Without a Brew by Ellie Alexander is the 4th book in A Sloan Krause Mystery series, and it was great. I love all of Ms. Alexander books and series, and this one is no exception. Bavarian village is in Leavenworth, Washington, and the town is busy with the IceFest. Because of the snow and shortage of rooms, Sloan and Garrett are renting their guest room earlier than they thought. When one of their guest is murdered, Sloan is on the case. I love how Sloan and Garrett come up with their craft brews, very interesting. Can't wait to read the next book in the series. I strongly recommend this book/series. Please keep them coming Ms. Alexander.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

<b>A biting January wind blew into the taproom as the front door to Nitro opened and a group of skiers traipsed inside.</b>

This is the fourth book in the Sloan Krause series set in Leavenworth, Washington. Garrett has opened the top floor of Nitro for a bed and breakfast. The soft opening for this venture becomes totally booked when a group of skiers come to town without reservations. A lone woman, Liv, also rents a room in addition to an apparently loving couple. When Liv ends up dead, all eyes are on Nitro's guests.

I really enjoy this series. Although I am not much of a beer drinker, I really love the chemistry behind beermaking. The winter beer does not appeal to me but the new spring beer that Garrett and Sloan work on using tea sounds most interesting. It sounds like something I would drink.

The advance copy I received did not have recipes in it so I'll will be picking up the print copy as well. Sloan makes some amazing dishes that I would love to try. Every time I read one of these books I want to go to the kitchen to try her recipes.

Sloan continues to look for her birth mother and she discovers some alarming information about Ursula and Otto that makes her question her relationship with them.

The murder was very well plotted. I begin to suspect the culprit before Sloan picked up on it. This in no way deterred from the storyline. I always enjoy the twists, turns and red herrings in a good cozy.

This series has wonderful characters that are well thought out and seem like old friends when I pick up the book. The setting is amazing! This is definitely on my bucket list for a place to visit. Each book lets us delve more and more into the characters of the town. I look forward to the next book to see what is in store for Sloan. I highly recommend this series!

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


#netgalley #withoutabrew #elliealexander #cozymystery

Without a Brew is a cozy mystery for beer lovers (and non beer lovers!). This is the fourth book in a series, I hadn’t read any of the previous books and felt you get caught up enough that you can jump right in. For fans of: craft beer, small town settings, and great food descriptions.

What worked for me:
I loved the main characters, the setting, and especially the food descriptions! You will get hungry while reading this! Sloan and Garrett are great and I hope that eventually evolves into a romance! Leavenworth is somewhere I frequently visit and the author did such a great job bringing the town alive on the pages.

What didn’t work for me:
The mystery itself was really good, but the B&B guests/suspects seemed too unrealistic for me at times, especially when they'd start spilling secrets. So much of the book felt so well developed and the characters realistic, but the conversations between Sloan and the guests didn’t really match that.

3.5 Stars - Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this early!

This is a nice twist on cozy mysteries with action happening in a brewpub rather than a cafe or library. The main character is really likeable, so I enjoy reading these.

This one was a good, quick read, but I’m getting a little impatient with the storyline about Sloan’s birth parents. This installment’s twist seemed really unlikely and kind of made me roll my eyes.

All that said, it was an enjoyable, quick read!

3.5 STARS - Without A Brew is the fourth book in a cozy mystery series featuring craft brewer, Sloan Krause. Set in a picturesque German-inspired village in Washington state, as a craft beer lover of the first order, I enjoy the beer references and reconnecting with the characters in each new book.

This is a typical cozy mystery with its small-town feel, inexperienced sleuth, increasing body count and a gaggle of regular 'townie' characters to round out the story. If you can get past how easily people spill their secrets to Sloan, the mystery is solid with a good variety of culprits (even though the cliched obnoxious, misogynistic arse and the small-town busybody grated on me just a bit).

There are a couple of secondary story lines - Sloan's past and her former in-laws' possibly nefarious history. The story line about Sloan's past keeps popping up and at this point, feels overly drawn out and the issues about her in-law’s past seemed underdeveloped and judging by their age, not feasible. I hope these two subplots come together in the next book.

Overall, this is a charming read with a cute Bavarian small-town feel, a bit of sleuthing and with its tasty beer and beer-inspired food descriptions, this series is a good choice for avid cozy mystery lovers (beer loving not required).

