Read – Page 1225 – What Cathy Read Next…

About the Book

As the owner of Mystery Cup Café in Wilton, Missouri, a town made famous by a string of long-ago murders, Blake Harper is used to the mysterious. When her barista is found strangled in a mound of coffee beans, Blake vows to find the killer, even though her sister, the town’s lead police detective, tells her to stay out of it. Blake finds plenty of suspects, like the owners of a rival coffee shop and the handsome new bookstore owner. But when new threats are made, she soon realizes the danger is centered around Mystery Cup and someone is targeting her personally.

Will Blake be able to solve the murder, find a new barista, and perfect her recipe for espresso brownies before she becomes the next victim?

Format: ebook, paperback (205 pp.) Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Published: 19^th July 2017 Genre: Mystery

Purchase Links* Currently available for $0.99/£0.99
Amazon.co.uk ǀ Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find Brewing Up Murder on Goodreads

My Review

Look, please don’t hate me, but I read this book lying on a sun lounger by the pool in Barbados and it was the perfect holiday read – light, frothy and refreshing. (Barman, another mango smoothie, please.)

When Blake’s barista is murdered in her coffee shop, she soon discovers no shortage of people who knew the victim and, as far as Blake is concerned, have a possible motive for wanting her out of the way. Although Blake’s sister, Kyle, is the detective in charge of the investigation, Blake can’t resist getting involved and embarking on her own enquiries which soon land her in hot water. Thankfully, the town is generously populated with handsome single men (including a dishy doctor) to come to her rescue when she gets a little too close for comfort to finding out the perpetrator.

The small town setting of Wilton is reminiscent of Jessica Fletcher’s hometown in the TV series Murder, She Wrote. Because of a series of murders committed in Wilton in the past, many of the town’s business owners have chosen names to appeal to tourists. For example, The Final Destination (hotel), Sliced (restaurant), Killer Tomatoes (pizza place) and Macabre Reads (bookshop). I got a few curious looks from the occupants of nearby sun loungers when I laughed out loud at the fact the town’s book club, which meets in Blake’s café, is called Murder, She Read.

Although not my usual genre, I really enjoyed Brewing Up Murder and would recommend it for readers who like their mysteries on the sweet side with a light dusting of romance…or for caffeine addicts. Warning: You may crave brownies after (or even during) reading this book but luckily Neila has provided some recipes at the end. If your interest has been piqued by my review – and I hope it has – then why not read my Q&A with Neila for more information about the book, what makes a good cozy mystery and, most importantly, her favourite coffee.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author and Red Adept Publishing in return for an honest and unbiased review. I’d like to thank Neila for her patience in waiting for her book to reach the top of my review pile.

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In three words: Engaging, cozy, mystery

Try something similar…Death at Glacier Lake by Pam Stucky (click here to read my review)

About the Author

Neila Young is a Midwestern girl and a lover of coffee, live music, and horror movies, not necessarily in that order. Writing (and reading) mysteries are Neila’s passion, and she approaches each day by thinking, “everything is a story.” She has been writing all her life and can’t remember a time when she wanted to do anything else. She loves to take notes and spin tales about the quirky characters she meets, and she has found that she can create some great stories by asking “what if” and “suppose that…”

Neila studied journalism at the University of Kansas and then spent many years suffering the trials of corporate America, writing about everything from financial risk management to software user manuals to website copy about radiators (sadly, that’s not a joke). She finally decided to take the plunge and write the cozy mysteries she loves so much, complete with recipes!

When Neila is not writing, she’s probably hanging out at a coffee shop or fighting evil with the help of her very supportive husband, two awesome children who constantly ask to have characters named after them, and the most lovable dog in the world, Dizzy.

Neila also writes romance novels under the pen name, N J Young.

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MyWeekinBooks

New arrivals

Mr Peacock’s Possessions by Lydia Syson (eARC, Netgalley)

Oceania 1879. A family of settlers from New Zealand are the sole inhabitants of a remote volcanic island.

For two years they have struggled with the harsh reality of trying to make this unforgiving place a paradise they can call their own. At last, a ship appears. The six Pacific Islanders on board have travelled eight-hundred miles across the ocean in search of work and new horizons. Hopes are high for all, until a vulnerable boy vanishes. In their search for the lost child, settlers and newcomers together uncover far more than they were looking for. The island¹s secrets force them all to question their deepest convictions.

Entanglement by Katy Mahood (eARC, NetGalley)

2007: At the end of a momentous day, Charlie, Stella and John cross paths under the arches of Paddington Station. As Charlie locks eyes with Stella across the platform, a brief, powerful spark of recognition flashes between them. But they are strangers…aren’t they?

