cozy mysteries I would definitely recommend this author and this series.  This isn't the strongest book in the series so far but it was still a fun read and the first two books are even better.

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

6 comments:

  1. I'm reading this one now. I read the previous books and enjoyed them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is an author that I have been curious about. It sounds like this series would be worth a try.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds fun even if the mystery took awhile to kick in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well at least you are very fair and are going to keep with the series even though this wasn't a strong string in the bow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've seen this one on Yvonne's blog as well. Yes, I love a good cozy mystery. But I'm a bit fed up and feel like a bit more hardcore crime at the moment!!

    ReplyDelete