I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have always enjoyed Heather's book and this one fulfilled that promise of enjoyment. I did feel this book was written a different way than her previous books. The suspense keeps you turning the pages as fast as you can read. Characters could use a little more development so you can "know" them better. In the end it was an enjoyable thriller involving friends and family. Enjoy! 📚

Bitter Brew by G. A. McKevett is the 24th book in the Savannah Reid Mystery series, and another great addition. I love this series, and reading a new book is like visiting old friends. Savannah is a private investigator who owns the Midnight Magnolia Detective Agency and her husband Dirk, is a police detective. When Dr. Liu, the coroner, admits to Savannah that she changed her friends autopsy report so it did not show suicide, and now more people are dying of the same lethal cocktail the investing begins. There are twists and turns around every corner. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

PI Savannah Reid is shocked when her coroner friend Dr. Jennifer Liu arrives in the middle of the night with a disturbing confession. Dr. Liu admits to lying about an autopsy report's findings in order to keep her best friend Brianne’s suicide a secret. Brianne had been suffering from Halsted's disease and took a lethal drug cocktail to end her life. But when Dr. Liu finds the same unique drug concoction in the body of Nels Farrow, she fears both people were murdered. Apprehensive about concealing a felony, Savannah launches a solo investigation into Brianne’s final days. Both Brianne and Nels had been part of a support group for people dealing with rare chronic diseases. Did another member aid them in their quest to end their suffering?

Meanwhile on the personal front, Savannah has to deal with odd behaviours from her detective husband Dirk and her younger brother Waycross.

This was another great read in the long-running Savannah Reid mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Kensington with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Excellent Cozy Murder Mystery
What a wonderful story! I can't believe that this is the first of this series that I've read. It will not be my last! This is a great story from beginning to end. It stands alone quite well and I didn't even know it was part of a series until I looked up the author. The plot is wonderful, tight and full of surprises. The ending reveal is totally unexpected. The characters are great and come across as real people. The subject matter while dark was well presented and informative. I will be reading all of this series. I received this ARC free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. It is the 24th book in a series but can be read as a stand-alone (I’d not read the previous books). Savannah, leader of the Magnolia Detective Agency, is shocked when Dr. Jennifer Liu shows up late at night and begs for her help. Dr Liu’s dearest friend is dead; Dr. Liu performed the autopsy and, as she promised her friend, she recorded the results as natural causes due to a genetic disease. Now, in addition to the issue of her medical ethics being compromised, Dr. Liu is concerned that her friend was killed, and didn’t commit suicide. Savannah agrees to do a discreet investigation, but has trouble when trying to investigate without her husband and the rest of her team. I credit the author for addressing serious issues in this book; I knew little to nothing about genetic diseases and their impacts. This book handled the delicacies of that story arc well.

Bitter Brew is the 24th installment in the long running Savannah Reid series. I have enjoyed keeping up with this series and the newest edition carried on the humor and heart that readers have grown to look for in this series. Savannah is always willing to help a friend however she is surprised to find Di Liu, the medical examiner, at her doorstep one stormy evening with a particularly delicate problem she needs Savannah's discrete detective assistance with. Dr. Lui recently falsified both the autopsy report and the death certificate for a friend who was battling an incurable genetic disorder. She was under the assumption that her friend had committed suicide, rather than face a life of suffering a steady decline. In an effort to protect her friends and family, Dr. Liu falsified the report however when a local real estate agent who suffered from the very same incurable genetic disorder lands on her autopsy table, she starts to question her initial assessment of suicide. Although she knows the consequences could be steep, Dr Lui asks Savannah to discretely look into things. Although Savannah usually has the research skills and other talents of the members of the Moonlight Magnolia detective agency at her disposal, the sensitive nature of this problem requires her to go alone, even keeping it from her husband Dirk. Once Savannah realizes that they are in fact dealing with a double homicide however the crew is assembled to help track down the killer.
Bitter Brew was a quick paced mystery that contained quite a bit of sensitive and thought provoking issues centered around incurable genetic disorders. The author, as usual, found a way to not only deal with these topics in a respectful manner, but to also use the wit and affability of the characters to balance out the heaviness encountered at times during the plot. The mystery was nicely paced and kept me guessing until the end. I look forward to future books in this series as well as the author's newer series that features Granny Reid more predominately.

