Michelle Hillen Klump serves up a delightful concoction of mystery, mixology, and wit in her series debut, "A Dash of Death." Following the journey of plucky Houston reporter-turned-mixologist, Samantha Warren, this clever and page-turning mystery offers a refreshing blend of suspense and humor that will leave readers shaken and stirred.

After losing her job and fiancé in quick succession, Sam turns adversity into an opportunity by showcasing her mixology skills at a local historical-homes council meeting. However, the party takes a sinister turn when one of the council members dies after sipping Sam's homemade bitters. The victim, Mark, was poisoned with oleander, and Sam finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

Klump's storytelling skillfully combines the elements of a cozy mystery with the fast-paced world of investigative reporting. Sam's determination to clear her name adds an extra layer of excitement as she navigates the twists and turns of a small Texas town with its share of secrets. The author successfully captures the essence of the setting, infusing the narrative with the charm and quirks of the community.

The cast of characters, including the suspects, are well-drawn, each adding a unique flavor to the story. Sam's wit and resilience make her an engaging protagonist, and her journey into the world of mixology provides a fresh and unique backdrop for the mystery. The book strikes a balance between the investigation, Sam's personal struggles, and the challenges of building her mixology business, creating a multi-faceted narrative that keeps the reader invested.

While the plot is engaging, some elements could have been further developed to enhance the complexity of the mystery. The resolution, although satisfying, unfolds relatively quickly, and a more extended exploration of certain threads could have added depth to the conclusion.

In conclusion, "A Dash of Death" is a highly enjoyable series debut that blends mystery and mixology with flair. Michelle Hillen Klump's storytelling is both clever and captivating, making this a recommended read for fans of cozy mysteries and those who enjoy a dash of humor with their suspense. Sam Warren's escapades are sure to leave readers eagerly anticipating the next round of mysteries in this promising new series. Cheers to Klump for crafting a refreshing and spirited debut!

This was a fun cozy. Sam makes homemade bitters for fancy cocktails. Her wedding has been canceled so she decided to cater a local fund raising party. A guest is poisoned with one of her cocktails. To clear herself as a suspect she sets out to solve the crime. I really enjoyed learning about bitters and fancy cocktails. The setting and the characters were fun. The mystery was good with lots of suspects and the solution made sense. It was a quick read. Enjoy

After getting dumped on the eve of her wedding after losing her job, Samantha Warren seriously needs to decide out what to do with her life. First step is making use of the hundreds of little bottles of her artisan bitters at an event for historic preservation. Things were going great until someone got sick, then died. With her background of investigive reporter, she uses her talent to figure how and why it happened. Interesting debut cozy, that shows potential for continued success. Heroine smart, but not perfect which makes her more intriguing.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book. The next book isn't out yet. I would consider reading the second to see if the next book improves some. The biggest issue for me, other than not really liking the main character, is that everyone in the book talks weird. It seems kind of weird and stilted at parts...not like normal people would speak. I listened to the audiobook as well as reading the galley I received. The narrator they chose wasn't the best in my opinion. She makes the weird wording even worse by emphasizing words that don't seem they should be emphasized and making statements a question. The concept behind this one, being someone who makes bitters was interesting, and not something I've seen before.

I really enjoyed this first in series cozy mystery by Michelle Hillen Klump. The main character's foray into mixology was unique and interesting and reading about all of the drinks she was making made me curious about the topic. This book checked all of the boxes of an engaging cozy mystery and I was kept guessing until the very end. I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author.

This was an entertaining debut to a cozy mystery series. The characters were interesting and relatable, however I would like to see Samatha have more confidence. With her being a report I felt at times she let others put to much doubt in her head. The mystery as well lotted with plenty of twists. I recommend this to cozy mystery fans.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been influenced by anyone.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

This is a great start to a new cozy mystery. I liked the characters and look forward to getting to know them better in future books. The mystery was great and kept me guessing till the end. I really look forward to reading more books in this series.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the digital arc.

