Great character build! Page after page of suspense! A never-ending plot. The setting and details were superb! A mystery well worth looking into. DEADLY DRAM, by Melinda Mullet, was a deep mystery that took this reader through twists and turns that I will never forget. Even the picturesque cover page was intriguing.
As chapter one opens in the grand old house, I could picture everything going on. They had come together to finish troubles of the old year and commence with a new one. The light from the fire gave a glow to everybody's faces.
Abi Logan and Grant were now the new owners of Abby Glen. A distillery. Suddenly a dead body was lying on the bed. Was it an accident? Was it suicide? Was there a motive? a five star read that you won't soon forget!

Deadly Dram by Melinda Mullet
Book #3: Whisky Business Mystery Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars

For much of her adult life, Abi Logan made her way in the world as a photojournalist. She travelled to some of the world’s most dangerous (and compelling) places, risking her life to capture photos that change the way humanity views, well, humanity. As it happens, the most dangerous place she’s been is the whisky distillery she inherited just shy of a year ago.

With nearly a year in the Scottish countryside, two deaths, and a small herd of adopted sheep behind her, Abi is hoping for a little peace and quiet, for a run of good luck rather than bad. As fate would have it, that good luck comes in the form of several nominations for Abbey Glen’s beautifully crafted whisky and a four day stay in luxury accommodations while the competition is held, and the winners voted on. The cherry on top? Abi gets to spend the four days with her deliciously sexy partner, Grant, and her above average naughty dog 😊 With nothing but good feelings and high hopes, Abi and her furry beast set off for the competition.

Of course, as the last yearish has proven, Abi can’t seem to get away from drama and death! Within 24 hours of her appearance at the lodge, Abi’s delightful dog, Liam gets her kicked out of the all too serious hunting session (why kill it when you can chase and retrieve it?), she becomes involved (as a listener only) in a heated debate about the inclusion or exclusion of foreign brands of whisky into a purely Scottish competition, and a guy is murdered. Oh, and the next night, another guy is murdered. Can’t a girl go a full year without someone being murdered in and around her presence???

As the bodies continue to fall and the threat level rises, Abi finds herself, once again caught up in the investigation. Though she isn’t an official part of the investigation, even the intrepid and exhausted Detective Inspector Michaelson must admit, Abi has a keen sense of people and knows how to solve a puzzle. Michaelson isn’t stupid and knows an asset when he sees one! With some poking, prodding, and flat out conspiring, Abi begins to put the pieces together and what she finds is a troubling past, broken hearts, egos that have been trod upon, and wrong doing that has never met with proper justice. The puzzle is large, the pieces are varied and wonky, and if Abi can’t work it all out, someone close to her is going to lose their life. In fact, three someone’s close to Abi are in danger and time is of the essence.

The Bottom Line: From start to finish I was invested in this book and the outcome. Abi has had a year to become familiar with the whisky business, but this crazy competition has alerted her to how much she still has to learn, and the darker side of distilling prejudice. Yeah, that’s a thing! True to form, Abi dives right into the investigation and doesn’t let up until she puts all the pieces of the puzzle together. Along the way, Abi and her feisty little dog Liam (seriously, he has some great moments!) encounter anger, resentment, friendship, curiosity, loyalty, and pure confusion. There’s a killer in her midst and as Abi evolves as an investigator, she also evolves as a person/character. As always, I loved having the cast and crew from the previous books appear in this book and evolve right along with Abi and Liam. Finally, as with the first two books, the reader will receive a crash course in whisky, distilling, and the industry as a whole. While this information may sound dry and dull, it isn’t at all and it fits nicely into the story and is accessible to even the most whisky ignorant of readers, such as myself 😊 I’m ready for the next round, bartender!

This was a fun book. I would be interested in reading the series. This is a third installment of a series in which Abi take overs a whiskey distillery that she inherited. She and her partner, Grant, have to attend a whiskey competition and someone gets murdered. Abi has had some history with murders and gets involved. She and her dog, Liam, go sleuthing around to find the killer when suddenly, there is another murder. Abi is also distracted by the lovely Brenna who seems to be after her partner Grant. While Abi juggles whiskey tasting, finding her place among the whiskey experts and contemplating her next move when it comes to Grant, she is able to solve the murders with the help of her whiskey distilling friends and Liam, of course. Nice cozy mystery to curl up to.
Thanks to NetGalley, Melinda Mullet and Alibi for the electronic ARC of this book.

