When a movie star is murdered during Leavenworth's Oktoberfest, brewmaster Sloan has more to worry about than her hectic love life. I liked this book a lot--the mystery aspect is great. However, the romance part has a bit too much going on. I don't like the ex, and think he needs to be completely out of the picture. Other than that, I'm really liking the series and would very much recommend it!

I only recently discovered Ellie Alexander when I read the first Sloan Krause mystery last year. Since then I have read one of her Bake Shop Mysteries and I absolutely adore her mysteries.

There is nothing like mixing food (especially pastries!) with murder. Being from Oregon myself, I have a soft spot for all things Pacific Northwest as well as local authors. I got in on the Sloan Krause series from the very beginning and I was thrilled to be asked to read the next book!

No other festival compares to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. The whole town is buzzing with excitement over this year’s activities and eagerly awaiting Nitro’s latest offering Cherrywizen, made with locally sourced cherries. But local brewmaster Sloan Krause is tapped out. Between trying to manage the pub, her pending divorce with Mac, and her mounting feelings for Garrett, she’s fermenting in internal turmoil.
To complicate matters, dreamy movie star Mitchell Morgan and his production crew have arrived in the village to film during the authentic Bavarian brewfest. Mitchell has his eye on Sloan and a taste for Nitro’s Cherrywizen. Sloan escapes his advances for good when she finds Mitchell slumped over the bar. Is this a case of one pint too many, or has Mitchell been murdered by microbrew? (summary from Goodreads)

One of the things that drew me to this series was the small town of Leavenworth in Washington. That little town is famous in the Pac NW for its Christmas activities…..it’s basically a small German winter wonderland. I really only thing of Christmas when I hear about this town, but Oktoberfest makes sense too. We have a large German population in Mt Angel who is also famous in Oregon for their Oktoberfest so it makes sense that this book would feature that lovely festival devoted to beer and sausage.

Unlike the Bake Shop Mysteries that Alexander first started writing, this one revolves around beer. So many cozy novels focus on baking or cooking but this one sets itself apart with beer and I am totally ok with that.

Alexander writes with a practiced hand and crafts a novel that is not only easy to follow but keeps readers engaged and moving at a moderate pace. It’s not so fast that readers are racing toward the end, but it’s not a slow burn either. It’s perfectly balanced, just like the beers!

I love Sloan as a protagonist. In the first book I felt like she had an edge to her that made he not quite fit in with the other characters or townspeople, but yet she wasn’t a completely odd duck. In this book she still has the same edge but yet is coming into her own and trying to sort out her life and what she’s going to do once her divorce is final. She’s easy to like and I enjoyed her just as much this time around as I did before.

This book is packed full of details. Alexander does an excellent job describing the town and the festivities as well as the whole beer culture. Sometimes the details about beer and the beer industry seemed to be a little much, and I remember thinking the same thing in the first book. It was interesting to a certain degree, but then if you aren’t really into beer, then you will probably feel a little bored with the additional details. I felt like it was ok, but then again I like beer and here in the Pac NW, the craft beer industry is big so I didn’t mind it too much.

I loved the mystery itself. Again Alexander’s experience shines in this new series. She knows how to leave enough bread crumbs for readers to follow and she lets the reader investigate along with the protagonist.

This was a fun one to read and it went fairly quick. It makes an excellent fall read as it’s harvest time and beer festival time here in Oregon so this book held a special place in my heart for that.