Plunging back thirty years we watch as, unknown to them all, the lives of Stella and John, and Charlie and his girlfriend Beth, are pulled ever closer, an invisible thread connecting them across the decades and through London’s busy streets.

For Stella, becoming a young mother in the 1970s puts an end to her bright academic career in a way John can’t seem to understand. Meanwhile Charlie gambles all future happiness with Beth when his inner demons threaten to defeat him.

In rhythmic and captivating prose, Katy Mahood effortlessly interweaves the stories of these two families who increasingly come to define one another in the most vital and astounding ways. With this soaring debut, she explores the choices and encounters that make up a lifetime, reminding us just how closely we are all connected.

Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey (eARC, NetGalley)

Shy aspiring artist Imogene Chively has just had a successful Season in London, complete with a suitor of her father’s approval. Imogene is ambivalent about the young gentleman until he comes to visit her at the Chively estate with his younger brother in tow. When her interest is piqued, however, it is for the wrong brother.

Charming Ben Steeple has a secret: despite being an architectural apprentice, he has no drawing aptitude. When Imogene offers to teach him, Ben is soon smitten by the young lady he considers his brother’s intended. But hiding their true feelings becomes the least of their problems when, after a series of “accidents,” it becomes apparent that someone means Ben harm. And as their affection for each other grows – despite their efforts to remain just friends – so does the danger…

The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers (ebook)

“I saw them. Stag-headed men dancing at on the moor at midnight, nostrils flared and steam rising…”

An England divided. From his remote moorland home, David Hartley assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history. They are the Cragg Vale Coiners and their business is ‘clipping’ – the forging of coins, a treasonous offence punishable by death. A charismatic leader, Hartley cares for the poor and uses violence and intimidation against his opponents. He is also prone to self-delusion and strange visions of mythical creatures.

When excise officer William Deighton vows to bring down the Coiners and one of their own becomes turncoat, Hartley’s empire begins to crumble. With the industrial age set to change the face of England forever, the fate of his empire is under threat.

Forensically assembled from historical accounts and legal documents, The Gallows Pole is a true story of resistance that combines poetry, landscape, crime and historical fiction, whose themes continue to resonate. Here is a rarely-told alternative history of the North.

On What Cathy Read Next last week

Blog posts

Monday – I took part in the blog tour for Nothing Bad Happens Here by Nikki Crutchley with a spotlight feature. I also my review of The Rain Never Came by Lachlan Walter, a story about a drought-stricken Australia with a distinctly post-apocalyptic theme.

Tuesday – I shared my Top Ten Tuesday list of books that I could reread forever. I also published my review of the emotional The Fragile Thread of Hope by Pankaj Giri.

Wednesday – WWW Wednesday is the opportunity to share what I’ve just finished reading, what I’m reading now and what I’ll be reading next. I also published my review of Caligula by Simon Turney, a different take on that infamous Roman Emperor.

Thursday – I took part in the blog tour for The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg, a fantastic fictionalised portrait of the tempestuous marriage of Charmian and Jack London and Charmian’s relationship with Harry Houdini.

Friday – I shared my Five Favourite books I read in February and also my thoughts on the longlist for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. I’m aiming to read the ten books on the list I haven’t already read before the shortlist is announced in April. Note the word ‘aiming’, not ‘going to’!

Saturday – I took part in the weekend book blitz for The Study of Silence by Malia Zaidi by hosting a guest post from the author. I also shared my list for the next Classics Club spin. The spin number will be announced on 9^th March. Finally, I participated in the 6 Degrees of Separation meme, creating a list of six books linked in some way to this month’s starting book, The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. If you fancy taking part next month, April’s starting book is Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

Sunday – I published my review of Killed by Thomas Enger as part of the blog tour for this the fifth and final outing for investigative journalist, Henning Juul.

Challenge updates

Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge – 31 out of 156 books read, 2 more than last 3 weeks
Classics Club Challenge – 11 out of 50 books read, same as last week
NetGalley/Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2018 (Silver) – 10 ARCs read and reviewed out of 25, 2 more than last week
From Page to Screen– 10 book/film comparisons out of 15 completed, same as last update
2018 TBR Pile Challenge – 3 out of 12 books read, same as last week
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2018 – 15 books out of 50 read, 2 more than last week
When Are You Reading? Challenge 2018 – 6 out of 12 books read, 1 more than last update
What’s In A Name Reading Challenge – 0 out of 6 books read, same as last week
Buchan of the Month – 2 out of 12 books read, same as last week