The first book in a new series does credit to the cozy mystery genre. There's a great cast of characters, some twists, and, of course, murder. Abi has inherited a whiskey distillery, and someone is sabotaging the equipment. When a body is found, Abi will stop at nothing to find the culprit behind all this. There are plenty of suspects here among the setting of Scotland. I will definitely be on the lookout for book two.

Melinda Mullet scores with the first book in a new mystery series . Photojournalist Abigail Logan heads to Scotland for her uncle's funeral and to settle his estate. Most of the time spent with Ben has been in London so this is the first time that Abi has met the people at the whiskey distillery that Ben owned and left to her. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that someone wants her to sell the place and move on. Abi wants to learn more about the place first. There are several people that fit the bill as far as suspects, but there is a nice little twist at the end.
Looking forward to the next book.

Single Malt Murder impressed me with its confident narration, vivid sense of place, and ability to keep me guessing. I wouldn’t have known it was a debut novel if I hadn’t read the author’s note.

Protagonist Abi Logan narrates the book in first person, a device that works very well on two fronts: it limits the reader’s knowledge of the crimes to what Abi knows and suspects, and because Abi is as ignorant of the whiskey-making process and the world of whiskey connoisseurs as many readers will be, it avoids the need for awkward info dumps. Instead, the reader learns about whiskey right along with Abi. . . and there’s a lot to learn.

Abi is an engaging character; I liked her from the start. An award-winning photojournalist who specializes in trouble spots and disaster areas, Abi has an intuitive and quirky ability to size people up in three adjectives—and she’s usually right. It’s not, however, an ability that necessarily helps her identify the person(s) involved in sabotaging Abbey Glen distillery, let alone track down a murderer. Still, as a photojournalist, she has a lot of skill in investigation and in persuading people to talk to her, and she uses both. Her loyalty to and love for her Uncle Ben fuel her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery and ensure that his legacy endures. Along the way, she finds a sense of connection to the small Scottish village where her uncle made his home. If I had to use Abi’s penchant and describe her in three adjectives, I’d say loyal, tenacious, and independent —though there’s an element of wariness to that independence, a fear of losing something if she gets too close or dependent on anyone. Given her background (she was orphaned at 8), maybe that’s not surprising.

Melinda Mullet did a really good job of keeping me guessing throughout the novel. By the time I reached the denouement, I had already considered and discarded the primary villain(s), though I did figure out one or two other pieces of the mystery. If you’re the type who likes to figure it out yourself, my advice is to take absolutely no one at face value, and pay attention to small clues.

I’m really interested to see where the series goes from here. Abi’s involvement in this particular mystery was inevitable; having inherited the distillery and as the recipient of threats against herself, she would naturally want the saboteur(s) caught. Justifying her involvement in another case may be trickier, but based on this first book, both the character and the series have a lot of potential. There’s even the possibility of a romance (one which I’d like to see pursued.) And I’ll admit, I have a soft spot for books set in Scotland, a country I fell in love with at the tender age of 10. So I’ll be eagerly awaiting the second installment! Death Distilled comes out in September of this year.

Note: Single Malt Murder is published by Alibi, a digital-only imprint of Random House. There is no print version available as of this writing, but they may release one at a later date. For those of you who read exclusively in print, I’m sorry; you’ll be missing out on an entertaining mystery.

This book works for me. It's the first book in a series, which is set in a distillery. The British aspects of this book were delightful. It's pure murder mystery. I enjoyed that it was clean, and a good who-done-it. I really hope I can read more of this series. It's sure to please, and goes "down" smooth with a great "after taste". (Nope, I don't drink, but I couldn't resist.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

*Spoilers ahead*

Single Malt Murder is a clever whodunit book that is easy to read and flows you right along to the end. I was pleasantly surprised to find out who the culprit was but wished the mystery would have built up a bit more about the "villain". You don't get to know who she is until the ending of the book and then the explanation was a bit rushed in my opinion.
Overall, this was a good straight forward mystery book. There weren't a lot of twists and turns to keep you guessing but the ending was still surprising. There was a bit of brewing romance throughout and I wonder if the author will delve more into that in her later series.
Single Malt Murder would be a good book to read at the beach or on vacation, or if you just want to sit through a solid mystery book.