Book: The Pint of No Return (A Sloan Krause Mystery #2) by Ellie Alexander

Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published October 2nd 2018 by Minotaur Books
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 4 out of 5

Genre: cozy mystery, mystery

Memorable lines/quotes:

The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander is the second book in A Sloan Krause Mystery series. The town of Leavenworth, Washington is busy preparing for Oktoberfest. It is a three week long event that has tourists flocking to their Bavarian looking town. Nitro owner, Garrett Strong with Sloan Krause have been working on a new brew titled Cherry Weizen which will be unveiled that night. April Ablin approaches Sloan regarding her attire. A documentary film crew is in town to film Wish You Were Beer and she would prefer Sloane to dress in costume (not going to happen). The crew shows up at Nitro that evening to try out their new brew and, hopefully, get some good footage. Their host, Mitchell Morgan leaves a lot to be desired with his arrogant attitude and large ego (I’m surprised his hat fits). Sloan is heading home at the end of the night and hears a woman screaming. Mitchell Morgan is dead in the town square with a growler from Nitro broken around him. Lisa Balmes is accused of murdering Mitchell by his biggest fan, Kat Kelly. Sloane knows Lisa did not kill Mitchell and starts nosing around the crew for suspects. Sloan must also deal with her estranged husband, her search for her biological mother and Mitchell’s biggest fan, Kat. Join in on the Oktoberfest fun in The Pint of No Return.

The Pint of No Return is an engaging cozy mystery. While it is the second book in this series, it can be read alone (easily). I thought it was well-written with a nice steady clip. Ms. Alexander’s conversational writing style makes The Pint of No Return easy to read and enjoy. I like Sloan, Garrett, Hans Krause, Alex Krause as well as Otto and Ursula Krause (such a sweet couple). April Ablin, while not a character I like, does provides comic relief. I am amazed that Sloan married someone like Mac. I fail to see his appeal (the cheating louse). It was nice to find out more about Sloane and her relationship with the Krause family. I appreciate the author’s descriptive writing style which makes the book come alive for me. I can picture Leavenworth with the Bavarian style buildings and people walking around in costumes with beer steins in their hands. There are two mysteries in the book. The murder of Mitchell and Sloan’s search for her biological mother. I thought Mitchell’s murder was straightforward with a simple solution. Unfortunately, I identified the killer before Mitchell went belly up. Sloane’s quest to find her birth mother is the more intriguing mystery. It looks like it will play out over the course of the series with new information revealed in each book. I wish the murder had been more of a focus in this book. The story concentrates on the characters (mainly Sloan) and the town. While I appreciate getting to know the characters, I do read a cozy mystery for the mystery. It was interesting to learn more about the brewing process. I did not realize there were so many types of beers. I am baffled by the food that they serve in Nitro. I do not understand why they do not hire a chef and offer real food instead of meat and cheese trays (it seems odd). They could at least offer tapas. Overall, The Pint of No Return is a pleasure to read. I thought it was an improvement over Death on Tap. My rating for The Pint of No Return is 4 out of 5 stars. If you are looking to capture the feeling of Oktoberfest, visit Leavenworth in The Pint of No Return.

The Pint of No Return
By: Ellie Alexander
St. Martin’s Press
Minotaur Books
4 Stars

Sloan Krause is a female brewer in the German themed town of Leavenworth, Washington. It’s Octoberfest time, and the city is abounding with tourists who are there for the festival which includes beer tasting and other German filled fun. Sloan has recently started working at Nitro, a nanobrewery, operated by Garrett. While running errands for Nitro, she runs into a film crew that is gathering footage for a documentary about beer. They become interested in Sloan because she knows so much about beer and how to make it. They also like that she is a woman in a predominately male field. While talking to the film crew, the star of the show, Mitchell Morgan, comes storming into the store. He has little time for anyone but himself. Later, the documentary takes a turn for the worst when Mitchell is found dead. Was it his ego that killed him or something else?

This book is well written, it has a great story set in a unique setting, and it is filled with great characters. In a way, this book reminds me of the original Star Trek series. Not the science fiction part, but the character development. Viewers would turn in each week to not necessarily see what danger Kirk would land it (although that was always interesting), but to come back to familiar friends and watch as their characters progressively grew and changed. The relationships ultimately became the force driving the plot. That is how this story felt to me. The characters and their relationships really become more important than the murder. Although the murder was never too far away. We have Sloan and her changing relationships with Mac and Garrett, her Krause family, her son, and Kat. Sloan’s relationship with her unknown parents also changes as she receives new information.

I will definitely return to this series to see where these characters go.

