I really enjoyed the narrative voice in this audiobook. There was something both flippant and poignant about the more regular issues in the life of our protagonist. The protagonist is a regular woman with problems usually glossed over in books of this genre. She has a poorly paying job, one that does not provide any satisfaction while bleeding her dry, and she has debts, and medical bills are going to start piling up pretty soon.
Rook has been living in her hometown forever. Her parents (especially her father) are notorious, and she has been trying to lead a blameless life. The need for money urges her to get a new job, thanks to her best friend/almost sibling. The very man then dies soon after, throwing Rook into emotional chaos.
A lot of things start to go wrong, and Rook is sure the death was not accidental. As mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed getting to know the people in town, and the pacing of the story worked really well for an audiobook. My problem with how dense Rook was, for the most part. I do not know if it was the narrator or the smaller actions Rook took prior to investigating that made me feel like she was an efficient and intelligent person. The number of times she was blind to the obvious countered the observations!
Usually, when you read a book, a sudden glimpse at the following page might reveal some information, but in this book, even with the audio playing at normal speeds, I could tell all the clues Rook was studiously misidentifying. It took a long time for the story to arrive at the conclusions that I already had. If I had been misled or tricked, I would have rated this book higher because I really enjoyed the listening experience, but that was not the case. I might continue with the series if I get the chance, but I think the more infrequent reader of this genre will enjoy this book more than the ardent fans.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.

RATING: 3.5 STARS
2022; HighBridge Audio

Devil's Kiss is a fun cozy mystery with a bit romance and humour. I would read the next book in this series if it comes up.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Devil's Kiss is the first book in a new cozy series by Michelle Bennington. Released 31st May 2022 by Level Best Books, it's 278 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

This is a small-town cozy mystery with a young ex-adjunct professor of English who has turned her back (at least temporarily) on academia to find a more lucrative job and expand her possibilities. She has a good support network including her maternal grandmother, friends, and a cordial relationship with her ex-husband. Her network also includes her best friend who helps her land a job at a local craft boutique distillery. Unfortunately, said friend dies under suspicious circumstances during her first day on the job.

The plot is a bit trope-y: main character Rook starts out jobless, broke, downtrodden, rudderless, and still emotionally dependent on her ex. She is, frankly, a bit of a doormat and is alternately browbeaten and run over by everyone she meets. The secondary characters are eccentric small town archetypes, including the requisite incompetent corpulent lazy small town sheriff who is eye-wateringly unprofessional and stubborn/stupid. 

The climax, denouement, and resolution are all self-contained in this book. The plotting is occasionally meandering, but not egregiously so. Some of the descriptive prose is a bit overblown and especially the passages dealing with the male characters ogling some of the female characters left me a bit cold. It's not over the top, but it was on the "bodice ripper" side of the spectrum. 

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 8 hours and 46 minutes and is capably narrated by Courtney Patterson. She does a good job with characters of a range of ages and both male and female. The story is set in Kentucky and she does a decent approximation of the local accents. Recording and production quality are high throughout the book.

Three and a half stars. Fans of Ellery Adams, Vicki Delany, and Kate Carlisle will likely enjoy this one. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I think there's potential but I wasn't a fan of the heroine as I found her a bit over the top. The mystery is solid and I'm surely it will be appreciated by a lot of people.
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

A great story well read and written. The characterization of the bourbon industry made for an interesting read allowing the reader to get absorbed. Superb twists along the way

Rook is dealing with a lot. Her marriage ended and she is back living with her beloved grandmother. She had quit a job that was costing her more to work at than she got paid and is in a financial free fall. She is still friends with her ex, Cam (they were better friends than they were a married couple) so she leans on him often. This doesn’t thrill his new fiancé, but neither of them care all that much. Her best friend Bryan helps her get a job at the distillery he works at and she is thrilled. They’ve known each other forever and he is family to her. She starts her new job and it all goes wonky. First Bryan is killed and that is the beginning of a killing spree, she is targeted and harassed by known and unknown sources, is dealing with a Sheriff who is so incredibly incompetent, inept and hateful, that on his own he couldn’t figure out who started a fire if they were holding a can of gasoline and a lit match. The only one who seems to really be working to solve the murder is Rook and if not careful it could cost her her won life. It’s a winding road to the resolution of this multiple crimes and Rook finally getting her life on the right track. Nice listen with good narration. My first by this author, but certainly to my last.
Rated up from what Id have given a 3.5 if half stars available.

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I was 100% into this book at the beginning. Yes, adjunct professors are underpaid! Yes, quit your job! Yes, have a complicated relationship with your ex! However this book started to lose me when it became clear that every woman under 70 is a huge b*tch in the eyes of the narrator. She has 1 female friend who of course calls in, is not present. Red flag. Additionally the heroine is super horny her first day on the job and very very pushy with the law enforcement. Basically I found the heroine impossible to like after a while. I think these may be first book problems? I could see coming back to the series but I did not enjoy this.