Princess Fuzzypants here: My family is quite fond of single malt whisky so I have enjoyed this series. Like a fine dram, it has just the right amount of suspense and character development balanced with some interesting details about Scotland and whisky. It has an award winning photojournalist heroine whose skills are appreciated by the local constabulary when she becomes involved in murders. Again, there is a balance where she can participate in an organic way that does not stretch credulity. I realize it is a hard balance for an author so I always appreciate when it is done with finesse.
Abi’s distillery is up for a prestigious award but when two of the judges are poisoned and her friend is on the suspect list, she is determined to help find the killer. Since the police are short-handed, she is asked to take pictures at the scene, observe but not get too involved. This is a cozy...as if that is going to happen. She does have second thoughts though when her partner ends up in the hospital after brushing his teeth with her toothpaste. Clearly, someone thinks she is getting too close.
I must admit I suspected that culprit but there were enough twists that it did not detract from the enjoyment of the read. She was able to uncover more than one bad guy but at what cost. There is a bit of a cliffhanger in the romance department at the end which should be fascinating to see develop. The fact is I like the characters. It makes me, as the reader, want to follow their stories.
I give it four purrs and two paws up.

3.5 Stars

Photojournalist Abi Logan is growing to love her new home in Balfour, Scotland, and is determined to keep learning about the whisky business now that she has inherited a Scottish whisky distillery. Abi wants to continue the success of the Abbey Glen brand and is working hard to be taken seriously in this male-dominated world. This and past relationship issues cause Abi to keep her attractive business partner, Grant MacEwen, at arm’s length. This could prove difficult when the two go together to an industry competition. Abi has full schedule of events and promoting Abbey Glen, which provide a good excuse to avoid Grant as much as possible. When one of the judges is found murdered, Abi has to add solving a murder on her already busy agenda.

Deadly Dram is the third in this series. Abbey Glen makes a great setting for a series and the information about the distillery and the whisky business are the best parts of this book. It’s unique for a cozy and I learned a lot about the industry, while being entertained with an entertaining plot. The whisky competition, held at a luxury hotel makes it even more interesting. Abi’s best friend and PR professional, Patrick, make a good investigative team, as they use their skills to research potential suspects and convince DI Ian Michaelson of Patrick’s innocence. Although Michaelson has Patrick in his sights, he welcomes Abi’s help since he is short-handed. It was refreshing for Abi, as an amateur sleuth, be taken seriously by the professional detective on the case. This is in part due to Abi’s background in journalism, but also her ability to talk to a person and quickly get a sense of who they are and if they are being truthful.

Less successful for me is the introduction of Brenna as a professional and personal rival to Abi. Brenna was supposed to be a pioneer in the whisky, interning with Abi’s Uncle Ben and living with Grant, and yet the first Abi has ever heard of her is when Brenna makes a grand entrance at the whisky competition. I found this very hard to believe, especially in a small town and close-knit group of whisky distillers. Grant says he’s over Brenna, often snubbing her, but then an event at the end of the book is obviously setting up a triangle with Brenna, Grant, and Abi. The romance factor, with Abi and Grant being at cross purposes over their relationship, is a weakness of this book and the series as a whole. However, the interesting setting and insider information about the whisky business make Deadly Dram a worthwhile read, especially for those who have been following the series.

~ Christine

I will admit this book took me quite a bit of time to read. I enjoyed it but at times I did struggle because there was just so much going on with so many characters. But, I do recommend this book to everyone that enjoys a good mystery with a strong female character.

Enjoyable cozy that started a bit slow but then captured my heart and my attention. Interesting background on the whiskey distillery business with just a hint of romantic angst. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in return for my honest opinion.

A murder happens while a shakespeare is practised. Everybod is a verdict but you really can´t guess whlteh real murder is andwhy. Full of suspense. I loved reading it.

Abi Logan is a photojournalist who has just returned from a month in Iceland. After being home for a few days she's starting to rethink her career choices, especially since she's inherited a distillery that's one of the best in Scotland. She's also attracted to her partner Grant McEwan, who hasn't hidden the fact that he's attracted to her as well. But since she has a lousy relationship history (she, for some reason, doesn't think this has to do with her traveling all the time!) she's determined to stay away from him.

So it's that much harder when they, along with her friend Patrick, have to attend a whisky industry competition together. Armed with a new wardrobe (with the help of the local veterinarian) she's sure everything will go swimmingly. But when someone is killing off the judges and Patrick looks as if he might be the culprit, Abi must use all her sleuthing ability to ferret out a murderer before he's the one losing everything..

