I was all set to read a mystery with a whiskey maker as the setting. After the first six paragraphs, I gave up. I felt like I had been dropped into the middle of the story. I had no idea what the story was talking about. I felt like I missed the first half of the book even though I was beginning on page one.

Scotland, a whiskey distillery and various family members I got but what they were talking about and the people who had previously died, made no sense to me. So I gave up.

I looked up the book and found that, indeed, I was in the middle of the story. There had been three previous books and this was the fourth in the series. IMHO, to make sense of this book, you need the background from the previous three. This is definitely a series to read in order.

Scotland, whiskey, and murder. What a great premise for a cozy and a series. I love the title and the series has a good bit of humor and puns. I like that a great deal. As the third in the series I didn't feel like I missed too much if it were standing alone. I like Abi. She's tough, and she's good. The story has great pacing you have finished it so much faster than you realized. It's a nice who-done-it mystery. I hope to read more of this series.

Thanks to Net Galley for my digital copy of this book. This review is my own. A positive review is never required.

A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

As a fan of cozy mysteries, I am always looking for a new series. When I found this one I quickly downloaded the previous two books and fell hard for Abigail Logan. Abigail has inherited her uncles estate and becomes involved with the people in the neighboring village. Business and romance combine as danger seems to follow Abigail as she operates her Uncle's whiskey business. Looking forward the volume #4.

I can't believe this is the third book in this series already, seems like only yesterday Abi showed up to take over her uncle's whisky distillery. In this book, Abi and the distillery gang heads to a whisky competition and on the first night, a competition judge turns up dead, poisoned. As Abi races to discover how is behind the poisoning, another judge is found dead, also by poisoning. As she closes in on the killer, her partner Grant is poisoned after borrowing Abi's toothpaste and is hospitalized. There was no shortage of suspects in this one, most of whom had their own interrelated paths that wove a tangled web into the investigation. Bit by bit, Abi untangled the knots but not before two men died and her business partner (and romantic interest) nearly died. I liked the police inspector, Michaelson, had more background added, making him more a part of the story than in the other books. The addition of Breanna, Grant's ex-girlfriend also added another layer and looks like she will be in further books.

The explosive ending was by far the best part. I had an inkling who the murderer was around halfway or two thirds through the book, and I wanted to smack Abi and tell her she was on the wrong track. Still, it was an exciting ending and a great cap to a great book.

I have one small complaint: No, you cannot go to the store and buy a bottle of vape juice and poison someone with it. Also, vape juice is not nicotine with flavoring added, there also PG (propylene glycol) and VG (vegetable glycerin) added. Nicotine is also already diluted when you buy it, usually with PG, but sometimes with VG and in varying concentrations. With all the hoopla in the news lately about how "vaping is killing people" it isn't and considering how many people have stopped smoking cigarettes with vaping (I'm one of them) I hate to see misinformation being spread. It's bad enough in the media, but I've read a couple of books with this as a plot device and it's unacceptable.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Abigail Logan still has a lot to learn about being a distillery owner but she is really making herself at home in Balfour. She is trying to keep her mind on Whisky business, but when she and her business partner, Grant MacEwan attend a whisky competition at a 5-star resort she may not be able to resist his charms. Then before the Golden Quaich competition begins, where several Abbey Glen Whiskys are up for awards 2 of the judges are killed. DI Ian Michaelson asks for Abi’s help as a photographer to take pictures of the crime scenes. Her keen observation skills see things other people don’t and she soon finds herself investigating. If she is not careful, she may be the killer’s next victim.

Abigail Logan is a wonderful protagonist. Smart, strong, and independent. She has taken on the job as owner of the distillery quite well. She has a great team helping her and teaching her everything about the whiskey business. She is still trying to keep Grant in the friend zone, but there is no denying the chemistry there. Grant stole my heart long ago so I am rooting for them to have a relationship that works. Her friend Patrick redeemed himself for me in this story. I wasn’t so fond of him in the last one. I really enjoy the friendship between Abi and Katherine McRae. Their shopping trip to get Abi the right clothes was fun to read. I also enjoyed that the resort allowed pets so Liam could go too. He was on his best behavior, for the most part 🙂

The story is set at a whisky convention so we are introduced to several characters. The author does an excellent job of making them each unique so I was able to get to know them pretty quickly. There was a character that returned from a prior story too, it was great to have him cross Abi’s path again. As always a certain 4-legged character gives the story some laughs.

This mystery had a whole resort full of suspects, some were easily eliminated but others needed more investigation. Ms. Mullet has a great talent for misdirecting her readers which makes following along with Abi and her friends so entertaining. She ratchets up the suspense at the perfect time and gives readers a great conclusion. She also gives us just a little cliffhanger that leaves as longing for the next book.

