Bartenders function as far more than mere drink pourers. They keep accounts and the peace, and act as amateur psychotherapists, among other duties. In these novels, publicans (mostly women, coincidentally) also solve mysteries. Whether the comedy is witty or slapstick, you'll find yourself laughing along with these books as well as wondering whodunit.
Maggie Lewis hearts her attitude problem, but it may have gotten her framed for murder and canned from her job as a VFW bartender in Paula Matter's Last Call. Not holding the investigative prowess of the local constabulary in high esteem for good reason, Maggie teams up with her tenant, an almost-PI, to clear her name. Maggie is feisty and funny, and her outsider's view of a small town in northern Florida adds to the enjoyment of what will hopefully be the start of a new series.
Sherri Travis operates a bar and restaurant down the coast from where Last Call is placed in A Brewski for the Old Man by Phyllis Smallman. Sherri has to contend with both her estranged father and a childhood abuser who has law enforcement connections blowing into town at the same time. Said abuser ends up dead, and Sherri has to sort that out while dealing with her father's less-than-legal shenanigans involving an old grudge. Breezy and light even when dealing with dark subjects, this mystery is a good beach read.
In Doug J. Swanson's plot-driven Dream Boat, insurance investigator Jack Flippo visits a hamlet in Texas to check out a suspicious drowning with a big payout. Sally Danvers is a barmaid in the deceased's drinking establishment, and apparently the only person in town not in on the scam, so she helps Jack set things straight. Humor and the use of Texas dialect help sell a book that might appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum novels.
Women are not as prominent as investigators in Christopher Fowler's The Victoria Vanishes, but there is the eponymous pub. Someone is lethally injecting middle-aged women at London watering holes, and it's up to detectives Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit to bring the perpetrator to justice. Things are complicated by drunken witnesses and the fact that one of the bars a victim entered hasn't existed for nearly a century. Fowler's great knowledge of the history of London is on display, along with his facility for plotting and unique characters.
Have more books that serve up skullduggery with your shot? Tell us about them in the comments.
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