The Moonshine Shack Murder by Diane Kelly
Series Name: Southern Homebrew Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: July 6, 2021
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In this intoxicating new cozy mystery series, the future for modern-day moonshiner Hattie Hayes looks bright–until death darkens the doorstep of her Moonshine Shack.

The Hayes family has made moonshine in Chattanooga since the days of Prohibition, and Hattie is happy to continue the tradition, serving up fun, fruity flavors in mason jars for locals and tourists alike. All signs indicate her new ‘shine shop will be a smashing success. What’s more, mounted police officer Marlon Landers has taken a shine to Hattie. For the first time ever, the stars seemed to have aligned in both her work and romantic life. But when a body ends up on her store’s doorstep alongside a broken jar of her Firefly Moonshine, it just might be lights out for her fledgling business.

The homicide detective can’t seem to identify the person who killed the owner of a nearby bar. The only witness is Hattie’s longhaired gray cat, and Smoky isn’t talking. When the detective learns that the victim and Hattie had a heated exchange shortly before his murder, she becomes her prime suspect.

Lest Hattie end up behind bars like her bootlegging great-grandfather a century before, she must distill the evidence herself and serve the killer a swift shot of justice.

Dru’s Short Musing:
A well-written and fast paced whodunit that I could not put down, quickly becoming a page-turner as I had to know the outcome. The mystery was nicely executed with enough suspects to keep me looking at their motives. The clues helped to narrow the list of suspects with a few red herrings that kept me in the game. I enjoyed the camaraderie between this friendly and personable cast of characters and the engaging dialogue, humor included, that added to the clue-gathering process. With visually descriptive narrative, the author made me feel like I was part of the action, working alongside Hattie and friends as they try to find the person responsible for the murder. Overall, this was a fun book to read, and I look forward to more adventures with Hattie, her grandfather, and her friends in this delightfully charming debut series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.