A Murder in Eight Cocktails

by Kelly Mullen

'As fun as murder gets!' Stacey Halls

Mix one old flame with a splash of suspicion for the perfect. . . murder.

In the seaside haven of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Willa Keane’s marriage is in a rut. As a retired interior-designer-turned-influencer, she’s sure life begins at fifty-five, whereas her husband, Marty, is more interested in watching his beloved birds.

So when Willa is invited to the opening of the chicest new cocktail bar in town, she hopes the evening will rekindle their flame. But arriving at the party, Willa is shaken to discover it’s being hosted by her charming ex-husband, Paul.

The night is thrown into even deeper chaos when the bar’s enigmatic owner is found dead on the rocks below. A suicide message suggests there’s no foul play, but Willa’s heightened senses aren’t so sure. Now she must solve the mystery together with her husband…and her ex-husband.

Can they find the killer before another victim is served their last cocktail?

_____________

PRAISE FOR KELLY MULLEN . . .

'I adored this deliciously twisty and wickedly sharp murder mystery' Lucy Clarke
'Agatha Christie brought bang up to date' Clare Mackintosh
'A thriller with a twist!' Cosmopolitan
'Slick and witty' Daily Mail
'Entertaining from start to finish' Jennie Godfrey
'A stunning read. So gripping and atmospheric, I barely made it out alive' Steve Jones

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 26, 2026

About the author

Welcome to my Goodreads page! I’m an author of contemporary murder mysteries inspired by the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. My second book, A Murder in Eight Cocktails, publishes March 2026.

Say hello at:

Instagram @kellymullenauthor
LinkedIn @kellymullenauthor

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read, and enjoyed, Mullen's previous book, This is Not a Game, I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it didn't grab me in quite the same way, but I think that was down to our female protagonist, Willa, than the actual story itself. 🍸
Willa is something of a cocktail influencer, hosting a YouTube channel called Sips and Whispers. A Murder in Eight Cocktails is told from Willa's POV. 🍸
The premise goes sometimes like this: Willa is invited to the opening of a chic new cocktail bar in Carmel, the idea being she will film content for Sips and Whispers to promote said cocktail bar. Unfortunately, before the event has come to an end, the owner falls from the balcony of the top floor, crashing onto the rocks below. The police rule it a suicide, but Willa is convinced he was murdered. You can see where I'm going with this, can't you? Amateur sleuths anyone? 🍸
Now the story itself is enjoyable, plenty of twists and turns and a few wtf moments. Willa however, just annoyed me, and at one point I was hoping someone would murder her. I felt sorry for Marty, her husband of 25 years, who was clearly out of his depth with Willa's escapades. 😣
Thankfully the other characters, even the dubious ones, were likeable. Noodles the dog, and Orson the chameleon, were my personal favourites. 🐕🦎
What saved this from being a three star book was the inclusion of cocktail recipes, and a recipe for Pecan Pie that I just have to try out. 🍸
Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

[Tyler Phillip Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before the actual review I just want to thank Kelly and her publisher for sending me an ARC copy of her brand new book that will be published in March this year! After reading “This Is Not a Game” in 2025 I absolutely fell in love with the way Kelly writes, the book was one of my favourites of last year! SO I’m super excited to start the year off with a bang!

Max Magunssen reminded me a little bit like Willy Wonka… Just with alcohol and not chocolate… as well as less murder 😅.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the dynamic between the 3 main characters, 1 being the wife, Willa (who’s POV we follow) her husband, Marty and then her ex husband, Paul. But I loved it! I absolutely love Kelly’s character writing. So many fun, quirky, annoying and evil characters. My opinions on them were changing all the time 😂.

I really enjoyed the main story it was a really fun setting with some delicious sounding cocktails that I’d absolutely need to try! (Kelly has actually put the recipes in this book). I loved how visual some of the scenes were, I felt like I was actually at the event with them, sipping away, enjoying a cocktail. The story is far much more than just this cocktail party. So much love, betrayal, drama, jealousy and just a little bit of murder. With a dash of some very funny moments. There are some twists that I did not see coming at all! I was so sure I figured out who the killer was… But nope! I’m really looking forward to hopefully more stories with these characters. I loved how everything came together nicely and ended really well.