Reading so many books gives me the opportunity to meet new characters and reunite with some favorites.
Bitter Brew is an excellent addition to this series. I’m looking forward to reading more.

I recently read the first of Grandma Reid mysteries and discovered the Reid world. I fell in love with the characters and was very happy when this book was approved.
Even if I'm a recent fan it was like meeting a group of old friend and couldn't help rooting for them.
The mystery is very good, no plot hole, and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to reading soon another book set in the Reid world,
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Savannah Reid owner of the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency is always ready to help a friend in trouble. However, she never expected that friend to be Dr. Jennifer Liu. Dr. Liu is the town’s coroner. She fudged her friend’s cause of death to natural instead of suicide. However, now that another person has died of the same disease and has an identical drug cocktail mix in his system, Dr Liu knows something is wrong. In spite of the pending trouble to her career, Dr. Liu wants this investigated.

While investigating, Savannah is worried about trouble with her marriage. Dirk seems to be keeping secrets. And her brother seems to have the flu in addition to his broken leg. Will life ever get back to normal?

This is #24 in the Savannah Reid mysteries. I have enjoyed every one of them. If you haven’t tried these before, now is the time to start with Bitter Brew.

Dr. Jennifer Lu knows she was wrong when she wasn't honest about Brianne's cause of death. She didn't want Brianne's friends and family to think she committed suicide but now, as she tells Savannah, she's found the same unusual and lethal drug combination in Nels, who, oddly enough, had the same genetic medical condition as Brianne. She's convinced there's a murderer out there and so is Savannah so against good judgment (when has that ever stopped a cozy heroine?) she investigates. She is careful not to involve her husband Dirk, who has enough on his own law enforcement plate. This might be the 24th (!) book in the series but it's perfectly readable and enjoyable as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The mystery in these books is always less important, to my mind, than the interaction between the characters and McKevett writes good ones.

Where has Savannah Reid been all my life! Nothing like a little Southern sassiness in southern California! I was very pleased to see that this is installment #24 so now I need to go and find the other 23. This story line definitely had some serious points that were made light hearted by expertly crafted characters. I also LOVE that this involves a family that puts family first and that doesn't just mean those we are related to by blood but also those we choose. There is even a bit of marital advice that everyone should hasten to adopt, I know that I will. The story had some great twists and turns and I did not realize who "done it" until it was rather obvious, which is just how I like it!

I love this book series. The characters have alot of depth and have really grown and changed over time just as real people would. There is always a murder to solve but it is never predictable. The reader is left guessing who did it because there are lots of twists and turns in the plot. Honestly, I usually can't figure it out which is refreshing. It is someone I did not suspect but yet the reason why they are guilty always makes sense.

I enjoy this series and all of the characters,. They seem like old friends to me now and I was so happy to see a new book!

This mystery provided me with twists and turns with the plot and didn’t point me to the murderer too quickly.

Thank you for another great read and visit with friends I look forward to the next one.

Another great entry in the series. The mysteries and problems in this one are all personal as marriages and friendships are tested. Savannah must find a way to help her friend, Dr. Jennifer Liu, out of a personal and professional predicament, while keeping the details from her family and friends, especially her law enforcement husband, Dirk, as it would put him in the middle of an ethical dilemma. But it isn't so easy to keep things from those you love and trust, especially when it seems as if they are keeping secrets as well. Things get more and more complicated until everyone decides to reveal their secrets and trust each other. It takes everyone working together to finally get this family put back together and catch a killer in the process. A great read!

Savannah is shocked when Dr. Jennifer Liu shows up at her front door late at night with an urgent request for off-the-record help. Dr. Jen's long-time friend was recently diagnosed with a rare terminal illness, and elicited a promise from the coroner that her death, when it happened, would be recorded as a result of natural causes, no matter the circumstances. Jen kept that promise, but is now beginning to wonder if there was more behind her friend's death than what appears to her as a suicide. Savannah finds it impossible to refuse Jen's plea for a discreet investigation, but has trouble keeping the case from Dirk and the rest of the Magnolia Detective Agency.

