Great mystery and a good protagonist. The "hook" with the mixology/mixed drinks was different, but not a great fit for me. But the thing with her ex and her friend group didn't click for me. I felt like the protagonist had a better connection with another murder suspect than she did with her friend group. The ensemble in a cozy mystery can really enhance the reading experience, but that wasn't the case here.

If the mixology pieces of this intrigue you, give this a try. As I said, the mystery and the main character are enjoyable.

A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump is the debut of A Cocktails and Catering Mysteries. I thought the cozy mystery contained good writing and it has an interesting concept. An investigative reporter who switches gears after being dumped by her fiancé. Samantha created homemade bitters as wedding favors. In order to get rid of her stash, her friends come up with a great solution. Samantha creates cocktails using her bitters for one of the homes on the Highlands Historic Home Tour plus she is selling her cherry-vanilla bitters. The evening goes swimmingly until one of the guests dies after drinking one of Samantha’s cocktails. The man’s glass is found with an oleander blossom in it. Oleanders may be beautiful, but they are deadly. To make matters worse, the victim’s wife is suing Samantha for $8 million dollars. Samantha needs to use her reporting skills to investigate the murder and clear her name. I like the concept of a reporter turning mixologist who also makes her own bitters. We get to meet Samantha’s besties, Beth and Marisa. Of course, Samantha’s ex-fiancé, Greg keeps popping up. We also get to meet David Dwyer, an attorney, who helps Samantha with her legal problems. There seem to be some sparks between lawyer and client. The characters lacked development. They were also dull (and flat). There was no quirkiness or humor. The whodunit had a unique form of murder. When I first arrived in Florida when I was twelve, my aunt informed me of two things: avoid the red fire ants (their bite is painful) and the second was not to pick the oleander flowers. There were a couple of suspects in the victim’s death. Misdirection tries to keep readers from identifying the guilty party. There is a dramatic reveal that takes care of any lingering questions. I kept hoping for a good twist. The mystery was predictable, and it was a snap to solve. I wish Samantha had not been so wishy washy. As an investigative reporter, I thought Samantha would dive into the case. I expected her to be eager to clear her name and find the guilty party. I also did not understand why Samantha would help Gabby. The woman is suing her, and Samantha does not know her. It was illogical to me. There are recipes at the end for Beth’s gingersnaps, her from the garden lasagna, a cherry simple syrup, and Samantha’s Cherry Gin Fizz. I wanted more information about bitters in the story. It would have been nice to learn more about the history of bitters and how they are made. At the closing of the story, we get to see Samantha decide what she wants to do with her future. It will provide a way for her to get involved in cases all over Houston. I liked seeing Samantha moving forward. A Dash of Death shakes things up for Samantha with an overabundance of bitters, a fatal flower, a toxic cocktail, a bothersome ex-beau, a fatal flower, a troublesome lawsuit, and a resolute reporter.

I enjoyed it. This was a quick, fun read. I liked the story and would recommend it to others. It’s a good book.

A slow start to a new series. The protagonist can be hard to like at times, too. I know it can take a few books for a series to find its footing, but if the second book is not better than this one, I won't be reading the third book.

A good start for a new cozy series: entertaining and fun to read.
I found it compelling, liked the characters, and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
It's a compelling and well written story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump is the first book in a well written, fast-paced cozy mystery. I got to meet Samantha Warren, a reporter who has lost her fiancé, Gregory Price just days before their wedding, and her reporter's job. Sam is building her own mixology business and has agreed to provide the cocktails for the Highlands Historic Home Tour, filling in at the eleventh hour as the local brewery cancelled. Encouraged by friends Beth and Marisa, Sam is using the cherry-vanilla bitters that would have been wedding favours. But one of the members of the council, Mark dies after drinking her brew.

Set in Houston, Texas, Sam is the owner of an orange and grey cat named Ruby. I liked Sam, finding her to be level-headed and pretty positive in spite of her circumstances. The mystery is complex and intriguing and I had no idea who the killer was until the great ending. I am eager for Samantha’s next adventure.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Crooked Lane via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

The storyline is ok and the characters were quite funny. Easy to read and I think this series will be a great read if the 1st book is anything to go by.