This is a perfect book to cuddle up with on a cool fall evening in front of the fireplace.

I enjoyed this book so much, that I think I will read Alexander’s Bakeshop Mysteries.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #ThePintOfNoReturn

Elie Alexander creates a light (and appropriately frothy) mystery that provides readers an inside peek in the craft brewing world and small town festival-driven weekends.

It was fun reading about the science and art of small batch brewing, but the level of "beer talk" was a bit over my head and beyond my interest level. As a resident of a relatively small town dependent on special event tourism, I got a kick out of the over-the-top emphasis on authenticity when Alexander's fictional town celebrates Octoberfest. ( I am really glad to live in a place that celebrates Modernist architecture instead of knockwurst and beer).

THE PINT OF NO RETURN gently leads the reader in to the life of the protagonist--leaving a sufficient number of loose ends that those of us who enjoyed spending time with her will want to read the next book in this young series.

NETGALLEY provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

Prost! Oktoberfest is in full-swing in the Bavarian-style town of Leavenworth, and local craft brewer Sloan Krause must contend with her fair share of challenges that have been brewing lately.

A Hollywood film crew is on location to produce a documentary, Wish You Were Beer, about the behind-scenes of the craft-beer industry. Soon after their arrival however, Sloan discovers the outspoken, egocentric host and former child-star, Mitchell Morgan, dead in the streets of Leavenworth.

Once again, Sloan takes on the role of amateur sleuth (Death on Tap, 2017) to aid the local police department in revealing Mitchell Morgan’s killer.

In addition to an ongoing investigation, Sloan grapples with burgeoning feelings for her new boss, the ever-deepening mystery surrounding her birth parents, and keeping her ex-husband’s fingers off the company cheque book.

Second in the Sloan Krause Mysteries series, The Pint of No Return leisurely guides readers through the charming town of Leavenworth while weaving richly detailed information about the craft beer industry into the story. It is fitting that the author successfully creates a strong sense of place, as feelings of belonging and the importance of family pervade the story.


Recommendations
I would recommend Ellie Alexander’s The Pint of No Return to readers looking for an autumn-themed story this season. While I highly recommend reading the series in succession, this is not mandatory to understand and enjoy the quirky, fully-realized world portrayed throughout the story.

While trying to create a new start for herself an teenage son, Alex, Sloan is a likable character who demonstrates boundless creativity and ingenuity regarding brewing. Sloan has a true nose for the business and readers who enjoy strong female protagonists will enjoy spending time with such a strong, yet vulnerable, woman.

Ellie Alexander is fast becoming one of my favourite cozy mystery writers. I love her Bakeshop mysteries and her new series featuring lady brewer, Sloan Krause, is fast becoming a favourite as well.

The Pint of No Return has a great set up with the action taking place in the small town during Octoberfest. Alexander does a good job with all the details and makes the reader feel like they too are experiencing this festival. I also really love all the information given about the brewing process; being from a big beer city I found this particular element most interesting. The mystery was good and the story was peppered with lots of entertaining side characters, as well as some additional mini mysteries (that I'm really interested to learn more about in future books!) and a potential future romance. A really fun second instalment in this series!

The mark of a good author is how they transport the reader to the story, place and content. Ms. Alexander has a talent for doing just that with all her books and this series in particular. I love the atmospheric feel to this series as it is set within a charming Bavarian style village in Leavenworth Washington . This is the second in series and a excellent follow up to the first book. .This book can be read as a stand alone..
The beauty of this book is described during Oktoberfest and Its a conjoining of fall, the culture of Oktoberfest and brewing of beers.
The town is involved in the celebrations and everyone has decorated and has their best brews on tap ready for the crowds. This year the town has invited a star to the festivities. , When the star is murdered, Sloan is on the case. The sleuth continues with a great building of suspects and I did not guess the ending..
This series is so wonderfully written about the history and culture of Oktoberfest. This series so fun to read and a picturesque setting makes reading this series a delight. I love the charcters, the well crafted sleuth and the activity of Oktoberfest.. This is a fun read and I highly recommend this wonderful series for all cozy mystery lovers. Ms.. Alexander visits Bavarian type villages and knows of what she writes so brilliantly that the reader is transported to feel we are taking part in the fun. I look forward to the next in series and more adventures by Sloan and crew.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence ,my review.

