Deadly Dram (A Whisky Business Mystery #3)

Author:  Melinda Mullet
Genre:  Mystery

Digital Book; Audio Book
ASIN #:  B079R3PW46
Alibi Publishing
272 Pages
$4.99 Amazon
September 4, 2018

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It's been a year since globetrotting photojournalist Abi Logan inherited Abbey Glen, a whisky distillery in the heart of the Scottish countryside.  To her surprise, the village of Balfour already feels like home, and her new business partner, Grant MacEwan, continues to be too charming to resist.  But Abi has a history of relationship disasters, so she struggles to avoid an ill-fated romance with Grant.  Steering clear is hard enough on a day-to-day basis, but when the two head off to a whisky industry competition together, Abi panics.  Five-star resort, four glorious days of nonstop whisky tasting, and a fatally attractive Scotsman - what could possibly go wrong?

The night before the award presentations, with foreign and domestic whisky makers at one anothers' throats, two judges are found dead under mysterious circumstances.  What started with three dream-come-true nominations for Abby Glen's whisky soon turns into a nightmare for Abi.  With a killer on the loose, she must call on her investigative skills to stop another murder - before she gets taken out of the running herself.

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Abi Logan is a photojournalist who has just returned from a month in Iceland.  After being home for a few days she's starting to rethink her career choices, especially since she's inherited a distillery that's one of the best in Scotland.  She's also attracted to her partner Grant McEwan, who hasn't hidden the fact that he's attracted to her as well.  But since she has a lousy relationship history (she, for some reason, doesn't think this has to do with her traveling all the time!) she's determined to stay away from him.

So it's that much harder when they, along with her friend Patrick, have to attend a whisky industry competition together.  Armed with a new wardrobe (with the help of the local veterinarian) she's sure everything will go swimmingly.  But when someone is killing off the judges and Patrick looks as if he might be the culprit, Abi must use all her sleuthing ability to ferret out a murderer before he's the one losing everything..

I really wanted to like this book, and for the most part I did.  Ms. Mullet draws beautiful descriptions of everything going on around Abi, of the countryside, etc.; so much so that you can imagine being there yourself.  Her characterizations of people are also wonderful, giving us a feeling for who they are.  I liked the plot line, and thought everything was very well written.

However, I don't know if I'll read any more in this series, and the reasons why are in spoilers below (since I don't want to ruin this for those who have no read it as yet):

But, and this is a big But, the author seems to be out of ideas to keep the series going. I say this because she decided to add the dreaded Love Triangle. That's right, dreaded. There are far too many of them in series already, and we certainly don't need another. They're not interesting, just annoying. Honestly, if I had known the author was going to do this, I never would have read any of these books (and I have read them all).

I don't know what one is going for, but it's a trite ploy to keep readers interested, and it doesn't for many. How are we supposed to know if, or when, it will be resolved? Will it be resolved in the next book, or will it go on forever? Besides, who needs to "fight" for a man? He either wants you or he doesn't. It's cheap, and it lessens the woman who thinks she needs to compete for love (and I feel the same for men). It detracts from the story and cheats the readers who are not interested in love triangles nor cliffhangers who have read the series all along. (Also, Grant's not a teenager, he's a grown man. If he doesn't know who he wants in his life, then there's a problem. (Gee, great! I have two women fighting for me! How cool is that?)

As for ending books on cliffhangers, I've always felt it's just another ploy to make sure someone buys the next one. I call it 'holding the reader hostage' and I don't care for it. As you can see, I was NOT pleased at all by the ending and I will have to know that this will be resolved in the next book or I won't continue with this series.

If you've read the spoiler, then you know my final thoughts on the book and the ending, so there isn't much left to say.  Other than that, if you're inclined this is a decent book that can be read in one sitting.

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Dram-Whisky-Business-Mystery-ebook/dp/B079R3PW46/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2553037863

More on Melinda Mullet's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/melinda-mullet/