I enjoyed this. It has a little romance, a plucky heroine, murder and a great, romantic setting. I enjoyed the characters from the town. It is a perfect, "cosy" read.

Photojournalist Abigail (Abi) Logan inherits a charming whisky distillery in Scotland after the death of her guardian/uncle Ben. She hasn't spent any time where her uncle's last years played out and the townsfolk are understandably wary of an outsider. As it was, it took awhile to get into the groove--I learned a lot about whisky making and why single malt is the way to go. The Scottish Highland town of Balfour sounds like somewhere I'd love to visit and Mullet sprinkles a bit of Scottish history in with the whisky making information. With strange happenings at Abbey Glen, the distillery, and then a body found in a vat of whisky, Abi's two weeks may not be enough to figure out what's going on before she decides whether or not to sell to a conglomerate.

Single Malt Murder is the first in a new series, A Whiskey Business mystery. Abigail Logan, a photojournalist who has traveled the world capturing many pictures requiring her to live her life in unsafe situations, finds her uncle who has raised her since her parents death, has died and leaves her his estate as well as the distillery in the Scottish Highlands. Abi starts receiving threats on her life if she keeps the business but with assistance of her best friend, Patrick, she intends to scope out her uncle's love of this single-malt distillery. The distillery is know for having the finest malt whiskey blend but has been faced with many sabotages since the owner has died. Abigail is guarded about who she should trust while making her decision about whether she should keep the business or sell it to the highest bidder. I found myself changing my opinion as to who is doing the threats as well as the sabotages as I turned each page. A second in the series will be published in September, 2017.

I'm looking forward to the next installment of this series. The plot flowed and the characters were well drawn. A good first effort.

Single Malt Murder weaves a twisty tale of greed, murder and whisky into a captivating cozy mystery. Set in the idyllic Scottish Highlands, Abi inherits a whisky distillery from her uncle and suddenly finds herself the target of threats and sabotage. When a young man from the village is found dead in a vat of whisky, Abi is determined to find out who is sabotaging her uncle’s distillery and just what’s important enough to kill for.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, the history and methods of the whisky making process are neatly woven into the story, although I’m not a drinker, I do like to know how things work and it really enhanced the story for me and set the book apart. The twisty, suspenseful plot kept a steady pace and I liked that the author left a few plot lines open to be developed in future books. How will Abi juggle her photojournalist career with a distillery? Will her romance with the hunky Grant lure her to live in Scotland, or will she hang on to her photojournalism career in London? Lots of places to grow, and I definitely want to come come back for more. Add in likable, engaging and quirky characters (I really liked Abi and her three adjectives!) and an exciting ending and you’ve got an excellent debut cozy and a promising start to a new series.

Does someone want the business so bad that they would do anything to get it? Even murder? Was it murder or an accident? When Duff arrived at the distillery, was he there to sabotage it, or did he just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time? Who led him there, or was he followed?
Lets follow and see where this suspense filled mystery is about to lead us as we go around twists and turns and yes, we might even get backed into a corner and may have a time trying to figure out who the real culprit is. An amazing read!

Good debut novel in the murder-mystery "theme" genre.
Abigail Logan inherits a whisky distillery in Scotland, much to the locals' and competitors' displeasure. Navigating the hostile environment, she attempts to learn the trade with the assistance of a couple of employees. "Accidents" leading to a dead body on property propel her into an investigation to save her inheritance while learning more about her late uncle & his passion for whisky and the Scottish Highlands.
An easy read - murder, female amateur sleuth, requisite good-looking love interest (with a shadowy past?), gay best friend flitting in & out of the action, loyal well-trained dog as a companion - it just screams to be made into a Hallmark TV movie...

I may be a lady, but I would gladly join any man in a dram of fine whisky. Especially that single malt they kept describing in this first of what looks to be a promising new series. Unlike Abi, I had a love for the drink well before she inherited the charming Abbey Glen distillery.

