Author: Cheryl Hollon
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496725288
Kensington Cozies
288 Pages
$7.16; $6.80 Amazon
July 26, 2022
⭐⭐⭐⭐
In eastern Kentucky, Miranda Trent runs a unique tour company called Paint & Shine, but sometimes the peaceful mountains play host to murder...
Miranda's business -- combining Appalachian adventure tours with art and a bit of moonshine -- is the perfect place for an outdoor sporting goods company to hold an employee retreat. It'll be a challenge, but the money they're paying will definitely help with building her new distillery.
Miranda has lots of teamwork fostering activities planned, from sketching classes to Southern cooking, but the executive running things prefers a more competitive spirit. In fact, after the workers are split into teams, they're told that only the winners will keep their jobs, and tensions begin to spike. Even after a participant is found dead, the contest continues -- while Miranda starts drawing her own conclusions about the ambitious attendees. Now she just has to find the proof...
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Miranda Trent inherited her uncle's farm -- with a stipulation. She has three months to make her business (formerly his) profitable. The business? Making moonshine (legal, of course). The problem? She's an artist, and has never done this before. So, she came up with a unique hook: While making shine and cocktails out of it, she hosts company events -- tours around the Daniel Boone Forest, and so far, it's been working well.
Currently, she's hosting a group from a sportswear company, and thinks things are going well. That is, until one of the group is killed, and now the man's replacement not only has divided the group into two teams, but the losing team will go home -- without a job. While she knows it's unfair, she's being paid to do her job, and continue with the plans.
But something goes wrong along the way, and someone in the group is being suspected of murder. Also, Miranda notices what she suspects is someone not wanting anyone to do well. But how can she figure this out by herself? With the sheriff's blessing Miranda works to keep an eye on her people, and hopes to find out the truth and stay alive in the process...
This is the third book in the series and I have read them all. I have found that I love the premise of this book, that our protagonist isn't exactly broke, and has decided to keep her uncle's legacy going while living in a lovely farmhouse. Although I'm not all that interested in the shine part (I don't drink), I still find it quite intriguing to read about. It's a detailed process and Miranda has her hands (and time) full doing both.
The people on the two groups are competing for management positions, and there's in-fighting which isn't pleasant to anyone; but there are also the meals that her two kitchen helpers provide which sound delicious. But we're here to find a killer, and it's not as easy as it sounds. There are very few clues, but you have to put together what everyone is saying to get it right. And our Miranda does just that, with the help of Forest Ranger Austin.
When the murderer is discovered, everyone is surprised, and none more so than the person who trusted them the most. It's a nice climax, and the epilogue is done well also. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next in the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Cheryl Hollon's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/cheryl-hollon/
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