Book 66, 2024
Fiddling with Fate by Diane Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I finally finished another book: Fiddling with Fate by Diane Kelly. It's the third book in her "Southern Homebrew" mystery series. Main character is moonshiner Hattie Hayes.
Hattie is pleased to be expanding her moonshine business via savvy marketing ideas. She's collaborated with a local bluegrass band, the Bootlegging Brothers, to compose and record a jingle for her shop, and she's also teamed up with a local winery to host a Wine and 'Shine event. The Bootlegging Brothers provide the musical entertainment for the evening. When one of the brothers disappears afterward, everyone is shocked. Hattie is even more shocked when he's found dead--murdered by being bashed over the head with one of her moonshine jugs. Hattie knows she should leave the investigation to the police, but she's desperate to restore her brand's good name. She launches her own investigation, cozying up to the suspects and putting clues together in an effort to find a killer.
The story was interesting, although not engrossing. I thought Hattie was a little foolhardy in her amateur investigation. I was also mildly annoyed that the underlying theme was that, once again, her moonshine business was implicated in a murder. That's been the case now with all three books I've read in the series, and it's becoming passé.
Favorite lines:
♦ "Brody's a bluegrasshole."
♦ A woman's got to make her priorities, after all, and housework was pretty far down on my list. I can relate.
♦ "All's fair in love, war, and murder investigations."
♦ If not for some miracle, I would be squashed to death. So this is how I go. I might not be able to have an open casket, but at least my death would be memorable.
This deserves 3.5 stars. I'll be kind and round it up to 4.