Disclaimer: Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I read Death on Tap, book 1 of the series, when it came out. I don't drink alcohol so although I love the setting in Leavenworth, it didn't rate as highly as many of the other cozy mysteries I have read.
I haven't read books 2 and 3, but picking up with book 4 was no problem. The backbone things that happened during the intervening books are easy enough to pick up. The underlying mystery of Sloan's past is pretty important sub-plot in this book.
Nitro is doing a soft opening of their B&B rooms with one couple, Ali and Brad. But when every other option is filled, Garrett and Sloan agree to take in four skiers for the weekend. They soon regret their generosity because Kevin is highly obnoxious. A fifth traveler arrives with no place to stay, Liv.
Liv has secrets and she doesn't see the morning light. The same night of her arrival she is murdered. The mystery is masterful. There are some really good suspects in both visitors and locals. About 2/3 in I had the thought of who the murderer was but didn't really want to believe it. I was right but for reasons I didn't conceive at the time.
I enjoyed connecting with Sloan's life. We are of an age or nearly and it's interesting to peak into someone else's life that is experiencing change.
The information about brewing, hops and naming beers was interesting and fun to learn.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of the book.

This is the fourth in the Sloan Krause series, and while I haven't read the others I was able to jump right into this one and not feel like I had missed vital information. That being said, I enjoyed this one so much that I'll for sure be going back and reading the others.

This book is set in Leavenworth, WA which is just a bit of a drive from where I live now. All of the descriptions of this Bavarian-style village at this time of year, when it's basically a winter wonderland straight out of a fairytale, had me feeling seriously nostalgic for life back in Fort Collins, Colorado—which is also a small town with a serious love of breweries, and knows how to do the holidays right.

Our leading lady, Sloan Krause is working at a local brewery and taproom which has just opened a few rooms and is trying to get into the BnB business. But during their very first weekend with guests, there is a murder!

As the story progresses and we get pieces of information, it seems that a number of the guests (and locals) are involved in the mystery in some way. I don't want to say too much and give any spoilers but I really enjoyed the pacing of the book, and the way the characters all worked together.

Sloan was a lot of fun and I can't wait to read more of the series. So if you're in the mood for a cozy holiday mystery definitely check this one out!

Sloan certainly didn't expect that Liv would be found dead in the river the day after she spent the night at Nitro, Sloan's new B&B. This latest installment in a delightful series set in Leavenworth, Washington is perfectly enjoyable as a standalone. Cozy readers know that there was more going on with Liv than Sloan could have known and that the obnoxious patrons are likely a red herring. This is a bit more than the usual cozy, though- it's also a story about a woman coming into her own. Sloan's husband Mac cheated on her, they are divorcing, and she's building a new business life with her partner Garrett. The characters are good, the atmospherics in town well done, and you will learn a bit about beer. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's fun entertainment for a cozy afternoon.

I'm new to this series. The author gives enough background details on the characters so you can jump right without feeling lost.

I liked all the details around the brewing process, it was very informative and educational without being a master's thesis. It's clear the author has done a lot of research in the subject. I spent a lot of time looking at the Levenworth WA tourism page to get a feel for what the real village looks like. What a charming place.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

Without a Brew is the next book in this series that will give you more information into Sloan's past. Along the way we learn more about craft beer making and have a murder to solve. You'll enjoy this story with all the twists and secrets that all the people have.

When you're in a tourist town that's based on a Bavarian village, winter is the time to rake in the cash. Sloan Krause and her boss haven't officially opened the B&B that is attached to the microbrewery but a sudden winter storm during a festival means that their rooms are the only place for stranded people to stay. That includes a lovey-dovey couple, four rather entitled young people, and a young woman who seems to be hiding something even though more than one person recognizes her. And it is the young woman who ends up dead.
This was a solid addition to the Sloan Krause series. There were a few too many suspects and the murder victim's history was a little overcomplicated. I am also sort of curious where the storyline with Sloan's former in-laws and her own past are going.

Three stars
Follows Beyond a Reasonable Stout
This book comes out November 10th
Ebook kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Another delightful visit to the German theme village and the brew masters. Sloan is an interesting protagonist. Family issues. The murder mystery kept me guessing. I am looking forward to the next one in the series and discovering more of Sloan's past.

I like beer and I like mysteries so that's why this series has caught my eye.

Sloan had recently discovered her husband, Mac, had cheated. She was working for his family's brewery and got another job working with Garrett in his new microbrewery/pub, Nitro. Sloan is enjoying working with Garrett in his smaller business as it gives her a more hands-on opportunity to create interesting craft beers with him.

It's a busy weekend in Leavenworth. Garrett had been considering opening up some rooms to rent out as a B 'n B and because of a shortage of hotel rooms in the village, goes ahead at the last minute. There is a couple celebrating their anniversary, two couples who arrived together, and a woman named Liv who gets the last room. Liv causes a bit of a stir when she arrives at the pub that night but causes even more when she is found drowned the next morning. There are a few people who could have killed her.

