by Cynthia Chow

In honor of Earth Day we are featuring only EBOOKS in this issue. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an EBOOK copy of Brew or Die. We also have a link to order it from Amazon.

Juliet Langley enjoys managing Nashville’s Java Jive coffeehouse, but she loves her challenging new part-time job as a licensed private investigator. Working at her friend Maya Huxley’s agency, Juliet’s newest assignment has her working undercover to discover how and why one of the partners of Wonder-Gen Fabricators is funneling money into the accounts. It’s Juliet’s first case working alone, but scrubbing office toilets while disguised as a nighttime cleaner is not exactly the glamorous job she may have envisioned.

Pete Bennett, Juliet’s best friend and the owner of Java Jive, is usually the first one to voice objections to her detecting adventures, and not just because it could endanger her life. Pete and Juliet have never quite managed to find the perfect time for a relationship, but what he detests more is how often her investigations have placed her in the vicinity of one Detective Ryder Hamilton. That shouldn’t be a problem, considering that after leaving a wounded Juliet to pursue a criminal three months ago, Ryder completely disappeared from her life. Until now. Not only is Ryder warning Juliet away from her first official case, he is also telling her to back away from her perfectly agreeable boyfriend, Detective John Stafford. In a reversal of the usual natural order, it is Pete who is encouraging Juliet to also investigate the overdose death of Josie Prescott, an event planner at Leonidas Luxury Events. Josie’s fiancé swears that she would never have touched a drug, and he wants his bosses at Java Jive to prove that she was murdered.

Throughout this Java Jive Mystery series Juliet and Pete have toed the line between being friends and something more, never wanting to risk their friendship for a relationship that wouldn’t last. It’s going to test their resolve when they end up working undercover at a wedding expo as a model bride and groom, but perhaps not as much as seeing the other move on. Their friends all have varying opinions on what they should do, but it remains to be seen as to what the pair will ultimately decide.

Juliet’s investigative exploits unravel several surprisingly complicated plots, with a thrilling conclusion that will surprise both her and readers. Juliet may have tamed her impulsive, Redheaded She-Devil, but that doesn’t mean that she still won’t find herself acting first and thinking about her own safety later. Leading with her heart and never backing away from a fight frustrates her friends, but it also makes her a worthy champion. While Juliet’s stage fright has her shying away from showcasing her singing talents, she never lacks confidence in her intelligence or investigative abilities. Her spunky resilience and snarky sense of humor is continually entertaining, two traits she will need both as she confronts her future and the choices she has made.

To enter to win an EBOOK copy of Brew or Die, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “brew,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen April 22, 2017. US residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

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Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.