In this intoxicating mystery by USA Today bestselling author Sarah Fox, a winter carnival becomes a recipe for disaster when a Shady Creek celebrity gets iced. The Winter Carnival always brings holiday cheer, Christmas joy—and tourists with cash—to picturesque Shady Creek, Vermont. At the center of the glittering decorations and twinkling lights is booklover and pub owner … pub owner Sadie Coleman, creating original cocktails, hosting a literary trivia evening, and cheering on her loyal employee Melanie “Mel” Costas as she competes in the ice carving competition.
But holiday cheer can’t compete with former resident and renowned chef Freddy Mancini, who arrives with his nose in the air, showing off his ice-sculpting skills like a modern-day Michelangelo. During the artists’ break in the night-long contest, Mel’s tools disappear . . . and Freddy is found dead with her missing pick in his chest.
Although the police turn their attention to Mel, it seems everyone in town had a grudge against Freddy, including his assistant, his mentor, his former flame, and even his half-brother.
Faster than she can fling a Huckleberry Gin, Sadie finds herself racing to make sure the police don’t arrest the wrong suspect—all while sharing a flirtation with local brewery owner Grayson Blake. Their chemistry leads to a heated rivalry at the hockey rink—and to the hot pursuit of a killer.
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An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox was an engaging addition to Ms. Fox’s Literary Pub series.
I find this series to be unusual due to the fact that the main character, Sadie, owns a literary pub. I love that idea and would love to visit one. The small cozy town of Shady Creek, Vermont sounds idyllic but I wouldn’t want to visit in the winter. Ms. Fox’s description of how cold it was outside was enough for me. Sadie is smart, independent and enthusiastic in supporting her business and her new home town. I laughed during the hockey game. The plot moved swiftly with enough twists and suspects to keep me guessing and turning the pages. The romance is subtle and allowed me to get to know Sadie and Grayson better. The secondary characters are intrinsic to the story and helped to move it along. I’m looking forward to more in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.
The second installment in the Literary Pub Mystery series continues to entertain. I’ve enjoyed this author’s Pancake House Mystery series so there was no hesitation in starting this series. The setting is idyllic for a cozy mystery, a fictional town set in Vermont. What drew me to the series was the unique spin on the culinary cozy – I love that the pub owned by Sadie has a literary theme to it. Sadie is a good character and the author has done a good job of developing her over the course of the two books and starting to really define her. She is still finding her feet after moving to a new town and starting a new business but she has made some good friends among the citizens of the town and her employees. The secondary characters are all likable and compliment Sadie. There is a budding romance with Grayson, the owner of the local brewery but it is progressing slowly and clumsily which is a nice change of pace.
I thought the mystery was well done. Small town kid who makes it big on the restaurant scene in Boston, returns home for the Winter Carnival. Too bad he is a jerk and completely unlikable. This allows Ms. Fox to give the reader a number of plausible suspects all with good, believable motives. There were plenty of clues and twist for the readers to follow in this story. The suspect was unmasked in a climactic reveal and once again, I didn’t see this person as the murderer.
This is an entertaining series that has a great setting, interesting characters, solid mysteries and plots that move the story along at a good pace. I’m looking forward to more in this series. I voluntarily read a digital ARC provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley.
This was such a great read! With the town’s Winter Carnival and all its festivities, curious deaths and thefts, and the developing relationship between Sadie and her recently adopted town of Shady Creek, Vermont, I had a hard time putting this book down. The mysteries were not that easy for me to solve… in fact, I didn’t solve them until the culprit(s) were revealed. I love getting to know the characters in this series and meeting the new ones introduced in An Ale of Two Cities. And the hockey tournament, trivia night, and ice sculpture contest really help create a well-written, well-rounded story. The story concludes at Christmas with a really sweet surprise, which was a nice final touch. I also like that there are recipes included for some of the drinks mentioned in the book. This book hasn’t officially been released yet, and I find myself eager for the next one!
I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.