Carol Miller serves up another puzzling and very unique mystery in the Moonshine Mystery series with her latest release, A Nip of Murder. Daisy McGovern is now the proud owner of Sweetie Pies and her bakery is doing a booming business. That is until a mysterious break in leads to murder and Daisy is finds herself embroiled in a search for the dead man's identity.

Daisy does not have much confidence in the deputy investigating the break in at Sweetie Pies and she decides to do a little sleuthing on her own. The discovery of a mysterious chip leads her to a moonshine "nip" in a neighboring town where she finds uncovers more baffling evidence. A couple other strange break-ins add to her confusion but Daisy is convinced that all of the events are somehow connected.

Once again, Daisy finds herself crossing paths and matching wits with Rick Balsam, a childhood friend whom she does not trust any farther than she can throw him. She is also saddled with the Rick's brother Bobby, who is harmless but not overly bright, but surprisingly, he does have a few useful skills that prove very helpful. Both of the Balsam brothers are key players in the case, and Daisy's continued animosity towards Rick hinders the investigation.

A Nip of Murder is another delightful installment in Carol Miller's Moonshine Mystery series. It is a very engrossing story with a mystery that is virtually impossible to solve. With a colorful cast of characters and plenty of down home Southern charm, A Nip of Murder is a fun and unique read that mystery lovers are going love. ( )

A Nip of Murder is the second book in Carol Miller’s Moonshine Mystery series. Set in rural Virginia, it features Daisy ‘Ducky’ McGovern, a former waitress at the H&P Diner, which she now part owns and has converted into a bakery. Business is good, especially with the daily patronage of a group of geocacher’s in town, but strangers also mean trouble. When three men break into Sweetie Pies, Daisy’s baker, Brenda, is forced to defend herself and one of the men ends up dead while the others flee with ninety pounds of cream cheese. The motive for the robbery is inexplicable and Daisy, who doesn’t have much faith in the local deputy’s ability to solve the mystery, decides to do some sleuthing of her own.

There is yet another strange local theft, and murder, while Daisy follows the evidence to a local ‘nip’ joint (a hidden bar selling moonshine), and then deep into the Appalachian mountains, all while planning a bridal shower and creating a red velvet wedding cake on short notice for Rick’s brother, Bobby and his bride to be, one of the geocacher organisers.

The well paced mystery is complex but not overly complicated and the motive of the thieves and the killer are not easily guessed. There are a number of red herrings to distract and a neat twist waiting at the end for the unwary.

I like the characters who offer a mix of eccentric southern charm. The storyline continues to highlight the complicated relationship between Daisy and Rick. A gun-toting moonshiner whose actions often put him on the wrong side of the law, Rick is an enigmatic character. He and Daisy, who have known each other all their lives, spar like enemies but there is a simmering attraction that Daisy tries hard to ignore.

A Nip of Murder is an enjoyable cozy mystery, it’s not essential to read Murder and Moonshine first but I would recommend it. ( )

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carol Miller returns with her mountain and moonshine series A Nip of Murder, (Moonshine Mystery Series #2) with southern Daisy McGovern and the gang, for small town local color, whiskey, mystery, humor and wit.

Daisy McGovern, small town Virginia rural bakery owner of Sweetie Pies, is trying to rebuild her life after her husband left. Waitress Daily and her best friend Brenda, have converted the local diner for the sweetest delights.

She has known Bobby Balsam since they were in kindergarten, and he had never been the sharpest tool in the shed. Now he was twenty seven and now his favorite activities are pretty much the same as they had always been—drinking, shooting, and not thinking too hard.

He, of course is the sweeter of the Balsam brothers. She doesn’t care for Rick, the older brother, the wealthiest man in the county, due to his bootlegging business. Now Bobby is marrying a girl staying at the Fuzzy Lake Campground, and he has only known her for two weeks.

While he is ordering red velvet cake, now of all things, she does not need a break-in. Daisy’s business partner stabs one of the robbers to death in self-defense and the other two take off with a ton of cream cheese and crates.

What happens next is a search for the identity of the dead man, more dead bodies, illegal moonshining, gun slinging, stolen historic maps, geocachers, nip joints, and some crazy quirky and eccentric mountain characters, while Daisy leads the pack to solve the Appalachian mountain mystery.

If you enjoy a little mountain murder mystery with your cinnamon bun and moonshine, you will enjoy this crazy bunch. Carol knows her mountain humor.

Judith D Collins Must Read Books ( )