The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"No other festival compares to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. The whole town is buzzing with excitement over this year’s activities and eagerly awaiting Nitro’s latest offering Cherrywizen, made with locally sourced cherries. But local brewmaster Sloan Krause is tapped out. Between trying to manage the pub, her pending divorce with Mac, and her mounting feelings for Garrett, she’s fermenting in internal turmoil.

To complicate matters, dreamy movie star Mitchell Morgan and his production crew have arrived in the village to film during the authentic Bavarian brewfest. Mitchell has his eye on Sloan and a taste for Nitro’s Cherrywizen. Sloan escapes his advances for good when she finds Mitchell slumped over the bar. Is this a case of one pint too many, or has Mitchell been murdered by microbrew?"

My Thoughts:

Last year I read and enjoyed the first book in this series, Death on Tap, so I jumped at the opportunity to read this book!  Let's be honest - this book has been on my TBR list since I finished the last page of the first book.  There is just something about Ellie Alexander's cozy mysteries that I can't get enough of.  And while this is completely different from her Bakeshop series, it has enough of the same characteristics that I love from that series to make this one a real winner for me as well.  She has a real knack for creating characters that feel real and complex.  In both of her series, the main character is struggling with something major going on with their life that just comes across the pages as so real.  In this book, Sloan is still trying to deal with her new "normal" after finding her husband cheating on her.  She's working on figuring out what she wants in her life and how she moves on from here.  That struggle to figure out what she wants in life next and how she is getting to get there just comes across so perfectly.  Add in that a mystery to solve with lots of great secondary characters and you have a winner.  What makes this book a four star read for me though is the added mystery of Sloan's past.  In this book, we get the chance to see Sloan search a bit more into her unknown past searching for the reasons why she was placed into foster care which was just hinted about in book one.  I'm so intrigued by this storyline that I cannot wait to get my hands on book three!  I really found this to be a compelling read, and I breezed through the pages on my kindle.  It's going to be a long wait for that next book, that's for sure!

Here's why I think that you should read this series in general (there's only two books so I definitely think it is worth it to start with the first book):  it's the perfect palate cleanser because it just feels so fresh and original!  Been reading a bunch of mysteries and dark thrillers?  This series will break that up perfectly with a more light hearted mystery.  Need a different type of cozy that isn't focused on food or books? (I'm horribly generalizing there but you get the idea).  Read a mystery that talks about beer and the different kinds to make you want to try a few different types of beers yourself.  LOL!  It sounds funny when you put it like that but it really was the perfect change of pace for me.  With great characters and questions that keep you wondering long after the book is finished.....well I couldn't ask for more to be honest.  This is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors and for good reason.  I can highly recommend!

Bottom Line:  I loved this book just as much as the first book!  

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.  Thoughts are my own.