Mischief and Mayhem

I totally enjoyed Mischief and Mayhem by L.E. Rico, part of her Whiskey Sisters series. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Rico but will definitely not be my last. I loved that all four of the O’Halloran sisters were names after different brands of whiskey, which made sense since their father owned a bar in Mayhem, Minnesota. This story features Jameson who is trying to pulling her life together after her divorce while being on a strict avoidance of getting involved with any man other than her son. When her long-lost ex-brother-in-law shows up looking like sex on a stick she’s still not giving in. She’s been there and still wearing the messy T-shirt. After a ten year absence, Scott returns to Mayhem only because his father falls ill. After a lifetime of fights with his brother, Scott knows that despite his attraction to Jameson she is off-limits. I loved the interaction between the sisters as they work together, support and love each other. Scott and Jameson have a wonderful friendship as they work together to find solve a mystery regarding the brothers. I also loved the town of Mayhem and how they are in everyone’s business; such a small town thing. I especially enjoyed the Pie Lady who had visions of the future and memories of the past. I live in the capital city of Minnesota and enjoyed the way Ms. Rico included many of the quirks and traditions of the State Fair. Yes, the butter sculptures, cheese curds, and food-on-a-stick are real things. Ms. Rico wrote a wonderful story that drew me into her book and the lives of her characters, making me forget the world around me. I had trouble putting this book down, turning page after page, not letting go until I turned the last page, still wanting more. I highly recommend this book to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

​I'm really enjoying this series about the Whiskey sisters, set in Minnesota, and this one was even better than the first one which I also enjoyed. This time we get the story of the second sister, Jameson, who runs and owns O'Hallorans with her sisters, the Irish pub in their town of Mayhem. She is recently divorced from Win and they have a small son called Jackson, a holy terror but very, very funny too! Her father-in-law, Big Win, collapses and is rushed into hospital on life support in a coma. So the family rally around, and 'missing' son Scott comes back to be by his Dad's bedside, as he is also his Primary Healthcare Proxy, with Jameson as Secondary Healthcare Proxy, leaving Win out entirely. Win and Scott have a very antagonistic relationship, hardly surprising since Win is a complete pain the behind anyway, and so there is quite a bit of hassle going on. There is also a secret that Scott thinks he knows all about, and is the main reason he left town 10 years ago to work for the Peace Project around the world, but in fact things are not as they seem and nasty Win knows more than he lets on. Jameson and Scott start getting closer, but of course Win doesn't like it and creates grief for everyone, that luckily gets resolved in the end, with involvement from the pie lady and a mad dash to the airport! There are some great characters in this series, I'd love to know more about the pie lady, and there's also the (very famous) shop that knits outfits for small animals, all mad but very, very appealing! I'm assuming this series will continue with the other two sisters and I am really looking forward to returning to Mayhem and catching up with everyone. Very entertaining.