Single Malt Murder by Melinda Mullet

Abigail Logan never expected to inherit a whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands. But in the first novel of an engaging new series blending fine spirits with chilling mystery, Abi finds that there are secrets lurking in the misty glens that some will go to any lengths to protect...even murder.

When Abi inherits her uncle's quaint and storied single malt distillery, she finds herself immersed in a competitive high-stakes business that elicits deep passions and prejudices. An award-winning photojournalist, Abi has no trouble capturing the perfect shot - but making the perfect shot is another matter. When she starts to receive disturbing, anonymous threats, it's clear that someone wants her out of the picture. But Abi's never been one to back down from a fight.

Arriving on the scene with her whisky-loving best friend, Patrick, and an oversized wheaten terrier named Liam, Abi seems to put everyone in the bucolic village on edge - especially her dour but disturbingly attractive head distiller. Acts of sabotage and increasingly personal threats against Abi make it clear that she is not welcome. When one of Abi's new employees is found floating face down in a vat of whisky, Abi is determined to use her skills as an investigative journalist to identify the cold-blooded killer and dispense a dram of justice before he strikes again. But distilling truth from lies is tricky, especially when everyone seems to have something to hide.

 

Series: Whisky Business Mystery #1 | Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Gemma Dawson | Length: 9 hrs 57 min |  Genre:  Contemporary Cozy Mystery | Source: Audible | Rating: 3.5 Cups

Challenges Read For:  -  2019 Try Something New New-to-me author

 

I’m always looking for a something a bit different in the cozy mystery genre and Single Malt Murder fit the bill.

 

When Londoner Abigail Logan inherits her uncle’s distillery, she’s not exactly sure what to do with it. Neither whisky nor Scotland intrigue her and the only thing left to do is find the right buyer to look after her uncle’s legacy. When Duff, one of her employees, is found dead in a vat then a series of accidents befalls Abi and the distillery, she soon realizes someone is out to sabotage Abbey Glen. Now Abi has to figure out the future of the distillery while tracking down a killer.

 

This was a wee bit slow at the start. A good third of the book feels like it lags as the setting is established and the characters are introduced but that’s a quite common start for the first book in a new cozy mystery series.

 

I found that I liked Abi. As a photojournalist, she’s used to being out and about so she feels a bit stilted stuck in the Highlands of Scotland running a whisky distillery. And to further irritate her, the whisky business is a man’s world and she’s not easily accepted into that world. She doesn’t really know who she can or can’t trust, especially since Grant, who was her uncle’s right hand man, could be the one behind Duff’s murder and the accidents at the distillery seeing as, if something were to happen to Abi, Grant’s the next in-line to inherit Abbey Glen.

 

The mystery was interesting and had several different ways it could have turned out seeing as Duff had made some interesting choices and there was a lot going on behind the scenes at Abbey Glen. As Abi weeds through the clues, she finds that the whisky world is a bit underhanded and treacherous. She also finds that the locals have a lot of interesting stories regarding the original distilleries origins as well as a bit of bootlegging on the side.

 

While I positive I knew who the killer was from early on, I still had a good time watching my prediction play out.

 

Like all good cozies, what shaped this cozy was the secondary characters. They were a lively bunch of Highlanders who had stories to share and depth to add.

 

There is the start of a romance between Abi and Grant and it’s definitely rocky considering she believes him to be responsible for what’s happening with Abbey Glen. And Grant also has a bit of a dark past, which I tend to like because it gives that character just an extra bit of spice.

 

One thing that bugged me with this one was the fact that Abi—who happens to be a photographer—never once thought about putting security cameras up.

 

This was my first time listening to Gemma Dawson and it took me a bit of time to warm up to her. I tend to struggle with most women narrators, but I changed the speed up a little and it seemed to help. I wouldn’t mind listening to her again, now that I’m used her style of narration.

 

Overall, this was a good start to a different type of cozy and it left me eager to see what happens next.

 

Just a bit of random trivia: All scotch is whisky but not all whiskey is scotch. Scotch is whisky (nope, not a typo, Scottish whisky doesn’t have an ‘e’) made in Scotland from malted barley and hops. While bourbon is whiskey (yep, with an ‘e’ in USA and Ireland) made from distilled corn. 

 

In Scottish Gaelic, the word for whisky is ‘uisge beatha’ meaning, ‘the water of life’, which is derived from the Latin aqua vitae.

 

The first recorded mention of whisky distilling in Scottish history was on 1 June 1494 in the Exchequer Rolls of James IV of Scotland. James IV granted a monk, Friar John Cor, malt in order to make ‘aqua vitae’.

Whisky Business Series

Single Malt Murder

Death Distilled

Deadly Dram