A Dash Of Death
Bad news for Samantha Warren: The plucky Houston, Texas reporter lost her job and her fiancé in rapid succession. But Sam has a way of making lemonade cocktails out of the bitterest of lemons. At a meeting of the local historical-homes council, she serves up the homemade bitters that she made as gifts for her wedding party. She intends to use that as her “in” to become an in-demand party mixologist. But the party’s over for one of the council members, who keels over dead soon after he sips the bereft bride’s bitter brew.
It turns out that the victim, Mark, was poisoned, his drink spiked with oleander. Since Sam mixed the drink that Mark imbibed right before his demise, she finds herself at the front of the suspect line. Now, she’ll have to use all of her reporter’s wisdom and wiles to clear her name.
Who could have wanted Mark dead? His wife, Gabby? His girlfriend, Darcy? Someone who wanted his seat on the council? Or another citizen of this sweet Texas town that holds some seedy secrets?
Job hunting, building her mixology business, and fending off late-night phone calls from her nearly betrothed doesn’t leave much time for sleuthing. But if Sam can’t “pour” over the clues to find the killer, it may soon be the last call for her.
The Details
Series: A Cocktails and Catering Mystery – Book #1
Author: Michelle Hillen Klump
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Hobby
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
ISBN: 1643859374
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
A Dash Of Death is the first book in a new series, “A Cocktails and Catering Mystery.” I have to say that although this book is not the worst cozy out there, it isn’t the best either; it is a little below average. Samantha was jilted just before her wedding; she lost her job as a reporter and has to find a way to put her life back together. When her friends encourage her to use the handmade bitters she created for her wedding guest at a historical home tour, she jumps at the chance. If nothing else, she can get rid of the daily reminder of how her life was destroyed overnight. Unfortunately, during the tour, one of the cocktails that she creates ends up being the main clue in the murder of a guest.
A murder using Samantha’s bitters is just the topping of a lot of bad events, and she is determined not to take the fall for someone’s crime. The cocktails may flow, but the evidence doesn’t come in a pretty blue bottle. She didn’t know the victim, and she didn’t really know any suspects. As far as she can tell, what clues she does find all point to one person, the victim’s wife, Gabby. But Samantha doesn’t believe the woman is any more guilty than she is, and she sets out to prove that even everything isn’t what it seems. Taking risks and seeking out a killer may not be the best cocktail, but it definitely gets results.
There is a time of character building and relationship bonding with any new series. Unfortunately, the bonding part with the main character, Samantha, isn’t easy. For the most part, she is not a character that I can empathize with, at least not at first. Other characters, such as Samantha’s best friends, are likable but don’t jump off the page. In addition, the setting isn’t awe-inspiring, and the plot wasn’t original. The killer was not challenging to figure out and the red herrings were simply not strong enough to lead readers away from the truth. I managed to read this book to the bitter end, but I found it a difficult cocktail to swallow.
Overall, A Dash Of Death is an average story with average characters, but it can be far more. I liked the idea of the cocktails and creating your own bitters; recipes for the bitters would have been good. By the end of the book, Samantha had grown a tiny bit, giving me hope for future books in this series. I liked the ending and found it left me with a desire to read the next book. It also left me wanting to see this series mature and grow. I think the author has talent, but the plot and the characters need work.
The Author
Michelle Hillen Klump began her writing career as a newspaper reporter, traveling the back roads of central Texas and Arkansas, reporting on everything from natural disasters to crime and corruption. She’s interviewed former presidents, covered a midnight manhunt through the Ozark Mountains, and learned the finer points of how to break a car window from a looter while covering a hurricane. Now, she uses her experiences as fodder for fiction, writing a cozy mystery series about a former reporter turned craft cocktail caterer.
Michelle lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and young daughter. When she’s not writing or working her day job, she enjoys gardening, reading, exploring Houston’s neighborhoods, hiking and biking, and creating craft cocktails for friends and family.
Books of similar nature readers may enjoy include Cold Brew Corpse from the “A Coffee Lover’s Mystery” series by Tara Lush or A Time to Swill from Sherry Harris’ “A Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery” series.
Represented By: Blue Ridge Literary Agency
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