Samantha Warren has had her share of troubles. Her fiancee walked away from her and she lost her job as a reporter as well. However, she’s not going to hang her head in despair. One of her hobbies is being a mixologist. When she is asked to serve her cocktails at the local historical homes council, she quickly accepts the offer.

One of the council members ends up dead after sipping one of her drinks. She immediately becomes the prime suspect in the murder, but she didn’t even know the victim. How could she possibly be accused of murder? Although everyone advises her to sit back and let the police handle the investigation, Samantha just can’t. She does a bit snooping on her own and is shocked at what she finds.

This is the first book in a well written, fast-paced cozy mystery. The characters are well developed and actually jump off the pages. It's a great introduction to this cast and they are easy to get to know.

There are quite a few twists, turns and red herrings throughout this story. It kept me captivated and guessing from page one to the end.

It’s a great start to a brand new cozy mystery series. I can’t wait to read more.





FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Had great storyline and fun characters! Interesting new series and looking forward to what is next. There was a great plot twist.

This was a great first installment in a fun new series. I love the theme of cocktails and catering. The protagonist Samantha was a down to earth, loveable person. The book was well paced, and the mystery was well plotted. I'm excited to read the next book!

A Dash Of Death is the first book in the A Cocktails And Catering Mystery series.

Samantha Warren lost her job as a newspaper reporter in a short period and had her fiance, Greg, call off their wedding three weeks prior. Her best friends, Marisa and Beth, convince Samantha to participate in the Highland Historic Commission's benefit when a local brewery cancels. Samantha has been experimenting with making various flavors of bitters. She has three hundred bottles that she had planned to put in gift bags for her wedding guests. Now, she will be preparing drinks and selling the bitters bottles at the benefit, hoping this will be the start of a successful business for her.

Sales are going better than Samantha expected. But that could change when a member of the Historic Commission, Mark, becomes ill shortly after consuming a drink that Samantha had prepared. Mark is rushed to the hospital, where he will be pronounced dead. An autopsy will show that he was poisoned by oleander added to his drink.

Samantha quickly becomes the prime suspect, even though she doesn’t know any of the attendees at the function. Soon, Mark’s ex-wife, Gabby, files a suit charging Samantha and Commission with wrongful death. Samantha realizes that she needs to use her investigative skills to clear her name as a reporter. She will soon find that there are plenty of other suspects. Through her investigation, she feels that Gabby is probably not the killer and will start to work together to learn the identity of the murderer.

The book is well-written and plotted. The author used enough red herrings that I kept guessing until the end as to the killer's identity. The book also contains an exciting cast of believable and interesting characters.

The book reads at a good pace. The one thing that I got a little tired of was Samantha’s frequent thoughts to Greg, who left her standing at the altar.

Recipes are also included in the book.

I will be watching for the next book in this new series.

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Former reporter, Samantha Warren, has a new life ahead of her. A fresh start as a mixologist may be a grand hope as she serves her home made bitters at a local council party. They were meant to be gifts for her wedding party but now that that's no longer going to happen, Sam is trying to find ways to make life good again. Fat chance of this happening when a guest drops read with a poisoned drink. Suspect for a moment, she is now utilizing all her former skills to find the killer and save her reputation and livelihood. Interesting enough premise, though a little disjointed plot bouncing from one suspect to another, then back again. Some implausible bits but overall, a fun read.