This was a perfect example of everything I love about a good cozy mystery, and a refreshing change of pace from those I've read lately that fell so flat. Full of interesting tidbits about its series namesake. Loveable and quirky secondary characters that I can't wait to get know better in future books. A strong, clever heroine to hold it all together and figure out who-dunnit. And Liam. Of we're being honest he may be my favorite character. Besides the scotch of course.

I did anticipate the identity of the bad guy well before the end, yet there was a lot more going on than I had realized, and it left me with a well satisfied feeling as it all unraveled. I can't imagine being more pleased with this new series, and I look for the upcoming books with anticipation.

After her Uncle Ben's death, Abigail Logan inherits his whiskey distillery, Abbey Glen, in Scotland. She has no interest in it, being a photojournalist, but decides to see for herself before selling the business. When she arrives, however, she discovers there's much more to it than meets the eye - including 'accidents' that have befallen the distillery since she inherited, but before she can dig much deeper, she begins receiving threats, and it escalates when a murder occurs onsite the distillery. With too much at stake, and her own life on the line, Abi decides to stay and try and find out who exactly wants her dead, and why...

To give the things that bothered me first: I figured Abi must be a little slow on the intake, since it didn't take a genius to figure out why the place was called 'Abbey Glen"; I knew that right away. The second thing that bothered me is the fact that I wondered if Balfour was at the ends of the earth. Because if it isn't, then the police sergeant is also a little slow on the uptake. He was under the impression that she worked for a tabloid and warned her to keep her mouth shut about the murder; yet the rest of the village knows everything about who she is and what she does for a living because Ben has been bragging her up for fifteen years, including the fact that she's award-winning, and hanging her photos about his home. Either the sergeant isn't as smart as he appears to be or he lives under a rock, I don't know which.

That aside, this is a worthy effort for a first-in-a-series book. The characters are given leeway to personality traits, and most have quite interesting ones indeed. Abi is a strong woman who doesn't back down from men, and I enjoyed that aspect when she was outright threatened. She managed to earn the respect of those around her, even when they didn't much care for her being there at first.

The mystery itself was pretty decent, but it was a tad easy to figure out who the killer was, since there weren't that many people who were johnny-on-the-spot every time an accident occurred. However, the mystery itself was done well and it made sense, just as it should. Although I wasn't thrilled by the ending, (and I won't go into detail as to why since I don't want to spoil it for those who might not have read the book or even agree with me on that subject) I still thought it to be a worthy read, and I will read the next in the series. Recommended.

Very intriguing & novel murder mystery. Keeps you guessing but provides clues!
There are many interesting characters and I am looking forward to seeing how the series develops.

an interesting murder story with a surprising end. It was fun to read this book.

After the death of her parents when Abigail was eight years old, it's just been her and her Uncle Ben. His death hits her hard, especially as she blames herself that she wasn't there at the end with him. In fact with her job of a professional photojournalist, especially in war torn areas, it's left her little time to spend with her Uncle in the later years. Therefore she is shocked to learn that she has inherited a small whisky distillery in the depths of Scotland with complete control. But it seems that someone isn't happy with that situation and as well as threatening letters being delivered to her door, someone is intent on sabotaging the distillery....maybe to make her see sense and sell up quickly.

What a unexpected gem this little cozy turned out to be. It was fun and refreshing as well as being very informative on the history of whisky making in the Scottish Highlands and the methods. I really liked all the characters and loved the way that Abi was able to sum up people with three words. With a typical small town setting we are introduced to a number of characters that each have their own voices and quirks and I hope these are followed through in the next of the series, which I will be looking out for. It certainly sated my desire of all things Scottish and a good single malt whisky, which I enjoyed as I read this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review.

Excellent and fun! I read most of the first night and finished it the second night of reading. The storyline is believable, the characters are well-developed, and the theme is delightful. Highly recommend for future authors to see plot lines and Sherlock Holmes-type clues dropped in at specific points.

Don't have to like whiskey to enjoy this book which helps you understand the process of whiskey making wrapped up in a good read about Scotland and greed.