Nice second in the series.

Pepper and the other Bohemia Bartenders are in southern Florida for a tiki festival, meaning lots of rum cocktails. And I mean lots of cocktails. Pepper may claim cocktail culture is about the flavours, but the festival is all you can drink, and that sounds more like a thing for those who favour quantity over quality.

Pepper finds the body of the owner of several popular cocktail bars - a man who claims to own several very rare rums - and her friend Luke holding the murder weapon. Certain that Luke didn't do it, Pepper investigates. Lots of characters make an appearance (even a few from the previous book, aside the bartenders), but none really stick as possible suspects.

In the end Pepper has a Jessica Fletcher moment

Spoiler

(a thing the killer said doesn't mesh with what someone else said)

followed by a lucky escape. I nearly dropped the rating for that.

All in all, it's a nice read, though there should be less recurring characters. The Bohemia Bartenders are a travelling bunch; I don't expect them to run into the same people every time.

I read an ARC through Booksirens.