In the meantime, Sloan is ready to move forward with her life. Though Mac is trying to woo her back, she knows they are done. But she wants to make sure that their teenage son isn't caught in the middle. She has her eye on a cottage in the village and is considering buying it so she doesn't have to worry about the upkeep of the house she and Mac shared that is a short drive from the village.

Sloan grew up in foster care and she is starting to delve more and more into what happened. She has always been close to her mother- and father-in-law but she recently discovered that they know more about her past than they've let on ... and they may be secrets of their own that they have been trying to keep hidden.

This is the fourth in the Sloan Krause Series by this author and I liked it. I've read the first three and this works as a stand alone (there is enough background provided). It's written in first person perspective in Sloane's voice. There is a lot of talk about beer (which I found interesting) and there are also explanations about what was being talked about (what hops are and the varieties, for example). It was a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. I look forward to reading others in this series.

Other than murders, Leavenworth sounds like a fun place to visit!

This is my first book in this series and I was surprised that brew referred to beer not coffee. Sloan lives in a small town in Washington and works at a brew pub. She is recently separated with a teen-aged son. The brew pub is branching out to a bed and breakfast. The first group of guests presents a real challenge, but who would think that would include murder.

I really enjoyed the story lines in this mystery. Besides the mystery, there’s a side story of the background of Sloan’s life. I look forward to more in this series and getting to know the characters better.

Without a Brew is part 4 in the Sloan Krause Mystery and now I have to go back and read them all! Sloan is just coming off a divorce, separating her not only from her husband but from his family and the only family she's ever really known; but she's doing it with as much strength and grace as she can muster. Running a small brewpub with Garrett, they've decided to make things even more profitable by also opening up a Bed and Breakfast upstairs. Although they planned on a soft opening, an odd set of circumstances leads them to a full house, packed with out of town jerks, honeymoon couples, and a mysterious stranger that everyone else seems to know.

This book was so much fun! I'm a lover of craft beer so it was great to also have the parts of the story where they discussed the brewing process, why craft beer isn't usually served in pitchers, and what makes people so drawn to craft brews. But I think that even people who don't like beer or don't drink at all would still love this book. The brewery may be the setting but the story is really about Sloan, her mysterious past, the missing woman from the bed and breakfast, and the cutest town ever - Leavenworth, Washington. The ending of this book left me wanting so much more (in a good way because the story was already wrapped up but there's so much more to discover)! I plan to go back and read the first three books and will definitely be waiting for book 5 in the series.


5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The fourth installment of the Sloan Krause mysteries is my favorite to date. Ellie Alexander always creates compelling and likable characters, but she's built extra mystery into this series with Sloan's past. There were really three mysteries in this book and the revelation of the murderer was the one I was least interested in (that's to say that the others were so compelling, not that the murder wasn't). While cozy mysteries tend to be formulaic, Alexander always does a good job of creating doubt about the killer and making the reader doubt what they know. I will eagerly await the next book to find out more about Sloan's mother and the Krause family!

This is the fourth book in the Sloan Krause series. Sloan and Garrett have just put the finishing touches of the guest rooms at Nitro and are having a dry run before the winter festival, IceFest, starts. They have a couple staying in one of the rooms and a second group comes to stay that is downright terrible. They add another guest when Sloan offers a room to a patron, Liv Paxton, who is stuck in Leavenworth for the night. The next morning Liv's room is found trashed and there is no sign of her anywhere. Sloan involves the police and they soon find her body in the river.

I really enjoyed this book. Sloan is a great character. I love seeing how she has evolved from book one. I loved the secondary mystery involving Sloan's past. I hope we finally get the whole story in the next book. The setting is wonderful. I love the idea of Leavenworth during the winter. It sounds lovely and a place I would love to visit. This is a series that I recommend for any cozy mystery fan. Ellie Alexander writes wonderful, realistic and relatable characters and puts them in a wonderful small town setting. I can't wait to read more.

One of the best in this series, author Ellie Alexander doesn't disappoint. I look forward to where this series takes us next..

I absolutely love this series! I'm not a beer drinker, but the descriptions of the process and flavors makes me want to be. Sloan is a strong, independent woman going through major changes in her life and always seems to get involved in murder cases in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington. I'd love to take a trip to this wonderful town and have a drink at Nitro. The only bad thing about the book ending is that there's a cliffhanger to Sloan's personal story that I can't wait to read! This is a series and a lot of the characters are introduced in previous books, but the murder/mystery is solved in this book.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Great mystery series. I really like Sloan. Her character is continuing to change and evolve as she learns to live on her own terms. This book actually has two mysteries - the disappearance of one of the guests, and the mystery of Sloan and her background.
I highly recommend. Works well as a standalone.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.