Not only is this a debut author for me but I find that cosy mysteries can be hit and miss with me.

This one however was just fantastic. I loved the main character Sam, I loved her friends, even the love interest lawyer I enjoyed reading about too.

Will definitely be continuing on the series and would highly recommend.

4 stars

This book took the longest time to finish 😅
The story was lost amidst filler paragraphs of mundane day to day activities, every bodily reaction the MC gets and just over the top stretching out everything just to make the book longer.
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Honestly when the author was tying every loose end at the final chapters, I just took her words for it, I completely lost track of everything.
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The main character, Samantha, was really frustrating me, I got how the author wanted to portray her as kind of sleuthing expert, but she honestly was really dumb sometimes, also, what is it with all the pacing?? She would be about to uncover something and suddenly she stands up and start pacing😂😅 pretty unnerving.
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However, even though not the best book out there, it was pretty engaging, it had the minimum dose of suspense to get me committed, also the writing wasn't bad.
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* I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher *

This is the debut of the Cocktails and Catering Mystery series and like many series debuts, it has some growing pains. The blurb doesn’t quite reflect how the story actually plays out. After reading the blurb, you’d think that Samantha has a plan for moving forward with her life after her fiancé dumps her and her wedding is canceled. Not so much. She spends a good amount of the book with a ‘poor me’ attitude, which gets a bit tedious. The mystery portion is pretty straightforward and a bit slow moving at times. The premise of Samantha becoming a mixologist and the making of cocktail bitters is unique and adds an interesting element to the storyline. All in all, I’d say that this is a good book that didn’t quite measure up to its potential, but it’s still well worth reading.

Not a bad book, but a little slow for my expectations of a cozy mystery. Also, found the missing letters periodically frustrating too. Not sure why it happened, but it did. Still though, a good start to a series and would read more. Would recommend.

I struggled with this book primarily because of the main character. She took coffee which she doesn't like on a stakeout because that's what tv cops do. Other decisions are equally perplexing. She is constantly discussing the past over and over and over. I hope she gets a makeover before book two.

I admit that I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this one but the story captured my attention from the first few pages. I liked the writing style and found that the story flowed well. I also liked the characters and found them to be an interesting mix of professions and personalities.

I found this draft a bit tedious to read but I'm sure that the final product would be an easy read.

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is the night Samatha was to marry until her fiancé dumped her and flew off to NYC. To keep her occupied, her friends talk her into flogging her home made bitters at the Historical Homes tour. It was a great idea until one of the attendees is poisoned and the ex-wife and the cops think she may be responsible. Since she did not know the man and everyone else was fine, soon it becomes clear that it was someone closer to the victim who did the deed. In the interim she finds a very good lawyer who also shows signs of wanting more than a attorney client privilege

It is a rather complicated investigation that puts the spotlight on both the ex-wife and the girlfriend for whom he left said wife. There are business associates and others that come under Samantha’s scrutiny but when the whole sordid tale is revealed it turns out the motive was firmly entrenched in the past, a past someone did not want the victim to reveal.

Samantha is a smart cookie and an excellent mixologist. She is also very human and she is trying to deal with the the detritus of her relationship and where she wants her future to go. It seems she is going to struggle with that for a while. But she does finally figure out what she wants and what she does not want. And she also figures out who dunnit. But she is not quite as sly as she thinks she is and she blunders into a life threatening crisis.

All is well in the end and the story finishes with a couple of paths that the savvy reader knew were inevitable. It took Sam a bit longer. Four purrs and two paws up.

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Samantha Warren is a reporter who lost her job and her fiance. At the local historical-homes council meeting she makes drinks with her homemade bitters that she made as gifts for her wedding. She decides to try and become a mixologist who can invent new types of bitters but when one of the council members dies after he sips Samantha's drink the mystery begins.

