This was a strong sequel in the Mountaineer Mystery series, it worked with everything that I wanted from the first book. The characters were everything that I wanted and thought the overall feel of the mystery that they worked with. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Russell W. Johnson.

This eARC was received from Netgalley.com and I am providing an unbiased review.

This is a second book following the story of Sheriff Mary Beth Cain of Jasper County, Kentucky. This could be read as a stand-alone, but I always feel better recommending reading in order, though it is not really listed as a series.

I enjoyed the perspective of writing about a female sheriff in a crime-ridden area of 'backwoods Kentucky'. Our MC having family ties to the alleged KY Mafia, and just her own mother being a 'crime boss' says a lot about integrity when it comes to law enforcement work. Granted Mary Beth's way isn't always straight legal either. Storyline is easy to follow, even as it references events that happened years before the current story. Reads as a possible realistic story and comes to a nice conclusion. Would like to see more books like this one.

A delightful second installment of the A Mountaineer Mystery series. The first book, The Moonshine Messiah, was an absolutely fantastic read and I was super excited to see this one pop up on NetGalley.

If you haven't read The Moonshine Messiah, well, I strongly recommend you go back and read it prior to starting this one because there's a lot of backstory there. You can probably get by reading this one as a stand-alone if you feel really strongly about it – the events of the previous book are briefly summarized where needed – but it's a really fun read and you'll miss out on a lot of the details otherwise. But, anyway, if you haven't read the previous novel, you're gonna be in for a treat. Sheriff Mary Beth Cain is a pretty unusual character, especially when it comes to law enforcement officers – think Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) from The Heat but with a lot more hillbilly. She's feisty and funny and sometimes uses slightly questionable methods when it comes her policing.

In The Mountain Mystic, Sheriff Cain is determined to solve a cold case involving a family friend with the help of a backwoods psychic … and possibly by using some of her slightly-less-than-ethical methods to extract the information she needs from unwilling suspects. And, well, I don't want to spoil any of the plot, but let's just say that this is a police procedural like none other. The investigation takes her from rural West Virginia to the beaches of Mexico, and it's quite the entertaining ride. Most of the characters from the first novel make an appearance, including Izzy, Sam, Patrick, and her crime boss mother, Mamie (who is probably my favorite character other than Mary Beth herself).

And the ending? I so did not see either of those twists coming! This book was probably a rounded-down-to-four star read right up until the last couple of chapters, but the post-climax reveals propelled it right into five-star territory. I'm so excited for the next book and where this series is going.

My overall rating: 4.6 stars, rounded up. If you like police procedurals with humor, heart, and absolutely delightful (but not always law-abiding) characters, definitely consider giving this one a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Shotgun Honey Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is May 21, 2024.

Solid Second Book In Series. This is one of those tales where both the author and the reader are going on an adventure- ok, the first book was *awesome*, but I had all the time in the world to write the thing and now I need to produce a sequel in a timely manner since my name isn't GRR Martin... so what do I do?

Johnson's answer here is a thrilling ride that perhaps doesn't have the same level of social commentary from the first book - though to be clear, there is still *some* here - yet manages to keep up with the action and even introduces some wrinkles not seen in the first book, going in a direction not often seen, but which makes perfect sense within this world.

And then... just when you think everything is all said and done... Thanos appears. No, not really. But there *is* that stinger scene at the end that reveals the storm clouds on the horizon... storm clouds that portend one *intense* battle coming up. Will we see that battle in Book 3, or will we simply edge closer to the storm? Yet again, I for one can't wait to find out.

Very much recommended.