I love the way she sets a scene. She describes everything in a way that puts you right there in the room or out in the countryside. She also educates her readers about Whisky and I love learning new things when I am reading. I like whiskey but have never had Scottish whisky. I may have to rectify that soon.

For me, this was A Perfect Escape!! A stellar mystery with great characters set in a beautiful place. I can’t wait for my next visit!

This is my first book in the series :A Whisky Mystery. I love 'cosy' mysteries especially when the author takes the time to teach you something you probably didn't know anything about ie: the whiskey business! I enjoyed looking into the world of distilleries and the prestigious international awards the accompany high quality scotch whiskey! I liked Ali and Inspector Michaelson and the way they look into the tangled web of clues and Ali learns not to trust all her hunches. The story kept you guessing until the end ! I didn't guess correctly !

I am Scottish so I love this series set in Scotland at a Whiskey Distillery. The characters are delightful and the setting is perfection and so richly described that the reader feels they are visiting Scotland. I love the description of how the distillery runs . The sleuth was very well crafted and kept me guessing to the end. I love everything about this series and cannot wait to read the next in series. This is a traditional mystery with a great setting and location that will appeal to every reader.
Thank you for the ARC. My opinion is my own.

I read Book 1, missed Book 2.

I enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised by the plot.

At first I thought things came out of left field, but then realized things were laid out very subtly…clever.

I look forward to Book 4

These books are everything I could want from a good cozy. Strong recurring characters, slow building relationships, a setting I'd love to immerse myself in. Yet there's just one thing extra... Whisky!

Once again I found myself devouring the pages of this whodunnit. While I must admit it's simple, sometimes that's what a reader needs. Just a good story to get lost in for a bit. This series remains an auto read for me!

Deadly Dram by Melinda Mullet
With her wheaten terrier, Liam, by her side, Abi Logan, freelance photographer, returns to the Scottish village of Balfour to check in on Abbey Glen, the celebrated whisky distillery she inherited. But her homecoming takes a sour turn after she unearths an unseemly bit of village history, not to mention the group of Japanese whisky enthusiasts, and an unexpected flock of sheep. Still, murder is even more stressful. Local rock star celebrity Rory Hendricks enters the picture. He’s Abi’s girlhood crush who she finally meets in person and she finds she can’t say no to anything he asks, like photographing his upcoming show or finding out who’s trying to kill him. Turns out that someone’s been killing his old bandmates. With the drummer and keyboard artist sidelined, and having received a series of threatening messages, Rory thinks he’s next on the chopping block. The band has any number of broken-hearted groupies and old disputes, which provide Abi with a huge batch of suspects. This is a fun series. The characters are great to read about and the setting is beautiful. The book is suspenseful and the plot twisty enough to keep the pages turning fairly fast. Entertaining, romantic, and fun – this book is a winner. This is the second in the series and readers may want to start with the first one.
Review appears in http://mystericale.com/article/fall-2018-reviews/

I find that the whiskey business seems as intriguing as all those small brew houses are. Photojournalist Abi returns to the world of whiskey and a competition for their wares. Abi is clear headed and good investigator to match wits with the Inspector. I enjoy all the information in this series and the mystery was well done.

Abigail Logan is excited to be attending the competition sponsored by the local whiskey industry. She is still new to the business, having inherited her share of Abbey Glenn a year before. And she's trying to keep her relationship with partner Grant McEwan on a business level, having had her share of bad relationships.
The competition, held at a popular resort, features whiskey tastings and judging. But also afoot is skullduggery. Before it's over, two judges are dead and there are a multitude of suspects. Abi jumps into investigative mode, even though the police are involved.
It's fun to see favorite characters in a different setting, plus meet some new ones, good and bad. I really enjoy this series.

Deadly Dram by Melinda Mullet is a change from typical cozies. This is a book about the whiskey business. The story takes place at a whiskey competition featuring both domestic and international whiskies. The night before the award presentations, two of the judges are found dead and distillery owner Abigail Logan must investigate before she loses everything. This story features strong characters and lots of drama. A fast, enjoyable read. The book is well done and deserves a toast. Thank you Net Galley for providing an ARC and allowing me to review.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and I can honestly say I want go back and grab books one and two, that's how much I enjoyed it. The one thing I didn't like was addressed in an author's note at the end (and honestly maybe it should have been at the beginning because I know people who would have stopped reading) and I'm wondering why include it at all since added so little (it's part of the reason I didn't go the full five stars). Abi Logan, who had inherited a Scottish whiskey distillery, lets her terrier, Liam, have alcohol (the note says never to do it because this is toxic to dogs).