I decided to listen to the audiobook of this book on a whim and it was quite good. The murder of a close friend, the disappearance of a rare shipment of bourbon and the incompetency of the sheriff paves the way for Rook Campbell to flex her amateur investigative skills and not only solve these crimes but gives her confidence a boost to finally consider looking into the years old murder case of her mother herself at the end of the book (a backstory that could play out in the succeeding books).

The narration by Courtney Patterson was done very well and I had a good time listening to the audiobook.

My thanks to NetGalley, the audiobook publisher Highbridge Audio and the author Michelle Bennington for the audio Arc of the book.

Devil's Kiss is the first installment of Michelle Bennington's Small Batch Mystery Series. Set in a bourbon distillery, the protagonist, Rook Campbell, has recently resigned as an adjunct professor at the local college and a longtime friend Bryan helps her get a job in the marketing department at the distillery where he is an accountant. On her first day of work, Rook and Bryan go out to lunch and then later that afternoon, Bryan is found dead in his office. Rook begins looking into the circumstances surrounding the death but soon is distracted when her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer.

Although this is a first in series book, the author has done a good job of creating characters with a rich and diverse history without slowing the progress of the story. Through the various plots, subplots and diversions, the author has brought forth an interesting concept and unique setting for this mystery series. I look forward to many more stories for this cast of characters as Rook expands her horizons both personally and professionally.

I received an ARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and HighBridge Audio and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Devil's Kiss A Small Batch Mystery written by Michelle Bennington and narrated by Courtney Patterson is the first book in what this reader hopes will be a long running series. Rook Campbell has had it with the low pay and insecurity that being an adjunct professor brings. When her car is towed while renewing her on campus parking pass, she snaps and submits her resignation which leaves her without a job and even the meager income that brought. Her friend Brian helps her get a well paying job at Four Wild Horses Distillery and Rook is sure things are looking up. That is until the murders start.

I loved this book and the audio version was pure listening pleasure, especially with the narrator’s soothing southern drawl. The relationships and personalities of the characters resonated and were true to life. Although there were a few times that I thought that Rook was slow to catch on, overall I was riveted to the story. With a bit of suspense, a hint of romance, and a well-plotted mystery, this was a captivating start to a new series. (I reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) I can’t wait for the next installment.

"Dead Men Don't Snitch"

Well that's a definite clue to Rook that her co worker's death wasn't just a heart attack. In book 1 of the new A Small Batch Mystery series, Devil's Kiss by Michelle Bennington, Rook's first day at the distillery is anything but easy. There's murder, her Grandma Prim is ill and her ex husband is marrying her nemesis.

This was a great introduction to small town quirky characters, a possible romance that is not who you think it's with and a nice tutorial on making expensive whiskey called Devil's Kiss. Narrator Courtney Patterson was on point as the distraught Rook. I didn't see the real murderer until the fun surprise reveal.

There is an underlying mystery about Rook's mother which hopefully will be dealt with in book 2 coming out 3/31/23! Devil's Kiss was a fine chef's kiss.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Highbridge Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

*This Review Is For The Audiobook*

Devil's Kiss (A Small Batch Mystery)
by Michelle Bennington, narrated by Courtney Patterson

Rook Campbell is having a bad day, week, month, year. About eighteen months ago her marriage ended and since then she has been having a lot of trouble making ends meet while working at a local college getting paid for part time hours while putting in full time work. She's living with her grandmother now, has massive school loans, and has just quit her job in a fit of anger. A mess of a life has just gotten worse.

Thankfully, her childhood friend, Bryan, gets her a job at the Four Wild Horses Distillery where he works. On Rook's first day of work someone dies and Rook, who is a big fan of true crime, suspects murder right away. I read so many mystery thrillers I'd probably suspect murder, too. True crime and mystery thriller followers are a paranoid bunch, I must admit. It doesn't help that Rook's mother was murdered when she was eleven and she is positive the sheriff put the wrong person in prison for the murder. No wonder Rook thinks she can do a better job than local law enforcement. Let the tampering with all kinds of evidence begin!

Right off the bat, Rook can see that there is a lot of strife at the brewery, not just a little shady accounting, and some very unfriendly co-workers who don't like her nosing around the place. Does that stop Rook? No, it just sets her hotter on any trail she can find. But intermingled with Rook's sleuthing is the fact that her grandmother becomes seriously ill. At least she has at two, maybe three guys who are watching out for her welfare whether she wants them to do so or not. There is her hunky ex husband, the hunky sheriff's deputy, and her new co-worker with the looks of a model which makes him a hunk, too.

I wouldn't mind visiting these characters again and it looks like this is the beginning of a series. The narrator is new to me and she did a very good job of giving the characters distinct voices without getting cartoonish. That's nice when it can be done right.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

I chose this one because I love cozy mysteries and I live in Kentucky, where this one is set. The author did a wonderful job showing us the characters and the storyline was so interesting. I listened to the audio version and loved the narrator, she was great with the different character voices and keeping me entertained without being overly dramatic. I listened to it on and off over the course of a day- I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to happen next! I really hope this becomes a long, successful series because there is so much potential!