To Brew or Not to Brew

Author: Joyce Tremel
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Type: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 304
Series: #1 in the Brewing Trouble series
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Berkley
First Published: December 1, 2015
Opening Lines: If looks could kill, the plumbing inspector giving me the bad news would have been in big trouble. "What do you mean there's a crack in the water line?" I said. "That's just not possible."

Book Description from GoodReads: An all-new mystery series set in a Pittsburgh craft brew pub, featuring a brewmaster with a head for sleuthing.

The Allegheny Brew House is a dream come true for Maxine “Max” O’Hara, who went all the way to Germany for her brewmaster certification, and is now preparing to open her own craft brew pub in a newly revitalized section of Pittsburgh. But before she can start pouring stouts and lagers to thirsty throngs, there’s trouble on tap. Suspicious acts of sabotage culminate in Max finding her assistant brewmaster and chef Kurt Schmidt strangled in one of the vats.

Between rescuing a stray gray tabby she names Hops and considering a handsome ex-hockey player as her new chef, Max doesn’t have a lot of time to solve a murder. But with a homicide detective for a dad, she comes to criminal investigation naturally. And if someone is desperate enough to kill to stop her from opening, Max needs to act fast—before her brand-new brew biz totally tanks.

My Rating: 2 stars

My Review: Knowing that my husband and I were heading to Montreal for a few days to explore its history, food and craft breweries, I decided to bring this book to read on the trip. I figured it would be a light mystery with a focus on craft beer and a quirky group of characters (similar to Ellie Alexander's Sloan Krause series which I enjoyed recently).

Unfortunately, this was very simplistic mystery that needed a growler of oomph in a few areas. First, I didn't learn much about craft beer which isn't a big deal, but the mystery was weak considering the culprit is obvious early on and his/her motive was feeble at best. 

There's also a romance but it was just kind of there. No steam, no romance, just Max being naïve and awkward (which is apparently a total turn on for an ex-hockey player from her past).  Max spends much of her time running around town accusing people of being the murderer which results in confrontations (obviously) and over-the-top reactions that felt frustratingly melodramatic.   

This is a quick read, but it felt like this cozy was just trying too hard. It needed some major tweaking but didn't have enough substance to make me want to read more in the series.