A Dash of Death (A Cocktails and Catering Mystery) by Michelle Hillen Klump
About A Dash of Death
A Dash of Death (A Cocktails and Catering Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Texas
Crooked Lane Books (February 8, 2022)
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1643859374
ISBN-13 : 978-1643859378
Digital ASIN : B094GN846Y
A Houston reporter-turned-mixologist mixes it up with murder in this series debut from Michelle Hillen Klump, superbly catering to fans of Diane Mott Davidson and Lee Hollis.
Bad news for Samantha Warren: The plucky Houston, Texas, reporter lost her job and her fiancé in rapid succession. But Sam has a way of making lemonade out of the bitterest of lemons. At a meeting of the local historical-homes council, she serves up the homemade bitters that she made as gifts for her wedding party. She intends to use that as her “in” to become an in-demand party mixologist. But the party’s over for one of the council members, who keels over dead soon after he sips the bereft bride’s bitter brew.
It turns out that the victim, Mark, was poisoned—his drink spiked with oleander. Since Sam mixed the drink that Mark imbibed right before his demise, she finds herself at the front of the suspect line. Now, she’ll have to use all of her reporter’s wisdom and wiles to clear her name.
Who could have wanted Mark dead? His wife, Gabby? His girlfriend, Darcy? Someone who wanted his seat on the council? Or another citizen of this sweet Texas town that holds some seedy secrets?
Job hunting, building her mixology business, and fending off late-night phone calls from her nearly betrothed don’t leave much time for sleuthing. But if Sam can’t “pour” over the clues to find the killer, it may soon be last call for her.
My Review
Samantha Warren has had her share of troubles. Her fiancee walked away from her and she lost her job as a reporter as well. However, she’s not going to hang her head in despair. One of her hobbies is being a mixologist. When she is asked to serve her cocktails at the local historical homes council, she quickly accepts the offer.
One of the council members ends up dead after sipping one of her drinks. She immediately becomes the prime suspect in the murder, but she didn’t even know the victim. How could she possibly be accused of murder? Although everyone advises her to sit back and let the police handle the investigation, Samantha just can’t. She does a bit snooping on her own and is shocked at what she finds.
This is the first book in a well written, fast-paced cozy mystery. The characters are well developed and actually jump off the pages. It's a great introduction to this cast and they are easy to get to know.
There are quite a few twists, turns and red herrings throughout this story. It kept me captivated and guessing from page one to the end.
It’s a great start to a brand new cozy mystery series. I can’t wait to read more.
For reading challenges:
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2022
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2022
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
About Michelle Hillen Klump
Michelle Hillen Klump is a former newspaper reporter who covered government, courts and crime throughout Arkansas and Central Texas. Still a working journalist, she is also a member of Sisters in Crime. Her short fiction has appeared in Crimson Streets and Tales of Texas, volume 2, a Houston short story anthology.
Super blog
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having me on the blog today, and thanks for a wonderful review!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a book I will enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a god read
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds good! I love a reporter as the sleuth in a mystery.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review thoughts. This sounds like a good mystery. Plus, it's in Houston.
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