Title: The Moonshine Shack Murder
Author: Diane Kelly
Series: Southern Homebrew Mystery #1
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Release Date: July 6, 2021
Pages: 304
Book Source: Paperback

“The Hayes family has made moonshine in Chattanooga since the days of Prohibition, and Hattie is happy to continue the tradition, serving up fun, fruity flavors in mason jars for locals and tourists alike. All signs indicate her new ‘shine shop will be a smashing success. What’s more, mounted police officer Marlon Landers has taken a shine to Hattie. For the first time ever, the stars seemed to have aligned in both her work and romantic life. But when a body ends up on her store’s doorstep alongside a broken jar of her Firefly Moonshine, it just might be lights out for her fledgling business.

The homicide detective can’t seem to identify the person who killed the owner of a nearby bar. The only witness is Hattie’s longhaired gray cat, and Smoky isn’t talking. When the detective learns that the victim and Hattie had a heated exchange shortly before his murder, she becomes her prime suspect.
_ _

Lest Hattie end up behind bars like her bootlegging great-grandfather a century before, she must distill the evidence herself and serve the killer a swift shot of justice.” – Amazon

Kim’s Review

The cover of The Moonshine Shack Murder by Diane Kelly caught my attention, and then reading the synopsis had me handing over my money!

Kelly does a fantastic job with developing her characters, and that is why so many people keep coming back to cozy mystery series. She’s able to mix the mean ones with the quirky ones and throws in a grumpy one, along with a very attractive romantic lead and a protagonist who actually uses her brain and passes along information to the police. And Smoky, the cat is fantastic. I wish one of our cats wanted to travel in the car and hang out with us all day at our work.

Combine well written characters, a couple who are really unique, with some history of moonshine, detailed descriptions of the region and town, along with lots of suspects, and you have a very enjoyable first book in the Southern Homebrew Mysteries, and a book I highly recommend.

**

Disclosure: Some of the links we use are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This