Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Mary, Queen of Scotch
AUTHOR: Rob Rosen
PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC
LENGTH: 227 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 10, 2018
BLURB:
Four five-star Yelp reviews do you little good when you’re nailed inside a giant barrel of whiskey, which is where our intrepid private detective Barry finds himself while on the case to help his campy drag friends, all of whom have numerous secrets to hide.
If he can decide between the man he once loved and the bartender he’s falling for, successfully stay undercover as his alter-ego, Mary, Queen of Scotch, and keep one step ahead of the bad guys, plus a raucously funny meddling mom, he just might live to see that much-desired fifth review.
REVIEW:
You guys have GOT to read this book. Oh my gah. And Mr. Rob, if you are reading this at any point, I am begging you, please let there be a sequel, a blog post, something with these guys in the future, because this was one of the best books I’ve read and I’ve read some damn good ones lately.
If you guys have never been in a drag bar, you’re missing out lol. Those babies are bitches in and out and I can say that because I used to be a part of that scene. I was an ‘assistant’ to a queen for a few years and it’s an experience, let me tell you. These characters are brass, sassy, snarky, bitchy, downright hateful and rude and the others are just as sweet as can be. But you can’t have one without the other. Even the sweet ones know how to be catty.
Barry finds himself involved in a case where he’s supposed to be seeing if the guy’s husband is cheating on him. He’s checked and checked. Followed him everywhere. And now he’s stepping into something he’s never done. A drag bar. As a new queen call Mary, Queen of Scotch. The more he investigates the husband, the more he keeps telling the other husband, there’s no cheating going on. He’s even had to wear a camera for the guy to see and hear. No cheating. Barry finally has enough and ends the contract, because the guy just isn’t cheating. But what is going on in that bar, is something else. And Barry can’t let that go. Little by little, he’s digging up dirt on everyone and by the time he’s figured it all out, he’s been held at gunpoint and nailed inside a whiskey barrel. Once he’s saved, he has to know how far this goes and he finds out. Now he’s at gunpoint again, along with his boyfriend and all the Queens and someone may not make it out alive. Namely him.
First of all, props to Barry’s stage name. Especially considering the irony of being nailed in a cask. I love Barry’s character though. His mouth gets him in more trouble but man it’s funny as hell. And his mom, bejeesus help us all. She is a pistol. Even his dad gets a few licks in, that leave Barry wanting mind bleach and left me rolling in the floor laughing my butt off. What impressed me most with Barry though, he could have left this case be. When he had ample evidence, Chad/Lucy wasn’t cheating, he could have walked away. But he knew something was up. And as rude and hateful as some of the ‘girls’ had been, he still felt like their friends and responsible for them. And knew he couldn’t let things keep on the way they were. In spite of being on the verge of death a few times, he kept at it. And when all the secrets were revealed, he knew he had to protect them and take the head bitch down. But even that had come with a price.
It’s a damn good book. It’s a mystery, but funny and of course with all the Queens, you never know what you’re going to get. I really do want to see these guys again. Well, most of them. A few can rot where they are. A really great book.
RATING: 
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