A Room with a Brew

The latest A Brewing Trouble Mystery novel!

A Room with a Brew by Joyce Tremel is the third installment in A Brewing Trouble Mystery series. Maxine “Max” O’Hara owns the Allegheny Brew House in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Max is busy preparing for the Oktoberfest weekend she is going to have at the brew house. To see if she wants to hire The Deutschmen, a local oompah band, Max and her girlfriends are going to an event at the fire hall. Felix Holt, accordion player, stares at Candy and insists that he knows her from somewhere. Candy ends up being rude and leaving without providing an explanation. The next day Max receives a call from Walter “Doodle” Dowdy, the sousaphone player, asking to meet in person. He has something to share with her. When Max, Jake and Candy arrive they find Doodle dead with his head stuffed in his sousaphone. Candy is at the top of the suspect which sends Max into overdrive to find out who killed Doodle and why. Just when Max thinks things cannot get worse, Jake’s ex-fiancé, Victoria pops up at a gallery opening they are attending for the unveiling of a newly discovered Vermeer painting. Max will need to keep her wits about her if she is going to nab a killer, finish her Oktoberfest preparations, and avoid the manipulative Victoria.

A Room with a Brew can be read as a standalone novel. I had some trouble getting into the story. I found it to be a slow starter and the murder did not occur until I reached the 18% mark (seems to be a new trend). I found the mystery to be expected. Once the Vermeer is mentioned, I accurately predicted how the story would play out. I tried it with a third party, and they came to the same conclusion (I only gave them two details). It was interesting to learn more about the quirky Candy in this story (who only wears black and gold). Most of the characters in A Room with a Brew are flat. We are given scant details on them and the author never gave them life. Candy, Jake and Max are the only fully developed personas. My rating for A Room with a Brew is 3 out of 5 stars. The main focus of the cozy mystery is on the Allegheny Brew House, Max’s romance with Jake, food (lots of food), time spent with Max’s family, and preparing for Oktoberfest. I did not know that blue and white were colors for Oktoberfest (from Bavaria). I have only seen the colors from the German flag used in conjunction with this event. There are recipes for some of the food items at the end of the book. A Room with a Brew is a cute cozy mystery that will appeal to many readers and have you craving a bratwurst (I will be heading to the local German meat market soon)!