Whisky maker Abigail Logan is back! The plucky heroine of Single Malt Murder is back with another adventure at her Scottish distillery. After several months away, focusing on her photojournalism, she's back in Balfour and ready for some rest and relaxation at the home that her uncle Ben left for her. And to her credit, this time she finds the peace and quiet she's been craving. I mean, it's hours before she stumbles on the bones of a long-buried corpse. To be honest, it wasn't even Abi--it was Liam, her dog, who dragged her over to the hole where the bones were.
And it's certainly not her fault that her best friend Patrick Cooke invited a group of Japanese whisky makers to a tour of Abbey Glen, to see one of the country's most innovative craft distilleries, so he can help secure his reputation as editor-in-chief of Whisky Journal, without her knowledge or permission. She can use the good publicity herself, for the charity she had been wanting to start o honor her late uncle's vision and generosity.
And you really can't blame her for being nervous to meet the new guy in town. He just moved to town from South America and knows no one. He spent a lot of money on Fell Farm, transforming it into an artist's haven, and he usually keeps to himself. And just because he's been asking around about Abi, it doesn't mean that it's her fault for having a reputation as a fearless globe-trotting journalist, or as someone who trouble seems to find. She can't help that.
But when the stranger in town turns out not to be the leader of a drug cartel or kidnapper or psychopath, it is Abi who agrees to act as his photographer and to help figure out who is threatening him. Because that stranger is none other than Mickey Dawson, former lead singer of the Rebels, a rock band whose runaway success and hard-partying lifestyle made them legends in the vein of the Rolling Stones and the Who.
Mickey (born Rory Hendricks) is getting concerned. One bandmate was killed a couple of months ago by a boating accident, and another was still in a coma due to a hit-and-run. Then his daughter's London art gallery was broken into and several expensive pieces were stolen. So when the threatening messages start, the former Rebels frontman is nervous, and he needs someone he can trust to help him get to the bottom of his mystery. Fortunately, Abi is there and ready for a new adventure, especially for the man who was her teenage crush. But can Abi figure out the identity whoever is making the threats in time to save them both?
Melinda Mullet's charming follow-up to the debut Whisky Business Mystery, Death Distilled, is even more fun than Single Malt Murder. All the best characters are there, Abbey Glen is purring along as Ben imagined, and Abi is back for more mysteries to solve in the endearing Scottish village. If you're a whisky connoisseur or a newbie, or just a fan of fun cozies set in interesting places, then Death Distilled is not to be missed. Check it out with a glass of your favorite beverage nearby!
Galleys for Death Distilled were provided by Random House Publishing Group - Alibi through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.