The Moonshine Shack Murder - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Moonshine Shack Murder (A Homebrew Mystery #1) by Diane Kelly

Rating: Liked It!
Source: Publisher

Description:  In this intoxicating new cozy mystery series, the future for modern-day moonshiner Hattie Hayes looks bright--until death darkens the doorstep of her Moonshine Shack.

The Hayes family has made moonshine in Chattanooga since the days of Prohibition, and Hattie is happy to continue the tradition, serving up fun, fruity flavors in mason jars for locals and tourists alike. All signs indicate her new 'shine shop will be a smashing success. What's more, mounted police officer Marlon Landers has taken a shine to Hattie. For the first time ever, the stars seemed to have aligned in both her work and romantic life. But when a body ends up on her store's doorstep alongside a broken jar of her Firefly Moonshine, it just might be lights out for her fledgling business.

The homicide detective can't seem to identify the person who killed the owner of a nearby bar. The only witness is Hattie's longhaired gray cat, and Smoky isn't talking. When the detective learns that the victim and Hattie had a heated exchange shortly before his murder, she becomes her prime suspect.

Lest Hattie end up behind bars like her bootlegging great-grandfather a century before, she must distill the evidence herself and serve the killer a swift shot of justice.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I read another book from this author and enjoyed it so thought I'd pick up this start of a new series up.

My Impression:  You can't turn around in any tourist-y area in Tennessee without tripping over a moonshine place (all of which give out free samples) so I thought this was a clever hook for a new cozy series.  I've only done one taste testing but the samples were tasty and I even happen to have a mason jar of a mulled spice moonshine in my refrigerator right this second.  It makes for a fantastic hot apple cider in the winter.  I do find the popularity of moonshine fairly entertaining.  My black sheep Great Aunt's ne'er do well husband was a moonshiner (his nickname was Shine in fact).  My very respectable family was horrified - especially when he was arrested and the story was on the front page on the very same day his daughter's wedding was on the front of the society section.  But that has nothing to do with this book.

Kelly writes in a very conversational tone (which apparently brings out my ramblings) which makes for an entertaining read.  Hattie, her grandfather, and her friend Kiki are fun characters and I liked the development of her relationship with the main detective Ace and Marlon who patrols on horseback around the Moonshine Shack.  A few neighboring business owners were also introduced and I really feel like the series has a lot of positive space for growth.  

The mystery wasn't the most mysterious but while I guessed the who pretty quickly I really enjoyed discovering the why and seeing how the investigation unraveled.  It's a bit on the cutesy side which I enjoy but might not be for everyone.  This is a series that I'm really looking forward to continuing with as I suspect Hattie will have a talent for getting into trouble!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  So far I've read two books by this author and enjoyed both.  I'll definitely be looking for the second book in this series.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you like cozies that are on the fun side with a touch of cutesy I think you'll enjoy this read.

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

Ten Books on My TBR Set In Summer

One of the things I'm trying to do is to read a little more seasonally.  It's always a little more fun to read a book set around the time of year I'm currently in (unless I'm tired of being cold and then I pick up one set on the beach in July!) so I'm working on keeping a list of books on my TBR that are set around certain holidays and seasons.  So today I'm looking at books that are set in summer and around the 4th of July.  

1.  Plot Boiler by Ali Brandon - Books and cats and a fantastic cozy title.  How can I resist?

2.  Clammed Up by Barbara Ross - A clambake in Maine with lots of family drama and some murder.

3.  Mrs. Morris and the Sorceress by Traci Wilton - I don't know a huge amount about this series but I've seen it around quite a bit and I love the titles!

4.  Independence Slay by Shelley Freydont - This series involves a small town that is always having a festival for something and unfortunately also seems to have a surprisingly high crime rate. 

5.  Gone with the Whisker by Laurie Cass - This series has been on my TBR forever and this one looks really fun!

6.  Dead, White and Blue by Carolyn Hart - Carolyn Hart has been around for ages but I can't remember if I've ever read a book by her and this series looks fun.

7.  Bowled Over by Victoria Hamilton - This series involves vintage kitchen stuff which sounds interesting and also like it's going to send me on vintage kitchen stuff searches.  

8.  Live and Let Fly by Clover Tate - This is a cozy mystery involving the owner of a kite store which just screams summer.  

9.  Gone Gull by Donna Andrews - Not only is this one of my favorite series but the title just makes me smile.

10. Bushel Full of Murder by Paige Shelton - This series is set around a farmer's market and this one is set right in the middle of summer.

Do you like reading seasonally?  What books are on your summer list?

The Year of the Series - Thread the Halls + The Whole Cat and Caboodle

 

After the calamity that was 2020 I didn't want to give myself serious reading goals but I did want to do something to help my book stacks get a little more under control.  I've tried getting rid of the ones I want to read but unfortunately I want to read all the books I own.  So I decided to focus on series.  There are so many I have that I abandoned halfway through or came in halfway and never read the first few.  I made a list of ten series and the next book I had to read in them and will be rolling in new books and series as I go along and catch up.  Here are two reviews from that list that I've read recently.