My knowledge of bitters and mixology is almost nonexistent but I'm always looking for a new cozy series to add to my never ending list. I wasn't disappointed. The formatting of the ARC made reading it a challenge but I was engaged enough in the mystery to overcome that and I didn't let it influence my rating.
The main character, Samantha Warren has had the rug pulled out from under her. Not only has she lost her job, she has been jilted by her husband to be just three weeks before their wedding. Time for a life reset and she decides to focus on her talent for making bitters and mixing drinks. Her plans go sideways when, at the meeting of the historic homes council, one of her mixed drinks seems to be the murder weapon. One of the council members drinks one with oleander in it and dies. Of course the police put Samantha at the top of the suspect list and she has to do some investigating of her own to make sure the real killer takes her place.
As this is the debut of a new series it does take some time to set things up for future entries.The mystery was satisfying and I learned about bitters and mixology. Any mystery that imparts new knowledge is always fun. I liked this one and I have added it to my TBR list.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A great start to a new series! It did take a while to get into this one since I had an ARC missing letters and huge sections of text in the wrong places but I got through it. I loved the setting and the emphasis on cocktails, particularly bitters, which I do not know much about but have learned so much. Samantha seemed to be level-headed, although she did make a few TSTL mistakes. I enjoyed getting to know her and her friends. The mystery was interesting and I had no idea who the killer was until the very end.

I received a copy from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I liked that for a cozy, that the main character did not run a book shop/coffee shop/florist. I liked the ex journalist turn mixologist for her

Now, there was nothing too new about this story, and I did pick whodunnit quite easily this time, however it was enjoyable.

It did take until nearly the end to really empathise with Samantha. I just didn't really care about her at all. I liked her best friends a lot more, but even they didn't make a big impression (I mean, now, I can't even remember their names)

Whilst the story was OK, it just wasn't fleshed out enough for me. I know there is a lot of world building involved, but to me it was just a bit lacking - but I would read more books about these characters if they came along.

I will admit I had a bit of trouble getting to know this character, but as I read more the story grabbed me and kept me interested until the end.

I am not much of a drinker, so the fact that she was drinking alcohol at least once a day, kept me thinking alcoholic, and did distract me from the story. I liked learning the history of the old neighborhoods in Houston, and I'm sure their destruction is happening in every big city.
I didn't figure out who done it until about 3/4 of the way through the book, and that was good for me.

This story was interesting enough that I will definitely read another book in this series, when it comes out.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for a copy of this story to read and review.

A Dash Of Death is the first book in a new cozy 'A Cocktails and Catering Mystery' series featuring Samantha Warren, a laid off newspaper reporter who is also gets jilted by her boyfriend three weeks before their wedding. She also has a talent for creating 'killer' cocktail drinks which creates a range of problems and opportunities for her in this book. Overall, this was a light, quick read with the author sharing a few food and drinks recipes too at the end of the book.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Crooked Lane Books and the author Michelle Hillen Klump for the e-Arc of the book.

Publication date for this book is February 8, 2022.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨💫

I nearly gave up on this one because so many letters were missing in the copy I was given that reading it was like a guessing game. Once I had established that nearly every th and ff was omitted I managed to make a good stab at it.

Underneath all the missing letters there was a good story trying to get out. Samantha Warren has lost her job and her boyfriend and very shortly into the tale she is accused of murder. Definitely not her best week. She bounces back though with the support of her friends and investigates the murder with some surprising results.

For me this was a light, standard cosy with lots of food and drink, a satisfying mystery and some enjoyable characters. I would read a follow up book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't particularly like Samantha, the protagonist. I found her to be a bit reckless and some of the stuff she does in her investigation is all kinds of stupid. She is quite unlikeable and wishy-washy in terms of boundaries.

She also drowns her sorrows quite a bit in alcohol...copious amounts of it. I get this is a book about her mixology hobby but every time something goes wrong she drinks. I read a lot of niche cozies and people are rarely up to downing beer after beer in the case of a brewing mystery or elbow deep in their own baked goods when they are stressed.

Not sure if I'd read another in this series. The whodunit was good though. Unfortunately, I just found most of the characters obnoxious and that detracted from the clever mystery.

This cozy mystery was sent to me by Netgalley for review electronically…it is a quick read with a quirky protagonist…love and romance gone wrong…losing a job…all the ingredients for a recipe of getting on with life…the story moves slowly but is a fun read.