Cover Image: Bitter Brew

Bitter Brew

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Member Reviews

Bitter Brew is the twenty-fourth in this series,but it can be read as a standalone. This was the first I have read in the series and I will be reading more since I enjoyed it so much.

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I want to be like Granny Reid when I get to 80 years old! I loved when she gave her resume and said she wasn't just a pretty face! OMG! McKevett outdid herself with this heartbreaking story. So many twists and turns. Savannah of course was brilliant with her detective skills. I love how the story is woven with family, love, friends who are there for one another without question. This book makes us aware of the sadness of incurable diseases that so many people are battling. Love and love today because there is no guarantee that tomorrow we will be here.

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I really wanted to like this b/c the cover was so adorable and cute but it seems like it's just a big book on how much Savannah hates her husband and thinks he's the world's biggest loser. Not to mention the face that she thinks he's terrible in bed. It made me not like Savannah b/c she seemed like a big bully always putting him down.

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Unusual storyline with above average P.I. I wish there was more involvement of her ‘crew’. They bring more interest and heart to the story

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This is a series that I always eagerly await the next book and this book did not disappoint me. I enjoyed it so much that I hated to put it down. I will admit that I was a little sad when I finished it as now I'm waiting for the next one!

As I've come to expect, there is the good mystery as well a true-to-life aspect from current events that helps to raise my awareness of issues that are prevalent now. I appreciate how she highlights the issue without sounding like I'm being lectured.

The characters are like good friends that I don't seem often enough. I'm loving watching how their lives are 'unfolding'. I do wish that I could visit and try some of Grannie's cookies.

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Bitter Brew is the 24th book in G. A. McKevett’s Savannah Reid Mystery awesome series. The author provides enough character background that this book can be read as a standalone without the reader feeling lost. The storyline is well thought out, and the well-developed characters are affable. The dialogue is witty and engaging, and full of compassion and caring. The author addresses incurable genetic diseases, and she handles the issues involved with dealing them with great respect and compassion. This quickly paced whodunit kept me guessing until the surprising reveal. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading light, cozy mysteries.

Savannah Reid, a former detective turned private investigator, and her husband, Detective Sergeant Dirk Coulter, are about to celebrate their one-year anniversary. Savannah’s friend who is also the local medical examiner, Dr. Jennifer Liu, shows up on her doorstep in the middle of a stormy night with a serious problem she hopes Savannah can help her with. Dr. Liu’s best friend, Brianne Marston, was afflicted by an incurable genetic disease and when she passed away, Dr. Liu believed her friend decided to commit suicide rather than suffer the way her mother did and falsified the autopsy report and death certificate. When Nels Farrow, a successful, local real estate broker who suffered from the same disease, suddenly dies, Dr. Liu’s autopsy reveals Brianne and Nels deaths may have involved foul play. Even though she knows she faces possible imprisonment and the loss of her medical license, she wants Savannah to find the truth, and if Brianne and Nels were murdered, she wants to make sure the murderer pay for his crime. Savannah is the owner of the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency in San Carmelita, California, but Dr. Liu asks her to keep the matter to herself. Shortly after Savannah starts looking into things. Dr. Liu agrees to allow Tammy, Savannah’s talented assistant, best friend, and sister-in-law, help because her research abilities are invaluable. Once both Savannah and Dr. Liu are convinced two murders have been committed, they bring in the entire Moonlight Magnolia team to help track down the culprit.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

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It has been a pleasure for a number of years visiting Savannah Reid, family, and friends. The 24th book was not disappointed as short-lived right along. Dr. Jennifer Liu made a surprise visit late one night. She did an autopsy on a best friend and stated the wrong cause of death. Jeanne did another autopsy another person and the cause of death was the same as her friend. Savannah agreed to investigate and keep it a secret. Dirk is doing a stakeout on a drug house. He doesn't want Savannah around and she is wondering if he wants to leave her. Does Savannah find how two strangers with the same disease managed to kill themselves with the same mixture of drugs? What Dirk up that he doesn't want anyone around?
I highly recommend this book and series.

Disclosure: Thanks to Kensington Books for a copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

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Savannah Reid receives a call for help from her friend Dr. Jennifer Liu, the local coroner. It seems when Dr. Liu’s bff died from a horrible, she had promised that she would hide the fact that her friend had committed suicide rather than suffer. But when a second man stricken with the same disease turns up dead, it looks like murder, not suicide and Savannah agrees to look into things.

I simply adore how the author took on several life threatening diseases and addressed them in this book. This is book 24 in the series, but it is my first introduction to it. I absolutely love Southern transplant, Savannah Reid! She’s a strong female character with heart, soul, and smarts. What’s not to love? Love when I find series I enjoy and there are a bunch of previous books I can devour and catch up. Looking forward to this one!

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I wasn't sure where this book was taking me but the author did a fantastic job getting me to the destination. I loved the relationship between Savannah and her husband Dirk. It was obvious from the start how much they meant to each other and how important family and friends were to them. This was a book with mystery, death, humor, snarkiness and love o every page. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to write about this book.

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Bitter Brew by G.A McKevitt. 5 stars

It is that time of year to revisit Savannah Reid and the crew of the Moonlight Magnolia Dectective Agency.. The story starts with a friend in need - Dr. Jennifer Liu, the local medical examiner. She is in trouble because she falsified an autopsy report for all the best reasons. She was keeping a promise made to her dying best friend. However, when another dead body shows up on her table with an identical cause of death, she suspects foul play. Enter Savannah and company to solve the mystery. In between investigative procedures we get some family drama and secrets. What I enjoyed the most was the scenes that had Granny Reid; her wisdom and intelligence is formed from a life well lived. I especially like the interaction between Dirk and baby Vanna. The guy might be kinda of rude sometimes, but when it comes to baby Vanna he is one big marshmallow. Ms. McKevitt writes a second series that focuses on a younger Granny Reid. The second book should be published in the fall and I am sure I will love it too.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

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It's always a delight to spend time with Savannah Reid. Despite the serious nature of the plot -murder, opoiod addiction, fatal genetic diseases, this wise, loving and intrepid woman will win your heart. Her unbreakable commitment to her family and friends means she will go to the ends of the earth to help them and her good sense along with her sense of humor and sassiness will leave you cheering. i love Savannah and the Moonlight Magnolia crew and can't wait to share more adventures with them.

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Loved this book! This one grabbed me from the very first page and kept me hooked until the very last page. In this novel, we get to see another side of, and learn more about, the mysterious Dr. Liu, In a career, and freedom, jeopardizing move, Dr. Liu concealed the cause of death, suicide, of her best friend. When additional events have her questioning that death, she approaches Savannah to discretely investigate.

This is a mystery with depth that touches on people living with, or facing the likelihood of, an untreatable genetic disease. If you, or someone close to you, faces something similar, this will tug on your heart strings, however, the author treats it with respect and compassion. She even went so far as to make up a disease so as to not touch too closely to someone's actual struggle.

If you enjoy a mystery with heart, compassion, and a bit of humor and romance, you will love this book. While this is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel, however, the series is so good that you really owe to yourself to read them all. This one is a must read. The author is on my must read authors' list and this is my favorite book of hers thus far.

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