WITHOUT A BREW

Sloan Krause, a beer maven with a nose for brews, is torn between her personal problems and murder in a Washington ski town devoted to all things German.

After years in foster care, Sloan has finally found a home with the Krause family—though no longer with their son, Mac, whom she left over his cheating in Beyond A Reasonable Stout (2019). Otto and Ursula Krause have given Sloan a share in their beer business even though she’s taken a job with Nitro, a rival craft brewery. Her boss, Garrett, who inherited the building that houses Nitro, has just added a beer-based B&B. Unfortunately, some of his first guests spell trouble, especially entitled executive Kevin Malcolm and his friends, who are desperate for the only available rooms in town. The other guests include Ali and Brad and enigmatic Liv Paxton, another last-minute booking who disses Kevin, earning his enmity and that of his girlfriend, Jenny. Next morning, Liv’s room is found trashed, and Chief Meyers retrieves her body from the river. Sloan hears that Ali and Brad have gone through hell trying to conceive and that Ali suspects that Brad had an affair with Liv, whom he interviewed as a possible surrogate. A local mechanic knew Liv from high school when they were involved in a tragic death, and Kevin’s hair-trigger temper could have led to murder. Distracted by news from her longtime social worker that Otto and Ursula may have been Nazi sympathizers, Sloan must work up the courage to confront them while searching for a killer.

A delight for foodies, craft beer fans, and lovers of twisty mysteries with a bit of humor.