Loved it! While I may appreciate wine more than beer, this still is an interesting subject within the cozy mystery. I am eager to read the next one. Also would like to read the first one in this intriguing series.

I enjoyed this book because I was ready for Fall and this book transported me to cool mornings and changing of the leaves. Sloan is a amazing sleuth who's knowledge of beer and wit are a delight. This book went way to fast for this reader who didn't want it to end. This book is full of engaging characters, beautiful scenery, and a well thought out murder. I highly recommend this book and this series

Ah, the artistry and mechanics of a good beer! Or maybe it was the whole Oktoberfest celebration in Leavenworth, Washington. Ms. Alexander does an amazing job of bringing the beautiful little Bavarian styled village into sharp focus. But not just focus; the sound of the Oom-pah bands and the German concentration of foods and desserts have you ready to hit Southwest for the next flight.

Sloan Krause is cracking the male-dominated beer crafting industry while she is settling into a new job with Garrett Strong at start-up brewery Nitro. Easy, laid back detailed oriented and intelligent, Garrett is beginning to look pretty good. Sloan has separated from soon-to-be ex, Mac. She learned the biz at Der Keller when she married Mac and found a real family with his parents and brother, Hal.

Sloan and Garrett are gearing up for Oktoberfest, counting their kegs, when they get the news that a film company will be in town to film a documentary of the authentic Beervarian experience. Unfortunately, the ex-child movie star who is to host is a blow-hard whose personality quickly offends everyone and it isn't long before he is found dead. There is also a quiet little sub-plot brewing with Sloan as the product of the Wenatchee, Washington foster care system.

Ms. Alexander brings in compelling support characters in addition to Garrett, including the local police chief Meyers--who welcomes Sloan's eyes and ears regarding the murder of Mitchell. This is the second in the series, but each character is well-fleshed sufficient to discern their flushed cheeks and acquire your engagement.

It's obvious the author did a lot of research, catching all the industry standard vocabulary as well as the minutia of brewing. These are integrated naturally into the dialogue; fascinating elements that add to the appreciation of the product. The conclusion arrives easily and efficiently in the well-plotted narrative and corks the antagonist while leaving a few threads dripping, obviously to reappear in the next entry to the series.

I received this uncorrected proof download from the publisher and NetGalley and greatly appreciate the opportunity to read and review. I am looking forward to following this series! Recommended for any who enjoy a cozy mystery or any well-crafted novel with wonderful fully-developed characters in a gorgeous setting.

Good story filled with inaccuracies and inconsistences. The Pint of No Return is a murder mystery set in beautiful Leavenworth, Washington. The town is snuggled into the mountains along Hwy 2 between Seattle and Eastern Washington and is fashioned after a Bavarian village. Ellie Alexander seems to have some familiarity with the area, though the depth of her descriptions could be gained from tourist brochures – which is sad, really, since she is from the PNW. What is particularly troubling are the inaccuracies. Details are wildly off the mark. One example: Leavenworth is more than 100,000 feet above sea level. Planes fly at 35,000 feet. The highest point on the planet is only 29,035. Leavenworth is a lowly 1,175 feet. A simple Google search would have provided that information.

If one is not familiar with the area or simply does not care about such details, the story is a good cozy. The main character, Sloan, is likeable. While she managed to suss out the killer in the end, she doesn’t do a lot of sleuthing – more like stumbling across random information. Like Sloan, the other main characters are mostly likeable, creating an overall pleasant story. The relationships between them are not well fleshed out, but this could be contributed to character development from one installment to the next in the series.