I am really enjoying the cozy mystery genre. This book is okay it was quite predictable I knew who the murderer was almost immediately. The other issue I had with the book was the way the author went out of their way to add alcoholic drinks to show off her new hobby business of making bitters. It seems like it was forced into the novel. I have read other stories that include recipes that was much more organic

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc

⭐⭐

It is an unfortunate fact of life that not all "cozies" are created equal, and such was the case with this one. Generally cozy mysteries are just that...cozy. Small, quaint towns with tons of character. Quirky, but lovable side characters. A slightly annoying lead character that you can't help but love. A good mystery, a dash of humor, all wrapped up with a few recipes (the shining star of this book. I can't wait to try making them). Apart from the aforementioned recipes, this book had none of those elements. The setting was boring. The mystery was slow. Samantha's two friends were okay. However, Samantha herself was just unlikable. So "whoa is me" and unsympathetic. And to top it all off, this was once again an ARC that was missing letters, making it very annoying to read. Overall, A Dash Of Death was a "meh" book and I don't think I will continue with this series.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

A Dash of Death is a great cozy mystery series debut which is about Samantha Warren, who lost her fiancee and her job one after the other. Instead of throwing away the homemade bitters that she was going to give away at her wedding she decides to give them to the historical homes council which turns out to be a bad idea because one of the council member dies right after drinking it.

The storyline was cute and the characters were solid. While this was a good book it wasn't one of my favorite cozy mysteries.

Thanks to NG and the publisher for a copy of this book.

So, let’s just finish this real quick.

The main character, Samantha, is a cardboard cutout made for all mystery-loving mothers to put themselves in the position of. She is supposed to be mature enough to solve a murder, but not put herself together? It is so hard too believe that she is capable of solving the murder. She is a very passive character, always stumbling into evidence even thought the author wants to make you believe otherwise. She has no real personality outside her Greg drama and the murder, both of which happening TO her. Which again, proves my point.

The plot started as decent, but then went downhill because of the out-of-nowhere twist that was very no-no. There are no real clues that hint at the idea, and it makes it seem like the author came up with it a few minutes before her deadline. The problem is, Samantha’s life and career are too close to the author’s…Reminds me of Addison Rae not being able to play her own life.

The almost horrible and underwhelming writing worsens the problems of our plot. The author tries her best to trick the reader. Spoiler alert: she fails miserably. This effort pushes the story into being one huge piece of shit where half of it is just about a very irrelevant series of events that does not get anyone anywhere. To be completely honest, I kind of skimmed through the second half of the book because of the writing and leads that never go anywhere. There is some action in the last 10% of the novel.

There is no real focus into the actually interesting lives of any other character than Samantha and her Greg guy. We do not get to know anything about Samantha herself or her family, because silly me, where else would the delusional sides to her nonexistent character go? Klump had to prioritise and she chose this.

The only thing i liked was the little section of recipes. That’s it, really…

A Dash of Death introduces us to Samantha Warren, a freelance reporter and hobby mixologist, who finds herself the prime suspect in a murder since the victim died after drinking one of Sam's cocktails. Sam uses her skills as a reporter to solve the crime, while dodging her ex-fiance, fighting a lawsuit, and looking for freelance writing jobs.

Samantha was a bit annoying at the start of the book as she was very indecisive, however she grows by the end of the book into a character very much able to make her own decisions and in control of her future. The book leaves you routing for Samantha as she finally rids herself of the ex and welcomes a potential new relationship.

The mixologist aspect is an interesting twist and you are introduced to many unique flavor combinations in bitters, as well as many wonderful food dishes! You always looked forward to when Samantha sat down to dinner with her friends Marisa and Beth to enjoy Beth's enticing food.

This book left me guessing until the end. There were may characters you just wanted to dislike and were certain they were the culprit. As the story unfolded you were able to figure out by the end who committed the crime, but there were many mis-steps and red herrings along the way!

Really good first book in a new series and I hope there will be many more. Looking forward to reading how Samantha's life and relationships have grown!