Sloan Krouse is making changes to her life. Even though she’s spent her years in Leavenworth, Washington living outside of town in a farmhouse, she’s thinking of moving in to town. There she would be able to walk to work, at the brew pub Nitro. And things are changing at work too. The four guest rooms that Sloan and Garrett have been fixing up are almost ready to open, just in time for IceFest, the big festival the town puts on to draw tourists into the quaint Bavarian village filled with good beer and winter sports.
As a soft opening for their guest rooms, they have taken a reservation for one couple, a young couple celebrating an anniversary, for the weekend before the Ice Fest. That way, they can take care of one room of guests, to make sure that they have everything in place before opening all the rooms. But when two other couples were forced out of their hotel at the last minute due to circumstances beyond their control, Sloan and Garrett take pity on them and open two more of the guest rooms. So when Liv shows up at Nitro, needing a place to stay, Sloan can’t say no to her either, especially since she seems upset.
But things get more difficult the next day. The three couples wake up and come to breakfast, but Liv doesn’t make it. When Kat goes into her room later to tidy up, she sees that the room is a mess. She has Sloan take a look, and Sloan agrees that it doesn’t look right. It looks as if someone tossed all of Liv’s belongings around the room, and the bed doesn’t look slept in. Sloan calls their local police chief to take a look and report Liv missing, and it doesn’t take long before the inquiry turns to a murder investigation.
Sloan is smart enough to leave the investigating to the police, but as a friendly person who works in a bar, she does hear things. But she takes all that information and hands it off to the police chief because Sloan has other things she needs to think about. She needs to make sure that her teenaged son is okay with their move into town, and her former social worker Sally is coming to town to talk about some files she was able to dig up about Sloan’s birth mother.
As a kid, Sloan had been raised in a series of foster homes, but she thought she’d found her true family when she married Mac and became a part of his family. Even after he’d cheated and the marriage dissolved, Sloan still felt close to her in-laws. But the information that Sally brings her makes her question everything she’s known about Mac’s parents. Is it possible that she never really knew them at all?
Meanwhile, the investigation is continuing at Nitro, and the guests are becoming frustrated at having to stay in town. The pressure is building, and just like anyone who has shaken a bottle of beer knows, it’s all about to explode. Will Sloan be able to get back to the new life she’s building when everything comes out, or will all her efforts fall flat?
Ellie Alexander is back with another Sloan Krouse mystery. Without a Brew takes us back to that charming Washington village of Leavenworth, a little pocket of Germany tucked in the Cascade Mountains. These cozy mysteries feature solid characters, a well plotted murder mystery, and moments of peaceful craft beer brewing and cooking. While you won’t learn how to brew your own beer reading these books, you will get a chance to inhabit the mind of a brewer from time to time, learning more about pairing flavors and using hops.
I really love these fun cozies. Without a Brew is the fourth book in this series, and it’s just as clever as the first. I adore getting to spend time in this lovely Bavarian town, I love hearing about April’s kitschy outfits, and I enjoy hearing about the beers and the snacks. I wish I could visit Nitro in person from time to time, to enjoy the menu and the company, but for now I guess I’ll just have to settle for reading these books from time to time. And this way, I don’t have to worry about finding my snow boots.
Egalleys for Without a Brew were provided by St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) through NetGalley, with many thanks.
