Book Review: Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred

Title: Rum Luck (A Bar on a Beach Mystery #1)
Author: Ryan Aldred
Genres: Mystery| Cozy
Print length: 258 pages
Publisher: Five Star Publishing
Publication date: June 22, 2016
Source: NetGalley
Format: e-galley
Author website: http://www.ryanaldred.com/

Sand. Monkeys. Murder. 

Ben Cooper was supposed to be on his Pacific honeymoon. Not waking up in a Costa Rican prison cell with no memory of the night before. 

Then again, Ben never thought he would catch his fiancée with some clown — literally. Or that his friend Miguel would drag him to the surf paradise of Tamarindo before Aunt Mildred could ask why they cancelled the open bar reception. 

But surely his friend and lawyer Victoria didn’t need to fly down from Toronto overnight. After all, the police would let him go once he sobered up and paid his fine. Right?
Except for the little matter of a murder. And Ben’s buying a beachside bar from the victim, hours before the man’s death. 

With foreclosure looming and death threats piling up on the rum-soaked bar, they must turn to the wild idea that got them into this mess—building a business around those who’ve always wanted to run their own bar on a beach somewhere, even for just a week. 

But to survive, they’ll need every skill at their disposal—including those they’d rather forget they have. Goodreads

The plot: After catching his fiancee cheating on him with a clown (literally. This scene is both hilarious and sad), Ben Cooper calls off the wedding and crashes on his best buddy Miguel's couch. After wallowing for a bit, they decide to use the non-refundable tickets to go to Costa Rica, Ben's planned honeymoon destination, to help take Ben's mind off his problems and get as far away from his ex-fiancee as possible.

However, he runs away from one problem and straight into another. One drunken night is enough to land Ben in jail, with a possible murder charge hanging over his head, and his joint account with his ex-fiancee wiped clean. From what Victoria, his friend and lawyer extraordinaire, managed to piece together, Ben bought a ramshackle beachside bar mere hours before the owner, Antonio, was brutally beaten to death.

With Ben as a murder suspect and serious debt accrued with this bar purchase, it's going to take everything that Ben, Miguel, and Victoria have to keep Ben out of jail and this bar afloat. Oh, and there's also the serious matter of the death threats they keep getting...

The character(s): Ben is your typical everyman, just a regular Canadian dude with a predilection for rum and a magnet that seems to pull trouble his way.

Miguel is originally from Colombia, where he served some time in the army and learned a certain set of skills that he prefers to keep hidden from Ben.

Victoria rounds out the trio. All three of them were friends in university, but Victoria went her separate way after graduation, getting swept up in the busy life of lawyering (that's a word, right?) at her father's prestigious firm. She starts off as the stereotypical ice queen, but we see her begin to thaw as she works hard to keep Ben out of trouble.

The mystery: The ending didn't come as a huge surprise, but there were still plenty of twists and turns along the way, and there was enough happening to keep the story interesting all the way through.

Final bite: This book is the perfect beach read. It's light and fun and very funny, but there is some depth and great writing there as well. Definitely recommended.

Best enjoyed while lying out in the sun, with a pitcher of sangria or an ice-cold rum punch nearby. Consume tequila at your own risk.

Rating: 4.25/5 

Thirsty Thursday and Hungry Hearts #4 - Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred

                                                   Hosted @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

Food and books are the two greatest loves of my life, so it's only natural that I participate in Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts every week. This is where I will post food and/or drink quotes from the book(s) I am currently reading.

This week's selection is from Rum Luck, the first book in the Bar on the Beach Mystery series by Ryan Aldred (review coming soon). In this scene, Ben's best friend, Miguel, just got back from a devastating hit-and-run, after poking his nose into the murder of the previous bar owner, Antonio.

With Miguel out of commission, he'd have to get behind the bar himself tonight. First things first, though. He grabbed one of the new bottles and a couple of glasses from the bar, took them over to Miguel, and poured a healthy measure into each glass. 

Miguel roused himself and picked up his tumbler of Patron. "Have I gone to heaven?" he said with an attempt at a smile. "Or have you? You always said we'd share a glass of tequila over your dead body." 

"I'm starting to regret my choice of words," Ben said.

And this scene technically doesn't have much in the way of food or drink in it, but it's such a good passage and it introduces us to Ben and the beginning of his troubles.

Ben Cooper had had his share of hangovers over the years, but this one deserved to be immortalized in poetry. Where lesser ones faded with time, this one was still returning on a winged tequila worm to take him to Hangover Valhalla. Unfortunately, his other senses were now coming into focus, including his sense of smell. His cell reeked of hot sweat, stale beer, and bitter disappointment.

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So what is your liquor of choice? And what was the worst hangover you've ever had? 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #4 - Rum Luck and Paper Girls

Hosted by Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

Every Tuesday, I share the first paragraph(s) of what I am currently reading or will read soon.

First up is a book from my NetGalley shelf:

Rum Luck (A Bar on the Beach Mystery #1); Ryan Aldred

Five Star Publishing - 2016

The hot, humid air wrapped around Victoria Holmes the moment the driver opened her door. She stretched her legs, rose from the chauffeured car, and absently plucked one of her long auburn hairs from her skirt. She wished, not for the first time, that she'd had time to unearth a summer-weight suit before catching the flight late last night. Her driver returned to his seat and cut the engine, spilling silence onto the sleepy side street.

She glanced down the road toward the center of Tamarindo, where the rolling verdant hillside gave way to beach houses and brightly colored hotels, their yards punctuated by massive trees. Across the street, rusted corrugated roofs gave way to towering resorts and half-finished condominiums, framed by the glittering Pacific. Dense foliage hummed, chirped, and chittered. Life atop of life, atop of life.

I've always wanted to visit Costa Rica, and the location descriptions in this book make it seem even more beautiful and magical (despite the brutal murder).

Random thought: Why do the women in these books always have natural red/auburn hair, as if it's super common? This has to be the 3rd or 4th cozy I've read where the heroine is a quirky and/or strong redhead.

My second read is a graphic novel:

 Paper Girls Vol.1; Brian K. Vaughn, Cliff Chiang (illustrator), Matthew Wilson (illustrator)

Image Comics - 2016

Here is the first page, so you can get an idea of the beautiful art and coloring (and really trippy story):

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Either of these titles catch your interest? What are you reading?