Devil's Kiss - A Review

 Review

DEVIL'S KISS by Michelle Bennington
The First Small Batch Mystery

Divorced, broke, and living with her grandma, Rook Campbell's life is looking grim, especially as she just quit her job as an underappreciated, underpaid, untenured professor. Her best friend, Bryan, helps her land a job at Four Wild Horses Distillery, where he works as an accountant. Things are hectic on her first day on the job and there's an underlying sense of subterfuge as well as outright hostility. Something shady is definitely going on at Four Wild Horses. When Bryan is found dead Rook is certain it's murder and vows to discover who killed him. Things get increasingly dangerous for Rook who is desperate to keep her job. But will her decision to stay at the distillery and look for Bryan's murderer get her killed as well? 

The first Small Batch Mystery is a more mature traditional mystery that introduces readers to some interesting characters. Rook is doggedly determined despite everything that goes wrong with her life-and boy is there a lot. The author seems to relish making Rook's life challenging. She does have support from the best friend who's like a brother to her (who the author quickly kills off), her grandmother (who the author soon gives major health issues), and her ex-husband (who has a jealous fiance). See what I mean about challenges?! I really like Jimmy and dislike the Sheriff and almost everyone at the distillery. They are all, however, fun to read about, especially witnessing their machinations and Rook's efforts to derail them.

I really enjoyed the complex mystery. So many people behaving badly made for some shocking scenes. Seeing Rook stand strong and fight back was exhilarating and the porch scene with Jacie still makes me grin.

DEVIL'S KISS is a mystery with grit that makes you thankful for your life and hopeful that things will get better. I look forward to seeing the distillery recover and Rook move on with her life, stronger and even more resilient.