The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander is book 2 in the Sloan Krause series. This is the first one I have read. It can be a stand alone.
Set in Leavenworth, Washington, a charming town with German roots during Oktoberfest, we find Brewmasters Sloan and Garrett working on new brews for the Bavarian fest.
The town is excited when a film crew arrives to film the fest. The host is an arrogant movie star wanting to make his comeback. When he turns up murdered, there are plenty of suspects and Sloan sets out to clear her friends' names.
There are so many likeable characters, you will find yourself wanting to go visit. This story has plenty of twists and turns and will have you guessing until the end. It also gives a great lead in to the next in the series.
I am not a beer drinker but after reading this story, I'm up to trying a few craft brews!
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for providing me an ARC for an honest review.

This story will definitely get you into the Octoberfest spirit. With the festivities quickly approaching Sloan Krause, local brewer, is busy with preparations when a film crew shows up to document Octoberfest in Leavenworth, WA. The director was excited to find a female brewer and wants to highlight Sloan in the documentary but then Octoberfest kicks off with a murder and the documentary team all become suspects.

I really enjoyed the author's attention to details and you get a true feel for Octoberfest but it is overflowing with details about beer and brewing. The beer details were a little too much for me. I like the characters and look forward to seeing their development in the next Sloan Krause Mystery.

This is the second book in the series but could easily be read as a stand alone. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a cute mystery! The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander is another fun, cozy entry in the Sloan Krause Mystery series set in the charming Bavarian styled town of Leavenworth, Washington. To make things even more atmospheric and festive, this entry is set during the celebration of Oktoberfest. As the whole town is involved in the celebrations, a visiting film star is murdered, and he’s someone that many people wanted to kill. So, the suspects stack up, and Sloan is there to figure out whodunit. Sloan is an okay sleuth, she does always seem to run towards trouble, but that’s typical of the main character in a cozy mystery.
As Sloan balances trying to solve the crime, while running her brewery, Nitro, during the busy Oktoberfest festival, she felt a bit frantic to me as she was trying to do so much! This entry made me feel like I was at a loud beer hall, with music and laughter, and while that is fun, after awhile it gets to be a bit much.
With the mystery, I felt that again, similar to the first book, it wasn’t so much the focus of the book. This series seems to be more about the setting and the characters, rather than an intensely plotted mystery, and I’m actually quite all right with that for this series. This series just screams out fun and a picturesque setting, and that to me is what I look for in a cozy mystery. I’m not bothered at all that the mystery wasn’t all that exciting. The setting and the characters are what keeps me reading this series, and I’m looking forward to book three and to hearing about what beer Sloan will be brewing next!

Bottom Line: What fun! Bring on the beers and bratwurst!

This is the 2nd book in the Sloan Krause Mystery series. This is really an outstanding series, the first book was great and this book was even better.

Sloane Krause is a female beer brewer living in Leavenworth, Washington. She was married to the son of the biggest brewer in the area but left them to go work at a microbrewery called Nitro. She's still involved with the family but loves brewing smaller experimental batches of beer.

During Oktoberfest, a movie crew has come to town and Sloane finds the body of the star. She wants to find the murderer before it threatens her brewery and her family.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Pint of No Return is a great read with a lovely setting and interesting topic and plot. I did not read the first in the series but did not have a problem understanding and following the series in this one. The setting of Leavenworth, Washington sounds like a great place to visit and maybe I will get to one day since I have relatives there. The small town is in the Northern Cascade Mountains and has the theme of a Bavarian village. It is Oktoberfest and the town is gearing up for several weekends of festive partying. Sloan Krause is a brewer and married member of a family originally from Germany. Growing up in the foster care system, she didn't have her own family but the Krause family parents, Otto and Ursala, love her and welcomed to their family even before she married their son, Mac. They moved to the town from Germany years ago and started their own brewing company. Sloan is still part of their family and company even though she and Mac are separated after he cheated on her. With close ties to the family still, she is working with a new brewery in town, Nitro, owned by Garrett who has moved to town from nearby Seattle. A filming company is town doing a documentary on beer brewing and both breweries and others are part of the documentary. When one of the crew is found dead, Sloan and Garrett are keeping their eyes open to see who might be the killer. The dead man, Mitchell, was obnoxious and many were unhappy with him. Thankfully, Sloan and Mac's son, Alex, is in the Seattle for the weekend.
This was an enjoyable read that, to me, was a little meatier than some cozies and quite interesting with a mystery that had different suspects who might want Mitchell dead.
I received a complimentary ARC from Minotaur Books and St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. The thoughts expressed are mine only.

