Review: A Nip of Murder by Carol Miller

nipTitle: A Nip of Murder by Carol Miller
Moonshine Mystery Series Book Two
Publisher: Minotaur
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

As Daisy McGovern knows all too well, it isn’t easy being a young, small-town waitress at a local diner in Virginia. It becomes even harder as she’s trying to stitch her life back together and salvage her job by converting the diner into a bakery. She’s preoccupied with snickerdoodles and cinnamon buns, trying to feed a group of geocachers in town, when a mysterious robbery occurs in the back room and one of the thieves ends up dead with a chef’s knife in his chest. With the sheriff out of town, Daisy, distrustful of the cop left in charge, takes it upon herself to follow up on clues and find out who the robber was and why he was there. While she’s investigating, she meets a handsome geocacher and is commissioned to bake a cake for the unlikely wedding of one of the Balsam boys, at the same time trying to avoid the charms of his moonshine-brewing brother.

When a second murder occurs, Daisy finds herself in a twisted game of cat and mouse that takes her from secretive nip joints overflowing with moonshine to weathered Appalachian mountaintops overflowing with history and guns. She must figure out who is the murderer and how her bakery is involved before she becomes the next victim.

The Review:

Carol Miller serves up another puzzling and very unique mystery in the Moonshine Mystery series with her latest release, A Nip of Murder. Daisy McGovern is now the proud owner of Sweetie Pies and her bakery is doing a booming business. That is until a mysterious break in leads to murder and Daisy is finds herself embroiled in a search for the dead man’s identity.

Daisy does not have much confidence in the deputy investigating the break in at Sweetie Pies and she decides to do a little sleuthing on her own. The discovery of a mysterious chip leads her a moonshine “nip” in a neighboring town where she finds uncovers more baffling evidence. A couple other strange break-ins add to her confusion but Daisy is convinced that all of the events are somehow connected.

Once again, Daisy finds herself crossing paths and matching wits with Rick Balsam, a childhood friend whom she does not trust any farther than she can throw him. She is also saddled with the Rick’s brother Bobby, who is harmless but not overly bright, but surprisingly, he does have a few useful skills that prove very helpful. Both of the Balsam brothers are key players in the case, and Daisy’s continued animosity towards Rick hinders the investigation.

A Nip of Murder is another delightful installment in Carol Miller’s Moonshine Mystery series.  It is a very engrossing story with a mystery that is virtually impossible to solve. With a colorful cast of characters and plenty of down home Southern charm, A Nip of Murder is a fun and unique read that mystery lovers are going love.

1 Comment

Filed under A Nip of Murder, Carol Miller, Contemporary, Minotaur Books, Moonshine Mystery Series, Mystery, Rated B

One Response to Review: A Nip of Murder by Carol Miller

  1. Timitra

    Thanks for the review