Goodreads:  Thread the Halls (Mainely Needlepoint #6) by Lea Wait 

My Thoughts:  This was a fun mystery!  I didn't love the last book so I was a little nervous going into this one but I shouldn't have been.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There are Hollywood stars and drama, lots of Maine Christmas fun, some kitten hijinks, and a murder mystery.  I had some suspicions as to the who but the why was quite a surprise and I really enjoyed getting there.  I loved catching up with Angie, Sara, and the rest of the Mainely Needlepointers.  This is a great cozy series with a fun Maine atmosphere and a likable community of characters.  I liked Angie and think that Trixie is good for her and keeps her from getting too much in her own head which has been a complaint I've had in previous books.  I'm already looking forward to picking up the next book in the series!  My Rating:  Really Liked It!

Goodreads:  The Whole Cat and Caboodle (Second Chance Cat Mystery #1) by Sofie Ryan

My Thoughts:  I started this series with book 5 and really had no issues jumping in there but I'm so glad I've gone back and started at the beginning.  Sarah is busy running a antique/refurbished shop, getting used to being back home, and corralling her a collection of her grandmother's friends who are like family to her.  Things go a bit off the rails when one of those friends, Maddie, is found with a body in her backyard and the rest of the group dives into keep her out of jail.  This was a fun read.  I loved the characters and found Sarah's story really interesting.  And of course, the cat Elvis is the star of the show.  He reminds me a bit of my cat but way more social and I had to laugh quite a few times at his antics or responses.  My only complaint is that there are a lot of characters and sometimes it's a bit difficult to remember how they're all connected to each other but that really doesn't pertain to the story so that didn't bother me too much.  I'm really looking forward to continuing this series.  My Rating: Really Liked It!

Life with Leukemia (And Some Reading) - July 4

 It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Somehow I managed to not get any books this week!  I was strongly tempted to go book shopping but talked myself out of it by reminding myself I'm trying to get through some more books from my shelves.  I make no promises for next week!

Currently:

Reading:  The Moonshine Shack Murder by Diane Kelly and Latter End by Patricia Wentworth

Listening:  A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley

So leukemia sucks and it's a long exhausting process but there are some fantastic moments mixed in and this was one of them.  The crew of SpaceX's Inspiration4 came to the Space and Rocket Center here in town to talk to Space Camp and my mother who works there was able to get us into see them.  What makes this extra special is that the medical officer, Haley Arceneaux (the shorter woman) on this mission is not only a childhood cancer survivor ourselves and is now a Physician's Assistant at St Jude.  And not just any PA - she was our PA!  She was one of the first people we really connected to when we were there and she's just an amazing person.  We were so excited to see her and she got a bit emotional seeing Will who she hasn't seen since October.  It was really wonderful.  The rest of the crew was super nice and made time to talk to Will and posed for about a million pictures.  It was a really special moment.  The mission launches in about 2 months and will be the first civilian crewed space flight

Other then that the rest of the week was pretty good.  We were able to go swimming earlier in the week which was fun and a good bit of exercise.  He's off steroids for a few weeks which means he's finally getting some decent sleep again.  We are doing a low key July 4th celebration and grilling out and that kind of thing.  

I hope everyone has a great week and happy reading!

June 2021 Reading Recap

 
Number of Books Read:  19 - This was a good reading month.  I really enjoyed pretty much every book I read!

Bookish Breakdown:

Audio: 8 - This was definitely an audio month!

Print: 7

Kindle: 4

Mystery:  12

Nonfiction: 2

Reread: 1

Fiction: 4

My Favorite Book of the Month:

A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman - This book was insanity in the best possible way and so much fun to read.

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn - I always enjoy this series but this one might have been my favorite.

My Least Favorite Book of the Month:

Death Brings a Shadow by Rosemary Simpson -  I really wanted to love this one but the heroine was so stubborn and unwilling to listen to people who were trying to help her that it drove me crazy.

How was your reading in June?  What was your favorite book?

Friday Fives - July TBR

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  Since it's the first Friday of July I'm making a list of the 5 books I want to read this month.

1.  Latter End by Patricia Wentworth - One of my goals for 2021 is to read all the Miss Silver books.  I made that goal before I counted how many there actually were!  I need to get reading!

2.  The Pirate King by Laurie R. King - This series is in my Year of the Series project and while I enjoy it I haven't been going out my way to get caught up.  I definitely want to fix that!

3.  Fatal Family Ties by S.C. Perkins - I enjoy this genealogy cozy mystery series and am curious to see how it progresses.  

4.  The Stepdaughter by Georgina Cross - This is a local author and it's been awhile since I've read a psychological thriller and lately I've been wanting something a little darker so this should do the trick.

5.  A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley - This series is a new addition to my Year of the Series project and while I've read the later books I somehow never got to the first few.  I'm looking forward to fixing that!

What are you hoping to read this month?

Books from the Backlog - Foul Play at the Fair

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  Foul Play at the Fair by Shelley Freydont

Blurb:  New York City event planner Liv Montgomery is burned out, sick of the bridezillas, the mad men, the desperate housewives, the anything but sweet sixteens. So the job of event organizer in the small, rural town of Celebration Bay, sounds like a little piece of heaven.

With the success of the Harvest on the Bay Festival, life is sweet, all apple crisp and homemade jams, cider donuts and pumpkin pies. But things hit a sour note when an itinerant entertainer is found dead, pinioned by an antique apple press.

Motives pile up higher than a bushel of apples and Liv must navigate her way through a maze of secrets, lies and Yankee taciturnity to find the killer before the Harvest on the Bay Festival heads for Foul Play at the Fair.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I read one book in this series ages and ages ago and liked it enough that I went and bought the first book in the series and then of course never read it.  I'm considering adding this series to my Year of the Series project but I want to be sure I still enjoy it.