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CharlestonSCreader
Posted June 25, 2011
This is a page turner. Love the upstate NY setting......Lesley has written a mystery that kept me glued to my Nook! A great read...
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MaryBethWrites
Posted March 13, 2011
Upstate New York offers beautiful terrain and interesting niche businesses. Lesley Diehl takes full advantage of both in her mystery, "A Deadly Draught." Focusing on the world of microbreweries, Diehl leads us through a world of friendly competitors, secret recipes and murder. Master Brewer Hera Knightsbridge carries on her late father's work of creating excellent specialty brews in her small brewery. She battles financial woes, potential water rationing and competition from her neighbors for the weekend tourist market. But those problems pale in comparison to the murder of one of those competitors. Hera's discovery of the body draws her into the case. The situation deteriorates even more when the investigating officer turns out to be an old flame. Assistant Deputy Sheriff Jake Ryan looks just as good as he did when the two of them were back in law school. Can Hera trust Jake to keep an open mind, given their past? Can Jake overcome any lingering animosity over the broken relationship and find a way to catch a murderer without losing any more residents to the unknown murderer? Diehl creates a tightly knit community in her debut novel. She gives us characters from all up and down the human spectrum. The world of micro brewing provides her with a full cast of brewers, handymen, owners, investors and support staff. Secrets spill from a variety of sources as the investigation uncovers old wounds and recent grief. The complicated truth surfaces at last, but not without a lot of heartache. Mystery lovers will enjoy the skillful plotting as the facts emerge. Diehl plans masterfully and in the end, delivers a highly readable novel. Beer lovers can enjoy a peek behind the scenes of the brewing world. With a minimum of sex and language, readers can share the book without embarrassment.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MaryBethWrites
Posted March 12, 2011
Upstate New York offers beautiful terrain and interesting niche businesses. Lesley Diehl takes full advantage of both in her mystery, "A Deadly Draught." Focusing on the world of microbreweries, Diehl leads us through a world of friendly competitors, secret recipes and murder. Master Brewer Hera Knightsbridge carries on her late father's work of creating excellent specialty brews in her small brewery. She battles financial woes, potential water rationing and competition from her neighbors for the weekend tourist market. But those problems pale in comparison to the murder of one of those competitors. Hera's discovery of the body draws her into the case. The situation deteriorates even more when the investigating officer turns out to be an old flame. Assistant Deputy Sheriff Jake Ryan looks just as good as he did when the two of them were back in law school. Can Hera trust Jake to keep an open mind, given their past? Can Jake overcome any lingering animosity over the broken relationship and find a way to catch a murderer without losing any more residents to the unknown murderer? Diehl creates a tightly knit community in her debut novel. She gives us characters from all up and down the human spectrum. The world of micro brewing provides her with a full cast of brewers, handymen, owners, investors and support staff. Secrets spill from a variety of sources as the investigation uncovers old wounds and recent grief. The complicated truth surfaces at last, but not without a lot of heartache. Mystery lovers will enjoy the skillful plotting as the facts emerge. Diehl plans masterfully and in the end, delivers a highly readable novel. Beer lovers can enjoy a peek behind the scenes of the brewing world. With a minimum of sex and language, readers can share the book without embarrassment.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.A Deadly Draught is an exhilarating, cozy New England mystery by Lesley A. Diehl. Diehl skillfully juggles her main character, Hera Knightsbridge, and multiple secondary characters effortlessly while weaving an intricate story of mystery and suspense. From the moment Hera utters the words, "Oh, God. This must be what death smells like" the pace never lets up.
Hera Knightsbridge is a microbrewer living in Butternut Valley, a small town in upstate New York where microbrewers are plentiful but water is not! With a murderer running loose, cash flow problems enough to consider bankruptcy, and a scorned ex-boyfriend turned vigilante cop, every aspect of Hera's life seems to be spinning out of control. She's had a crush on Michael Ramford for as long as she can remember but her feelings have not been reciprocated. From the five year old suicide of her father to the recent death of her next-door-neighbor and fellow microbrewer, Hera can't help but wonder if somehow both deaths are connected? Luckily for Hera, Jake Ryan has reentered her life, or is it? She seems to be the prime suspect among an endless number of suspicious characters in town. Hera and Jake have decided to team up to get to the bottom of things before Hera becomes the latest victim!
Diehl's complex, multifaceted characters take center stage in this thoroughly riveting mystery. It is obvious that Diehl's background in psychology enables her to create believable characters to which we can quickly react, and equally captivating subplots that seem to catapult us into the book. Instantly we are faced with Michael's strange behavior towards Hera, his late father, and later, his brother Ronald; Hera's struggle with her feelings for Michael and her equally confusing feelings toward Jake; Sally's unwillingness to completely let go of her feelings for Michael, and Hera's guilt towards her father's untimely death; and what of Hera's dad's relationship with Claudia Ramford? Diehl's first mystery is an exciting read from start to finish!
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Overview
Brewmaster Hera Knightsbridge is a woman in a craft dominated by men. She may have beer rather than blood flowing through her veins, but her fledgling brewery is in trouble. Drought is making water scarce for all the microbreweries in the Butternut Valley of upstate New York, but Hera also lacks capital to keep her operation in business. More serious problems arise when she finds her childhood sweetheart’s father, her most serious brewing competitor, bludgeoned to death in his own brew barn. The brewing community comes under suspicion, and the bank will not grant her loan because she is a suspect. To find the killer, her only choice is to join forces with an unlikely partner, the new assistant deputy sheriff, Jake Ryan,