Murder Served Neat
by Michelle Hillen Klump
Series: Cocktails and Catering Mystery #2
Series Rating:
Published by Crooked Lane on February 7, 2023
Setting: Texas
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Audible Audiobook, ebook, Kindle, Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound
Cozy up to the bar as Michelle Hillen Klump pours another “sparkling cocktail of murder and mystery” (Amy Pershing).
Fans of Diane Mott Davidson and Lee Hollis will savor every delectable sip of this clever and utterly intoxicating cozy.
Reporter-turned-mixologist Samantha Warren has already thwarted one murder. Now, her world is shaken—definitely not stirred—once again as another killing throws her world into chaos.Samantha is mixing up traditional cocktails at the German Texan Lodge’s Fourth of July festival—a gig she was roped into by her mother. But amidst the bratwurst and brass bands, trouble is brewing. Lodge loyalties are divided over a proposal to build a private, country-club-style tennis center on the lodge grounds. Her mom’s best friend Patty Davis is vehemently opposed to the plan. Society matron Angela Clawson is all for it. At the festival, they’re seen in a heated argument—and hours later, Angela is found dead, killed by one of the ceremonial shovels intended for the groundbreaking.
Samantha’s mother begs her to help clear her best friend’s name, but can she handle another murder case or will the whole investigation go bottoms up?
Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump takes place in the summer in South Texas and during a Fourth of July celebration.
Will Samantha prove that Patty Davis didn’t kill Angela Clawson?
Samantha Warren is working at the Fourth of July festival for the German Texas Lodge. Her mom forced her into doing this for her mom’s best friend, Patty Davis. Everything seems fine and dandy for Sam and Beth’s business at this festival. Until something gruesome happens, and Sam is forced into finding out who killed Angela. Sam is a complex character, and even though I didn’t read the first book, I can tell that she is nervous about investigating after what happened in the first book. Not only that, but she is worried about starting a new relationship. I liked how we can see that Sam has grown in confidence about her cocktails and, even more, her cooking, but she is still not feeling like the investigative part is really her. Even though she was a reporter and has a knack for sleuthing. I do like Sam, and I hope to continue to see her growth.
The Victim
Angela Clawson is the victim in this story that was brutally murdered toward the end of the German Texas Lodge Fourth of July celebration that lasted for two days. She was not a well-liked person in any social groups. We learned a lot about Angela and that even though she married into money, she still didn’t feel like she belonged. So in that sense, she overcompensated by promising a lot more to people than they originally budgeted for. There were people on both sides of the German Texas Lodge who both liked and disliked her. Even the tennis group that she brought to the German Texas Lodge is two-faced around her. Any one of the people at the Lodge or even in her personal life could have killed her, but not Patty since she isn’t the type of person who could do that. I figured out who did it, but not the motive. Once that was figured out, I was shocked, to say the least.
Five Stars
I am giving five stars to Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump and recommend it to anyone who likes a good Texan sleuth that makes fantastic cocktails. Speaking of those cocktails, there are recipes in the back. They are Blackberry-Glazed Salmon, Samantha’s Grandmother’s Fig Cake, Fig Cake Frosting, Samantha’s Sparkler Cocktail, Angela’s Blackberry Blush, and Blackberry Shrub. They all sound amazing, and some of these recipes are from actual scenes in the book. I can’t wait for the next installment to see what happens.
First Book in Series
Giveaway
Prize: A signed copy of the book as well as some cocktail accessories. US AND CANADA
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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Murder Served Neat by Michelle Hillen Klump.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Michelle Hillen Klump
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.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2023 Beachcombers Mystery RC
- 2023 Cloak and Dagger
- 2023 CMRC Prompts
- 2023 Craving the Cozies
- 2023 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- 2023 Goodreads RC
- 2023 Medical Examiner RC
- 2023 Six Shooter
Thank you so much for the lovely review and for featuring me on the blog!