Excellent debut with a great Scottish setting.

Photojournalist Abigail Logan discovers that her beloved Uncle Ben has died and left her some property in Scotland -- including a whisky distillery. Abi makes what she thinks will be a brief trip back to sort out the estate and becomes embroiled in some mysterious goings-on. Someone doesn't want her to take over the company -- and they try threats and vandalism to stop her. Is it a disgruntled local who doesn't think women and the whisky business go together or is something more sinister afoot?

That question is soon answered when an employee is found dead in one of the whisky vats. Someone tried to make it look like an accident, but the police know that it was murder. Abi needs to figure out what to do with her inheritance, and she can't make any decisions until the mystery is solved. She can't be sure who to trust -- even the intriguing Scotsman who is running her company.

Very nicely done with a well-camouflaged surprise ending and an appealing cast of characters. I look forward to reading further in this series ...

I received an ARC via Net Galley in return for my honest review.

A strong first installment on what seems to be a promising new series. We are introduced to Abi, an award winning photojournalist, who inherits her uncle's whiskey distillery after he succumbs to his illness. Not knowing the first thing about the day to day running of the distillery, Abi trudges through her grief and with her friend Patrick and furry companion Liam, travel to Scotland.
Its not easy being a female owner in a predominately man's business, and Abi cannot decide if she even wants to. After threats trying to scare her off and then the murder of an employee, the story takes off.
This was definitely a good start to an interesting series. The premise of it being based on a whiskey distillery definitely caught my eye as something different, and I was not disappointed. The writing was strong, characters developed, and a decent plot line. I cannot wait to see where this series goes, especially once it gets its full steam.

A promising start to a new cozy mystery series. There's a lot of information about whisky and whisky-making in the book but it doesn't feel clunky or overwrought. And I didn't guess the ending (which is always a nice bonus)!

An enjoyable read with rural Scotland as an intriguing "character". Looking forward to more books in the series.

Single Malt Murder is the first in a mystery series set in a small town in Scotland. The main character, Abigail or Abi, is a well-known photojournalist who inherits a whiskey distillery from her uncle Ben who was like a father to her. When she goes up to Scotland for the funeral, she finds that women aren't welcome in the whiskey business and everyone wants her to sell. Someone is sabotaging the distillery to pressure her and then an employee is murdered. Abi feels she has to get involved in the investigation.

I enjoyed this book very much. The setting in the distillery was is unusual and fun, and I learned a lot about how Scotch whiskey is made. The descriptions of the countryside were lovely, and the characters read like real people. I couldn't guess the murderer until the very end, which makes for a very satisfying read! I look forward to more Whiskey Business Mysteries from Melinda Mullet, and highly recommend this book.

This book is crazy fun. It's part mystery, part romance, and part whisky education. You will be incapable of setting this book down.

This was a very good mystery! I found the characters to be likable, and I thought the setting was very written. The mystery was very clever. Overall, this is a perfect read for fans of cozy mysteries!

A sophisticated, complex and intriguing mystery involving murder and mayhem. With the multitude of players involved, the twists and turns, constant change of suspects based on cleverly placed clues and eliminations, the story could have been confusing, but through the author's crafty way of delineating the facts kept the story flowing smoothly and quite nicely.

Abi's ability to narrow everyone she met down to three word impressions, through her instincts , was genius in adding a layer of complexity to the mystery plot and sussing out the suspects. This gave a different perspective on the characters and their idiosyncrasies, guiding towards the culprit. The truth of the mystery will definitely keep you guessing up until the very end...I surely didn't see it coming. I like a mystery like that, where you are using deductive reasoning yourself to figure out the clues and solve the mystery along the way. It's no fun when it comes too easily...and this story was a stunner in its conclusion.

For a first book, Ms Mullet has made an impressive entrance into the Mystery & Thrillet genre...I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

This book was provided by the Publisher and Netgalley, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Abi Logan is a photojournalist who knows almost nothing about whiskey, but when her grandfather leaves her his single malt distillery in Scotland, she has to learn fast. While the countryside is beautiful, Abi is not made to feel welcome by the locals. Still, could someone dislike her enough to want her permanently out of the way? Abi begins to get threats and turns to her whiskey connoisseur friend Patrick for support. Things continue to escalate when Abi finds one of her new hires face down in a vat of whiskey. Who knew that distilling spirits was so deadly? You don’t have to like whiskey to enjoy this tale of murder and mayhem in the Scottish Highlands

Review of SINGLE MALT MURDER by Melinda Mullet


I totally loved this engaging, intriguing, and delightful debut mystery, first in a series. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't turn away from it. Some years ago I read a Deborah Crombie mystery whose setting included a woman's inheritance of a Scottish distillery [NOW MAY YOU WEEP], so when I found SINGLE MALT MURDER available for review, I leaped to it.

Abi (Abigail) Logan is a photojournalist of war and misery, documenting the evils humans do to each other. Based in London, she is also an orphan at a young age, raised by Uncle Ben, a well-to-do financial analyst who fifteen years ago purchased a whiskey distillery in Scotland. Ben's demise from cancer leaves Abi his heir, and before she can even travel to Scotland, she is besieged by threatening notes. Once she is on the ground in Scotland, sabotage commences at the distillery—at first what could possibly be accidents, but soon escalates to death and arson. Meanwhile Abi is offered several different buyout plans for Abbey Glen, the distillery, and there's much tension between her and some of the employees and townspeople, which only intensifies with the death. Throughout, author Melinda Mullet subtly increases the tension and mystery, but never gives away the plot, so that the denouement is both amazing and for Abi, quite terrifying. I found not a single fault with this mystery and eagerly anticipate further mysteries in this series.

This is a charming cozy mystery that not only entertains, but also includes an interesting lesson in the distilling of single malt whiskey. Abi Logan has a thrilling career as a photojournalist which has taken her all over the world but when her beloved Uncle Ben, who raised her after the early death of her parents, dies and leaves her his distillery in Scotland she goes up there to see what it entails. But whiskey makers do not easily take to a woman in charge, and she is threatened and harassed. Eventually a local young man who had been friendly to Abi is murdered at the distillery and she determines to find out who is capable of such vile acts. With a scenic background, interesting characters and a touch of possible romance for Abi this is a great read. I highly recommend it,