I really wanted to like this book, and for the most part I did. Ms. Mullet draws beautiful descriptions of everything going on around Abi, of the countryside, etc.; so much so that you can imagine being there yourself. Her characterizations of people are also wonderful, giving us a feeling for who they are. I liked the plot line, and thought everything was very well written.

However, I don't know if I'll read any more in this series, and the reasons why are in spoilers below (since I don't want to ruin this for those who have no read it as yet):

THIS IS A SPOILER AND CAN ONLY BE SEEN BY CLICKING ON IT:
But, and this is a big But, the author seems to be out of ideas to keep the series going. I say this because she decided to add the dreaded Love Triangle. That's right, dreaded. There are far too many of them in series already, and we certainly don't need another. They're not interesting, just annoying. Honestly, if I had known the author was going to do this, I never would have read any of these books (and I have read them all).

I don't know what one is going for, but it's a trite ploy to keep readers interested, and it doesn't for many. How are we supposed to know if, or when, it will be resolved? Will it be resolved in the next book, or will it go on forever? Besides, who needs to "fight" for a man? He either wants you or he doesn't. It's cheap, and it lessens the woman who thinks she needs to compete for love (and I feel the same for men). It detracts from the story and cheats the readers who are not interested in love triangles nor cliffhangers who have read the series all along. (Also, Grant's not a teenager, he's a grown man. If he doesn't know who he wants in his life, then there's a problem. (Gee, great! I have two women fighting for me! How cool is that?)

As for ending books on cliffhangers, I've always felt it's just another ploy to make sure someone buys the next one. I call it 'holding the reader hostage' and I don't care for it. As you can see, I was NOT pleased at all by the ending and I will have to know that this will be resolved in the next book or I won't continue with this series.
END OF SPOILER

If you've read the spoiler, then you know my final thoughts on the book and the ending, so there isn't much left to say. Other than that, if you're inclined this is a decent book that can be read in one sitting.

I was given an advanced copy of this book for my honest review. I have not read the other books in this series but this book can stand alone. The majority of this book takes place at a fancy hunting resort where a whiskey competition is taking place. Abi, who inherited a distillery a year earlier, is at the competition with her dog, her business partner Grant, and her friend. Judges begin to be murdered and Abi begins to assist the police investigator and in the process puts herself and her companions in danger. There are many twists and turns in this "whodunnit" as Abi and the police investigate. I have to say that I did not really warm up to Abi as a character in the book. Loved her dog though. It was interesting to see how each person who came under suspicion had motives for the murders and there were many "dead" ends during the investigations until the very end when the murderer was finally uncovered. A surprise and shock to all. So there were some very inventive ways the murders were accomplished and lots of false starts surrounding the investigation. If you can get past Abi's character, you could have fun trying to figure out who the real murderer is.

I love a good mystery. I very much enjoy the whole puzzle and figuring it out. However, this is my first book of this series and I must admit, I wasn't really drawn into the characters as much as I thought I would be. Liam, the wheaten terrier, was very interesting with his antics, but I wasn't drawn into the book for several reasons.

The first would be the very beginning. I didn't feel compelled to keep turning the pages while people talked around an open pit fire of their whiskey barrels. Didn't get a good feel of the characters all together and an emotional feel from the main character. It was a first person perspective so I thought for sure, she would let us know a bit more emotionally about how each was affected her and I didn't get it or didn't believe it.

The mystery is okay. Nothing over the top. The same goes for the romance.

Ms. Mullet bring tremendous description to all the events in the story but instead of rushing forward to learn more, I felt more that it was dragging me toward the end. I skimmed large portions of the details because they didn't move the story forward.

I appreciate the book, but outside of that, it really wasn't the best mystery I had read recently and it didn't thrill me as a cozy.

This book was given to me as an uncorrected proof by Net Galley for an unbiased and honest review.

“Deadly Dram” earns 5/5 Whisky Barrels…Filled with Engaging Fun!

