ABOUT THE BOOK
No good deed goes unpunished in the Whisky Business cozy mystery series as distillery owner Abigail Logan uncovers dark secrets—and murder—at a local charity.
Photojournalist Abi Logan is finally ready to put her hectic career on hold and set down roots in the heart of the Scottish countryside. Studying the business and art of distilling whisky at Abbey Glen and volunteering at the Shepherd’s Rest women’s shelter in her spare time seem a surefire way to find the peace and stability she craves. It’s also the logical way to take her mind off her personal life. Abi’s business partner, Grant MacEwan, is facing a career-threatening disability, and as much as Abi longs to be there for him, he seems to prefer the company of a rival.
But as Abi becomes more involved with Shepherd’s Rest, she discovers that their refuge is elusive. When the shelter is rocked by a murder/suicide, Abi is outraged by the police’s lack of attention to these already marginalized women. Increasingly confident in her own skills as an investigator, Abi steps in to find out what the police will not: who left one young woman dead and another missing. But when more deadly deeds come to light, Abi must race to unravel the connections between the shelter’s benefactors and the women they have pledged to protect—and expose the killer before he strikes again.
Melinda Mullet’s delightful Whisky Business mysteries can be read together or separately.
Enjoy responsibly:
Single Malt Murder | Death Distilled | Deadly Dram | Died In The Wool
Series: Whisky Business Mysteries, book 4
Publisher: Alibi
Published: (June 18, 2019 )
Print length: 278 pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours
IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH MELINDA MULLET
Ifs
Q: If you could talk to someone (dead), who would it be and what would you ask them?A: Agatha Christie and I’d ask her everything I could think of about her writing and her life.
Q: If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
A: The last full day I spent with my father. Specifically, Disney World 1973.
Q: If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
I have worked with a group called Room to Read for many years now. They are a wonderful organization headquartered in San Francisco that supports literacy for children in developing countries. I give 5% of my annual earnings to support their indigenous literature programs. They publish children’s books and early readers in dozens of languages traditional publishers wouldn’t consider. They don’t just reprint Dr. Seuss, they cultivate local authors and illustrators to provide culturally relevant and meaningful language texts for young people. I love their moto "World Peace through Educated Children."
Q: If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
A: JK Rowling and I would love to talk to her about the way she changed the pacing of novels not just for young people, but for everyone. She has made most children’s fiction of the past fifty years seem dull and pedantic.
Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
A: I saw a quote once in a biography that described a gentleman from the 1800s as having retired to London “independent of financial considerations.” I thought that was such a wonderful turn of phrase. It has been my aspiration for years now. To live in the greatest city in the world without a thought about the cost.
Ands
5 things you need in order to write:
• tea
• flair pens in as many colors as possible
• my lap top
• the index cards where I keep my scene notes
and
• a good dog
5 things about you or 5 words to describe you:
My protagonist Abi Logan distills the essence of her suspects down to a three word snap shot. I’ll gladly take the benefit of two additional words.
• enthusiastic
• observant
• creative
• overbooked
and
• sometime anxious
5 favorite foods:
• peanuts
• cheese
• avocado,
• fish
and
• chips (fries or crisps)
5 things you always put in your books:
• strong women
• good food
• travel
• coffee
and
• well crafted spirits
5 favorite places you’ve been:
• London
• Paris
• Singapore
• Scotland/Ireland
and
• Venice
5 favorite books:
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Animal Farm
• Anything by Dame Agatha
and
• Heart of Darkness
5 living people you’d like to invite to dinner:
• JK Rowling, because she has changed the way people read
• Nick Mason because I love rock and roll and Pink Floyd still sounds great
• Lin Manuel Miranda because I’m a theatre buff and he’s brilliant
• Lin’s wife Vanessa Nadal, because she’s a scientist, a lawyer, and an all around fabulous
woman.
and
• Tom Hiddleston – just because I could.
Whats
Q: What’s your all-time favorite library?A: Trinity College in Dublin. It takes your breath away. Bookshelves that extend up into the vaulted ceilings, burnished wood everywhere and those lovely rolling ladders for reaching hidden treasures. All that and the divine smell of wood soap dust and vanilla that permeates every good book horde.
Q: What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
A: I’m a Con woman! Not the Ocean’s 8 variety, but the kind I never knew existed until my teenage daughters began attending a variety of fan conventions up and down the Eastern seaboard. You meet fascinating people. It provides me with endless fodder for character sketches and it’s fun to step outside yourself for a day or two and run around in wild costumes.
Q: What’s your favorite time of day?
A: Sunset on the beach -- toes in the sand, glass of wine in hand.
Q: What’s your favorite vacation spot?
A: Depends on my state of mind. London or the Caribbean.
Q: What’s your favorite snack?
A: Peanuts. Lightly salted.
Q: What’s your favorite beverage?
A: Whisky! What else? But I also like wine, and I drink a lot of tea!
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do when there’s nothing to do?
A: Read, of course!
Q: What’s your favorite candy bar?
A: Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut.
Q: What’s your favorite social media site? Would you rather tweet or post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest . . .?
A: I like to tweet and post on Instagram. I’m a big believer in the adage that every picture tells a story. Watch for me @mulletmysteries and at #awriterseye.
Q: What’s your favorite color?
A: Shades of green – anything from turquoise to moss.
Q: What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
A: Keys and lip gloss .
Q: What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
A photograph I took on the beach in Hawaii at sunset.
Q: What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
How little what bothered me then, matters now.
Q: What movie genre do you prefer: drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, or horror? A: Comedy/Action. Avengers!
Q: What is a pet peeve?
A: Apathetic people. I meet so many people, especially around Washington, who try to appear more sophisticated by being jaded. Nothing impresses them. But life is full of wonderful, amazing things. I’m unashamedly enthusiastic about the world. There’s just so much to see and enjoy.
Q: What do you collect?
A: First editions of classic mysteries. Signed if possible, but can’t always afford those!
Q: What book are you currently working on?
A: I am continuing to write books in the Whisky Business series as well as a separate project that is set in England in the 1930s. A mystery based loosely on my grandmother’s family. My gran was born in London in the late 1800’s. She was the daughter of a lamplighter who spent his evenings lighting the gas lamps of London and then had time to kill until he had to go back out at dawn to extinguish them all. He chose to fill that gap in time honored tradition and he and his wife ended up having 18 children who came of age in the war years and between. The family has some fascinating stories from my great uncles that died building the Burma road, to those that helped plan the evacuation of Dunkirk. There were journalists, artists, lawyers, secretaries and laborers, but I was most intrigued by the siblings we knew very little about. It gave me the idea for a mystery about a woman trying to discover why one set of twins out of a family of 18 went missing and are never spoken of. Almost as if the never existed and yet they clearly did. It’s a more historical mystery but the roots are very intimate and personal.
Q: What’s your latest recommendation for:
A: Food: Riced veggies. Such a time saver. I don’t eat meat so it’s very helpful to have a super quick way to knock out a ton of healthy vegetables. Throw them in with canned tomatoes for a pasta sauce or make them into a chili.
Music: Loving Hozier’s new album and looking forward to Bruce Springsteen’s new effort.
Movie: Avengers Endgame.
Book: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey.
Audiobook: Died in the Wool!
TV: Death in Paradise, anything on PBS mystery.
Netflix/Amazon Prime: Vera, Umbrella Academy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Spies of Warsaw
Miscellaneous: Knitting! My daughter has hooked me. A great stress relieving exercise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Connect with Melinda:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Buy the book:
Amazon