The latest book in the long-running Savannah Reid series is every bit as enjoyable as the previous installments. The cast of recurring characters feels like a group of old friends, and I love catching up with them every time I read one of these books. I love that they are finding ways to get Gran involved in their investigations, and I love her spunk and her unwavering support for all of them, especially Savannah and Waycross. This book involved some issues that are more serious in today's society than those usually addressed in cozy mysteries, but I felt that they were presented in a realistic manner without bringing down the overall tone of the book, and they were handled well. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

In the latest installment of the Savannah Reid series the story follows Savannah as she investigates a potential double murder. A friend of Savannah, medical examiner Dr. Jennifer Liu shows up late one night on her doorstep to confess that she falsified an autopsy report of a friend who she thought committed suicide. Now as she has performed another autopsy she finds this person died of the same drug cocktail as her friend. She begins to question if there isn’t something else going on. She asks Savannah to investigate and keep it quiet. Once they determine they are investigating a double murder the entire team gets involved. This was a very interesting and different mystery dealing with some very sensitive topics. The author handled this all very well. Enjoyed.

When Savannah's friend Dr. Jennifer Liu shows up on her doorstep late one evening to confess something and to ask for her help she becomes worried. Dr. Liu falsified a friends autopsy report from suicide to natural causes but it is starting to look like she was actually murdered. You see the doctor has another body cross her autopsy table and his death looks identical to her friends. He didn't commit suicide so what caused both of them to die. They both have rare disease that runs in their families but it takes the disease a longer time to actually kill the person. Savannah wants to help the doctor figure out what is going on she just isn't use to going at things solo. The doctor asked her not to tell anyone so she will just have to do her best, luckily her husband is having to work a bunch of late nights and double shifts so he won't notice what she is up to. During her investigation she realizes that she needs to pull her people in she just can't go it alone. They soon determine that it is a double homicide and start looking at what the two victims had in common. Will they be able to find the killer before someone else ends up on the autopsy table? Follow along as the agency garners clues into who the killer might actually be. Will the be able to find the killer and keep Dr. Liu from prison. This is a wonderful series that is filled with a group of characters that you will become attached to immediately. I always love the plots that the author comes up with and look forward to visiting with some favored characters.

This is my first book in the Savannah Reid series. Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance. It was a wonderful introduction to the series, and I have purchased all 23 previous books. The book is well written, I really wanted to know more about the main story, as it very well appeared that Brianne had been murdered, and did not commit suicide. The author got me interested in what was going on between Savannah and Dirk, and I really liked Dr. Jennifer Liu, she was quite a character! A favorite for me was Granny Reid - I do hope she is present in many of the previous books. What I liked about Bitter Brew was that there were many things happening simultaneously, Brianne's death was not the only focus of the book, which allowed for more character development and appreciation. While I still have the 23 previous books to read, I am looking forward to the next book in the series, and I will also check out the spin-off series featuring Granny Reid. I will definitely recommend this books to friends and co-workers who read cozy mysteries.

G,A. McKevett's Moonlight Magnolia Series is one of my absolute favorites! I look so forward to each book! This one does not disappoint... Savannah and Tammy find themselves helping the oh-so-put-together Dr. Jennifer Liu as she works through the loss of a close friend. With the usual cast of delightful characters -- Dirk, Waycross, John, and everyone's favorite, Granny -- the team sets out to solve yet another mystery and grow even closer by the end. It's a fun read! Loved it!!!

I love Savannah Reid and family cozy series. Another who-done-it that I didn't figure out until the last chapter.

When Savannah Reid is asked to investigate the death of her her BFF's friend, Brianne Martson Savannah finds herself torn between honoring Dr. Jennifer Lui's request to keep everything a secret and having to tell lies to her husband, Dirk, and fellow team members of the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency.

The charming southern belle with her smart mouth, and her full sized figure uses her whiles to get information.