In the cozy genre, no matter your interest or passion, you can always find a theme to interest you. From sweet and savory culinary treats and businesses to indoor and outdoor hobbies and sports, from paranormal and magical to some with a bit of both, the genre has brought in fans of all backgrounds and ages. I was drawn to Melinda Mullet’s series because of her unique theme surrounding a whisky distillery…I'll have mine “neat.” I started with “Deadly Dram,” her third book, knowing that the background and characters have already been established. However, I wasn't disappointed because she provided enough references, without spoilers, to keep me engaged and eager to read the first two books. Ok, it's Scotland (Of course, I saw the lack of an “e” in whisky), and Abigail Logan, with her hunky “Braveheart” partner, will be attending a whisky competition for which their efforts have been rewarded with three “Golden Quaich” nominations. However, along with personal attractions that complicate Abi’s business relationship with Grant MacEwen, she is met with snarky comments about woman in the business, debates over allowing foreign distilleries to compete, cutthroat contestants, and murder! What a page turner that, along with an engaging look into the whisky distillery community, includes a clever mystery beyond the traditional cozy formula. She has created wonderful characters, some fun animal antics, a budding romance fraught with complexities, loads of suspects with motives, humor, peril, and a satisfying conclusion. I thoroughly enjoy any bonuses an author can add to my cozy experience, and the references to all things whisky were all Google-worthy topics to explore, but I would have really enjoyed a recipe or two that highlighted “whisky” as an ingredient. Just saying…

Deadly Dram is the third book in the Whiskey Business Mystery series. This can be read as a standalone. Though the relationships between some of the characters makes more sense if you have read the previous books. This is an average cozy mystery story. Be prepared for a lot of talk about whiskey and a lot of alcohol involved.

What a wonderful cozy mystery with a nice whiskey theme to it. I learned quite a bit about the entire process while reading it I must say. Abigail is on her way to a fancy lodge for an award competition for the distillery. Nervous enough about going to begin with things just get worse when Liam starts causing his own brand of trouble. As if that is not enough the judges start dropping like flies and a surprise victim as well just to make things a little more emotionally wrenching for Abi. This is a very well written mystery peppered with details amongst the suspense, laughter, and intrigued. The mix of it all creates a truly wonderful cozy that you will not want to put down. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.

This is a fun series. I am enjoying getting to know the characters, particularly Abi’s dog, Liam! I like Abi’s independent streak and the fact that she is reluctant to lean to heavily on any man. Setting the series in the backdrop of a whiskey distillery is a fun idea too!

This is the 3rd book in the Whiskey Business Mystery series, and I think they are improving with each book. Abi Logan inherited her uncle's whiskey distillery unexpectedly and she's still trying to prove herself in the male-dominated business.

Abi goes to the Golden Quaich competition with her partner Grant where one of the judges is killed. Abi's curiosity as a reporter kicks in and she wants to find the killer.

I highly recommend this book and the others in the series. Thanks to Alibi and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Abigail Logan, co-owner of Abbey Glen Distillery, attends a special whiskey competition at a luxury resort with her partner, Grant, and dog, Liam. Unfortunately, some of the judges are dying in dubious circumstances. As she tries to get a toehold in the male-dominated whiskey distillery business, it becomes necessary to investigate to keep her friends and her friends safe. The setting in Scotland provides an interesting background, The characters developed and interesting, and the plot fair and intriguing. Well done! I'll be back for Abi's next adventure.

It’s been a year since Abigail Logan put down roots to help run Abbey Glen distillery. It’s not easy being a woman in the distilling business but she has earned the respect of the men and the industry. Now Abbey Glen is participating in a prestigious competition to be held at a high-end Scottish resort. The first night is filled with good food and better spirits, the liquid kind. As the next day dawns, one of the judges is discovered dead with a bottle of the Japanese whisky next to him. Abi finds herself mixed in yet another murder and she discovers she is no longer the only woman working in the distillery industry.

This series continues to strengthen as it goes. Mullett’s knowledge of distilling and the business of whiskey is extensive. I don’t care for whisky and her descriptions of the aroma and flavor make me want to go pour a dram. This cozy series is one of the more serious ones and I continue to tell anyone and everyone about it.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion. I really enjoyed the characters and the story kept me quessing. I have not read the other books in this series and found that it works fine as a standalone book.

One of the things I love best about reading cozies is that I always get to learn about different trades and industries...and this book had a really cool one! I loved learning about the entire whiskey process, and you can't beat the setting. The author's descriptions are so spot on, that you are sucked into the story, left wanting to not put the book down, but not wanting it to end all in the same moment. And how about those characters? They are so well written, especially the scene stealing Liam! How can you not love an adorable and funny canine?! And let's not forget Abi, a strong female lead! All-in-all I really enjoyed this book and was close to stumped with the murder and the whodunit...a sure sign of any great cozy! I highly suggest you get your hands on this book. I look forward to the next in the series, Died in the Wool, set to be released May 2019!