That weirdness aside, Abi makes for a great character. So often in cozy mysteries the amateur sleuth is a bit dodgy or hard to believe in for me but Abi is a photojournalist used to work in war zones. So she's bright, brave and used to digging for the truth.


This one is set up at a resort where her distillery is up for awards so she's there with Grant, her partner in the distillery and Patrick another friend who is a judge. She's one of the few women in the business, the other being Brenna, Grant's former girlfriend (i.e. competition, though I wasn't impressed with the idea of Abi and Grant). So she is competition that the old school distillers don't what there (read cis white dudes) but worse is another person Abi likes, Hinatu a Japanese distiller.


Quickly enough someone is taking out judges using liquid nicotine. Michaelson, the local cop (a character I really liked. In fact I was taken with him and Abi especially), enlists Abi not to investigate but to take crime scene photos. He's short handed so he gives her small jobs, hoping to keep her busy and out of the investigation (good luck)

There were plenty of good twists and red herrings. I thought this was a very well done mystery and it's definitely a mystery series I'll be keeping up with so thanks again to Netgalley for introducing me to Abi Logan.

I’m a sucker for cozies that involve booze and animals — and this one contains both! This cozy was right in my wheelhouse. It had a touch of romance to help spice up the plot, but the mystery was right at the forefront. Lots of foreshadowing made for an easy guess at the end, but all in all I got exactly what I needed from this cute book.

For those that don’t know, a “dram” is a small drink of whiskey. And since this is a cozy mystery based on the owner of a whiskey distillery who is attending an industry competition where she expects to receive an award for her company’s product—let’s just say those spirits play a prominent role in this story.
Apparently the whiskey industry is like any other industry. There are rivalries and conflicts and plenty of personality clashes. For instance, there are nationalist distillers who believe that all whiskeys not made in Scotland are inferior. It's this theme of nationalism that sets up many of the conflicts in Deadly Dram. On the fun side, there's Abi’s whiskey-drinking dog Liam, who has a knack for causing havoc. All-in-all, those characters are entertaining and fun to follow. 
There are multiple murders in this cozy whodunnit. Each seems to further both ascertain and obfuscate who the real killer is. Personally, I would have liked to have seen less rehashing of the clues and suspects and more following the trail to the killer. With that said, the dialogue was crisp and well done, the characters’ actions were always believable and consistent.
There were some good red herrings along the way, and the real killer’s identity remained a mystery until near the end. This is a nicely done cozy that will give you some insight into the whiskey business along with its internal drama and conflicts. It will also keep you entertained until the end.

This installment found Abi and Grant away from their home estates at a luxury hotel where a distillery competition was taking place. It was a huge honor for Abbey Glen to have been nominated, and Abi hoped she'd represent her business well. Her friend Patrick was there as usual. And as usual, there were a couple of murders of two of the competition judges to solve.

By now, Deputy Inspector Michaelson had come to (he wouldn't admit it though) depend on Abi for her insight since she was formerly a photo journalist. This book had them almost seeming like friends, and Michaelson seemed more human when he shared his personal issue of his daughter turning 14 and the fact that he had no idea what to do for her or get her.

It was well-written and plotted as were the first two in the series, and everything was wrapped up and explained. I did have an idea of who the killer might be, but it was honestly a guess since everyone was concentrating harder on other suspects. I didn't have a clue what the reason would be, so it was still a pretty cool showdown. Poor Abi seems so unlucky in love. Once again she's not be interested in Grant when she should have been. Maybe in the next book? I loved that Liam her Wheaton terrier got to go to the hotel too and even had some play dates with the hunting dogs there.

Every time I read a book from this series I want to drink Whiskey, and I don't like the taste of alcohol! I have enjoyed seeing the progression of the characters, and the information about the business is fascinating.
I laugh out loud reading about Abi and her sheep, I can just picture it. The relationship between her and Grant makes me smile. This book was wonderful and I really couldn't guess who done it, the ending made me so sad I just wanted to cry.

I highly recommend this series, start from the beginning!

Thank you Netgalley and Alibi for a copy of this book.

Deadly Dram is a nice little mystery set in a beautiful mountain lodge filled with gorgeous views, delicious food, and lots of potential for mayhem. Abi Logan, the protagonist, is a former journalist turned small distiller, who is learning the whole new world of Scotch. The characters are well written, the mystery well constructed and Abi is a believable amateur detective. This book takes into an established world without overly long backgrounds and histories and the mystery takes a bit of unraveling with the amateur detective having her fair share of stumbles. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would love to read more of the series.

Disclaimer:ARC from Netgalley in exchange for feedback. All opinions my own.