THE PINT OF NO RETURN, the second book in the Sloan Krause Mystery series by Ellie Alexander brings the reader to Oktoberfest time in the quaint Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth, Washington. The author paints a vivid picture of the festivities, capturing the sights, sounds, smells and most importantly, the tastes of the celebration. The protagonist, Sloan Krause, is a capable young woman who is exerting her independence and strength to stand on her own after leaving her cheating husband. Sloan had been working for her husband’s family at their very successful brewery but is now working for a small pub, Nitro, helping with the brewing, managing the pub and preparing food to sell. I really like that Sloan isn’t afraid to take risks and do what is right for herself and her young teenaged son. It’s enabled her character to grow and be a good role model for other women. I also appreciate that Sloan has remained a beloved daughter-in-law to her husband’s family, despite the breakup of her marriage, since she was raised in foster care and has no other family. The author weaves in the mystery of Sloan trying to discover who her biological mother is and my curiosity is definitely roused. The thread of this mystery has been carried from book one and appears to be continuing on with the series since it wasn’t resolved with book two.

Ms. Alexander has developed some great characters and several have continued from book one such as April Ablin, Sloan’s nemesis. April is annoying, as she’s meant to be, yet provides a bit of comedy with her insistence on everyone in town dressing in Bavarian dirndl and/or lederhosen. The new characters introduced are part of the film crew and actors who descend on Leavenworth to film a documentary. The documentary gives the author plenty of opportunities to providing interesting insights into brewing. I especially enjoyed the bits and pieces of facts pertaining to what it takes to develop new brews and the distinctive ingredients that can be used to create unique flavors. The murder of the star of the documentary, Mitchell, pulls Sloan back into investigating. I like that her boss and the owner of Nitro, Garrett, doesn’t mind her investigating and in fact, wants to help out. They make a good team and it seems, perhaps, that some romance might be brewing between the two. After seeing Mitchell interact with other characters, the reader isn’t surprised he’s the victim. He’s a nasty piece of work and almost anyone who meets him would want to kill him. Still, the author manages to provide enough clues to keep the reader guessing and ties the threads of the mysteries together in an exciting conclusion. I found THE PINT OF NO RETURN to be an even stronger book than the first installment and look forward to what’s next in store for Sloan!

The Pint of No Return is the second book in the Sloan Krause cozy mystery series and is set in Leavenworth, WA. I liked that we have a female brewer, a new nanobrewery in town and the lives of Garrett and Sloan are a little messy.

I enjoyed this book. I learned a little about craft beers. I’m not sure I understand the difference between a nan0brewery and microbrewery.

This is a standalone story. I have not read the first in the series and was not lost in this book. Looking forward to the next installment.

What I like about this book is the characters are well developed, they are trying to go about their day to day business and there is some humor mixed into the story. Also, beer making is not an overdone topic in this genre. Fresh, fast paced, & entertaining.

It's Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington and there are plenty of activities to lure tourists to this small mountain town. Brewmaster Sloan Krause and owner Garrett are looking forward to the hectic weekend. They are launching their newest brew, a Cherry Weizen flavoured with local cherries, at their microbrewery Nitro. Excitement rises when former child TV star Mitchell Morgan and his production crew come to town to film a documentary during Oktoberfest. But Mitchell's caustic manner turns off many people and he is found murdered the next day. Sloan has plenty on her mind with the pending divorce from her husband Mac and starting a search for her birth mother but she is determined to get involved in solving the murder.

This was a fun quick read and Sloan is an interesting sleuth that I hope will return in future books.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and St. Martin's Press with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.