Review & Giveaway - Room With a Brew

I have followed this series since the debut novel, To Brew, or Not To Brew (click here), the second novel Tangled Up in Brew (click here) and two guest posts (click here and here).  Let's check out the third release in this series and see how our lady brew master is doing!

Author: Joyce Tremel

Copyright: Oct 2017 (Berkley) 288 pgs

Series: 3rd in Brewing Trouble Mystery series

Sensuality: Mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy

Main Characters: Maxine "Max" O'Hara, brewmaster and owner of Allegheny Brew House

Setting: Modern day, Pittsburgh PA

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

From the book cover: "It's Oktoberfest in Pittsburgh, and brewpub owner Maxine "Max" O'Hara is prepping for a busy month at the Allegheny Brew House. To create the perfect atmosphere for the boozy celebration, Max hires an oompah band. But when one of the members from the band turns up dead, it's up to Max to solve the murder before the festivities are ruined. 

Adding to the brewing trouble, Candy, Max's friend, is acting suspicious... Secrets from her past are fermenting under the surface, and Max must uncover the truth to prove her friend's innocence. To make matters worse, Jake's snooty ex-fiancée shows up in town for an art gallery opening, and she'll be nothing but a barrel of trouble for Max."

Maxine "Max" O'Hara is busy brewing, running a restaurant, running to church and her folks place every Sunday, and oh yeah solving a murder.  Apparently her personality is fueled by caffeine running through her veins.   Jake Lambert gets to be more present in this outing and he acts more like a boyfriend with Max.  Book two in the series was lacking in that regard and now we have that back.  Candace "Candy" is a stubborn and independent character with an incredible past that comes back around.  Tommy is Candy's ex husband who shows up to help deal with her past redux and quickly becomes the break out character.  Victoria is Jake's ex-wife who plays a role in the story and shows just how bad Jake's marriage really was.  Hops is Max's kitten who is just adorable throughout.

Pittsburgh is great and filled with such potential as a setting.  I enjoyed all the references to local quirks and sayings.  I enjoy the history touches here and there too.  The Brew House is a good setting as usual, although not as much time spent there this time around.

The plot reached a bit and it worked well while remaining in the cozy wheelhouse.  The pacing was fast paced and kept interest.  The climax was a little surprising in that it snuck up on me when I wasn't expecting it.  The wrap up was delightful and brought a smile. 

I was grateful to have some chemistry back between Jake and Max.  I had figured out the motive to the murder and the killer fairly early on, which happens - but it seemed a little too obvious.  I can't be that good of an armchair detective!

Rating:   Excellent - Loved it, it had a good grip on me! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

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GIVEAWAY

The publisher has offered one copy of Room with a Brew for giveaway!

Entry for giveaway lasts until Monday November 6th 6:00 p.m. (MST).  U.S.  entries only please.
The publisher will be shipping the books to the winner.

How to enter:

*** First, you must be a member (follower) of this blog.***

All entries are to be in the comments for this post.
I shall notify the winner via the email address you provide to get your mailing address and have the prize sent directly to you.

IF you are a member or follower (including email subscriber) of this blog, you only need to leave a comment with your correct email.


BECOME a member/follower/email subscriber of this blog if you aren't already and enjoy the celebration of all things mystery and suspense.

Author Guest Post - Joyce Tremel

Today we are honored to have Joyce Tremel join our blog.  She was a police secretary for ten years.  Joyce is a native Pittsburgher, has two grown sons, and lives in a suburb of the city with her husband. When coming up with the idea for this series, she thought her big city with the small town feel would be the perfect setting for Max's brew pub. She hopes "yinz" guys agree!  I will be reviewing her newest book later this week.  Please welcome Joyce.

Why Pittsburgh?

I’m often asked by readers why I chose Pittsburgh as the setting for my Brewing Trouble series. The reasons are numerous. Anyone who has read the books so far has probably figured out by now that Pittsburghers are a little different. We use expressions like “n’at” and “yinz.” We call thorny shrubs “jagger bushes.” We often use the word “jag” which comes from the Scots-Irish and means “thorn.” When we call someone a “jagoff” we’re not swearing—it just means they’re a jerk, or a “thorn in our side.” There are websites and dictionaries explaining Pittsburghese to non-natives. I actually bought my editor a Pittsburghese dictionary for Christmas.

Pittsburgh is a beautiful city. It’s gone from being a smoky, dirty place in the early twentieth century to a clear and bright high-tech oasis. It’s home to Google and Uber. It’s the first city where Uber is testing self-driving cars. (Frankly, if they can navigate here, they can drive anywhere. We have streets that aren’t even streets—they’re tiny alleys, or sometimes just concrete steps on a hillside.) Our hospitals and medical centers are always on the cutting edge of the next important breakthrough. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are leaders in research in neuroscience and robotics. There’s a vibrant downtown and cultural district. And one of my characters, Candy Sczypinski, would be highly upset if I didn’t mention the sports teams—the Pirates, the Penguins, and Candy’s beloved Steelers.

I can’t forget to mention the food. We Pittsburghers like to eat! Part of the fun of writing this series has been figuring out what my characters are eating or cooking in certain scenes and developing the recipes. Around here, we love Buffalo Chicken Dip and pierogis, so I invented a recipe in To Brew or Not to Brew (book 1) that combined the two—Buffalo Chicken Pierogis. And what goes better together than caramel and chocolate? Not much, so I came up with Caramel Pecan Brownies in Tangled Up in Brew (book 2). They are to die for, by the way. I had a great time planning the recipes in A Room With a Brew (book 3). Since it takes place around the time of Oktoberfest, I included some German recipes along with some distinctly Pittsburgh recipes like Ham Barbecues and that picnic staple, Pretzel Salad. Never heard of it? I guess you’ll need to read the book. It’s delicious!

We like to have a good beverage or two to wash down all that tasty food. Craft breweries are abundant in the Pittsburgh area. In the real Pittsburgh neighborhood of Lawrenceville where the fictional Allegheny Brew House is located, there are now four craft breweries. Max O’Hara would feel right at home. Pittsburgh also has some top-notch restaurants that rival any you’d find in New York City. You can even find a winery or two not far outside city limits.

It’s also a friendly city. Residents are always quick to help out anyone in trouble. You can often find a fire hall or church hall hosting a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for someone with a medical issue, or for a family who lost their home in a fire. If a stranger asks someone for directions, we’re always happy to show them the way—as long as we don’t have to use north, south, east, or west. We’re more likely to say, “Turn where the Isaly’s used to be.” We might be the only city where the natives give directions on what used to be in certain locations.

So you see, Pittsburgh really does have everything. Maybe in the future when readers ask me why I chose Pittsburgh, my answer should be, “Why not?

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Thank you Joyce!   Fascinating how the city is very unique and has it's own personality.

Here is a recipe for all my readers.

Harvest Walnut Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients

Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree (from 15 oz. can; not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons orange peel

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Step 2
Place muffin liners in muffin tins.
Step 3
In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
Step 4
In a mixer, cream together pumpkin puree, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in flour mixture. With spatula, scrape sides of the bowl while mixing. Stir in walnuts. Pour about ⅓ cup muffin mixture into each muffin liner. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Step 5
In small bowl, place powdered sugar and orange peel; add fresh orange juice, one teaspoon at a time, and mix until the mixture reaches a consistency to be drizzled.
Step 6

Drizzle glaze on muffins. Let set completely.
                   Recipe from Kings Soopers website