Happy Book Release Day! Familiar Motives by Delia James is out today. Third book in A Witch's Cat Mystery series (along with all the books I mentioned yesterday). I have added it to my TBR list.
Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander
is the first book in A Sloan Krause Mystery series. Sloan Krause is working on a new brew and
quickly runs to her office at Das Keller (a Krause family business) to get her notes. She opens the door to discover her husband,
Mac playing hide the sausage with Hayley, the new barmaid. Three weeks later, Sloan is ready to start
her new job at Nitro, a new nanobrewery in Leavenworth, Washington (a Bavarian
themed town). Garrett Strong inherited
the building from his great aunt Tess and has completely renovated the inside
(looks like a sterile science lab). The
morning after the soft opening, Sloan goes to toss some hops into the
fermenting tank and discovers Eddie Deluga, brewmaster at Bruin's Brewing) face up in the Pucker Up IPA
brew. Mac ends up at the top of Chief
Meyers suspect list. Mac may be a cheater,
but he is no killer. To clear Mac of
suspicion, Sloan sets out to discover who could have wanted to harm Eddie.
I do have to say that the first sentence of Death on Tap is an attention grabber (it really creates a visual). Death on Tap is unique in that it
dives into the world of beer brewing. I
have not experienced another cozy mystery with this theme (unique). It is obvious that the author did her research
into the topic. We get to learn a great
deal about what goes into creating, distributing and selling beer. The mystery did not take place until I was
24% of the way into the story. By the
time Sloan found the body, I already knew who committed the crime (secondary
mystery is equally easy to unravel). The
mystery takes up a small portion of the story.
More of the book is devoted to beer brewing, regulations, etc. I admit that it is interesting (even though I
do not drink the stuff), but I would have liked a better mystery. I like the sound of the Bavarian town of
Leavenworth (loved the descriptions of the town and buildings). It reminds me of German Village (in Columbus,
Ohio) where I grew up. It had me longing
for a real German bratwurst from Schmidt's (not the type you find in your local grocery). My rating for Death on Tap is 3 out of 5
stars. I found it odd that Garrett Strong
is having the soft launch of Nitro without any staff (except Sloan), no planned
menu, no remodeled kitchen, no furniture or décor (Sloan mentions having to
find tables and chairs), and a limited beer menu. For a man with a business/corporate
background, it shows a distinct lack of planning. I was not a fan of Mac Krause and his
constant use of the word “baby” when talking to Sloane (big pet peeve of
mine). The pacing was slow in places
causing me to lose interest (more about beer).
I know that the author needs to set the stage for readers, but I do not
believe we needed quite so much detail (it seemed like Ms. Alexander wanted to
put in everything she learned while researching the topic). Many details are repeated frequently throughout
the story (hops, Sloan’s lack of family growing up, description of Sloan’s
farmhouse, etc.). It will be interesting
to see what direction the author takes with the next book in the series (I hope
a divorce is in the works for Sloan).
Ellie Alexander is the author of A Bakeshop Mystery series and writes A Pacific Northwest Mystery series (In Cave Danger out November 28) under the pen name Kate Dyer-Seeley. Thank you for visiting and reading my latest review. I will return on Wednesday with my evaluation of Protocol by Kathleen Valenti. I hope that you have a remarkable day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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