REVIEW: Deadly Dram

Deadly Dram
Author: Melinda Mullet

Deadly Dram is the 3rd book in the Whisky Business Mystery series. Abi Logan is still trying to make a name for herself in the whisky business after she inherited her uncle's distillery, Abbey Glen, 9 months ago. The good old boys network in the business (she calls them the Barley Bunch) just don't think a woman should be a distillery owner. She runs Abbey Glen with Grant MacEwen, her business partner, who is a magician with whisky. This year, everyone is pleased that Abbey Glen is up for 3 awards at the Golden Quaich Competition at a nearby 5-star resort. The distilleries aren't just in Scotland. There are whiskys competing from Ireland, India, Japan and other countries as well. Some of the Scottish distilleries are grumbling about foreigners being allowed to compete. Things get even more dicey when one of the event judges, Sir Richard Simpson, is found dead in his room. Local Detective Inspector Ian Michaelson suspects foul play. Was Simpson killed because he clearly was in favor of foreign distilleries competing in the Gold Quaich Awards? Did someone just intend to make him ill to throw off the competition, but accidentally go too far? Or is something more complex afoot?

I like this series. My favorite character is, of course, Liam...abi's wheaten terrier. And his friend Oscar the Sheep is a close second. ha ha :) I'm a sucker for cozies with cute animal antics in them. Liam is quite the cute little guy. Abi is an intelligent and resourceful main character. She has a great working relationship with Grant MacEwan, although their personal relationship is a bit confused. There is a bit of the relationship triangle plot device starting to come through in this series. That is one trope that I wish cozy writers would stop using. Surely there is another way to create a bit of romantic tension or slow relationship building between main characters without resorting to the Triangle Trope. Ugh. That's my only complaint about this latest book. Besides my eyeroll at the triangle starting to pop out on the horizon, I loved this entire book. The characters are interesting and nicely developed. The whisky background theme doesn't overpower the mystery, but adds to it. The romance hints are kept in the background, with the mystery being in the forefront. The plot moved at a nice pace, with plenty of interesting suspects and some twists I didn't see coming at all. Loved it! I will definitely keep reading this series. I love the setting, the information on whisky and distilling, and the characters. :)

The next book in the series, Died in the Wool, will be out in May 2019.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Random House Publishing/Alibi via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**