Kelly is one of my favourite authors so this was an absolute privilege to read this one early. I’ll be locked in and seated for whatever books she writes!

When Willa a cocktail influencer on social media gets invited to the opening of the chicest new cocktail bar in town, she hopes that it can rekindle her and her husband flame. But arranging at the party, Willa is shaken to discover it's being hosted by her ex-husband Paul... The night is thrown deeper into chaos when Max is found dead on the rocks below. A suicide message suggests that there's no foul play. But Willa is not too sure, can she, Marty and Paul work together before the killer strikes again?

Book Title: A Murder in Eight Cocktails
Author: @kellymullenauthor
Pages: 372
Rating: 🍸🍸🍸🍸.5
Started: 1st January
Finished: 4th January

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Century for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I had heard nothing but praise for this so I was really excited to get stuck in.

I loved Willa. It's wonderful to see an older (okay I know she's only in the 50s but female main characters are rarely of an age) woman in this glamorous world Kelly has created. She's stuck in a rut and a bit worried about what the second half of her life looks like. She felt so real and wonderful and I loved her. Same as with her husband Marty, he's also stuck in a rut but he doesn't realise it and is quite happy to just plod along, he wants a normal, relatively dull retirement They are wonderful individually and together. There's a large cast of other characters and they are all very good.

It is irresistible from the start. The way she's described the drinks, the setting, the characters, it's just so rich and sumptuous.

I do have a copy of Kelly's previous book, This Is Not a Game, but haven't got round to reading it yet, so I had no preconceived ideas about her writing going into this.

What I love about these kind of books is how trusting everyone else. How a member of the public, not police, can just waltz into someone's front room and practically get confessions from them. It's so unrealistic but I love that about it.

I read a lot of crime, cosy crime, and thriller novels, and they can get a bit samey. This has all the familiar themes and feelings about it, so I got what I wanted, but she's managed to infuse it with enough spark to keep it fresh.

One again, I did not get the whodunnit. I am so terrible at working out the ending of thrillers and crime novels - which considering the amount I read, you'd think I would have picked up some tips by now, but no.

Is it realistic? No, not really. But I don't care. I think crime novels, thrillers, and cosy crime novels, to a certain extent, all have a level of fantasy about them and I find that very enjoyable.

This is quick to read, thrilling, exciting, funny, and just a really, really enjoyable read and I'm definitely going to have to put her previous book up my TBR list.

In my opinion, more books should come with cocktail recipes.

[Caitlin Bunting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 4.5⭐️
This book immediately got my attention from the cover alone. I had such a fab time with this one and I really enjoyed the cocktail list throughout the book which was something unique. I also really enjoyed the pets in this book as well so a little shout out to them 🤣

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Kelly Mullen's debut mystery, This Is Not A Game, so when the opportunity came up to read A Murder In Eight Cocktails I didn't hesitate. Kelly Mullen has a knack for creating bright and engaging amateur sleuths, and this is absolutely the case when it comes to the hero of this latest caper, Willa Keane. Former interior designer turned social media Influencer, she spends her days creating videos of fancy cocktails and relaxing sounds for her channel, Sips and Whispers and her ASMR addicted followers. So when Willa is invited to the soft launch opening of a new Aquavit themed bar, Mysa, she is not going to turn it down. Armed with her phone camera, and accompanied by her steady-eddie, bird loving husband, Marty, she is ready to do her thing and promote the heck out of the joint.

That is until the bar's owner, Max Magnussen, is found dead, and the once fun evening of cocktail consumption turns rather more subdued. At least, for most of the guests. For Willa, it triggers quite a few unexpected, and somewhat puzzling questions. Will doesn't believe that Max meant to take his own life and takes it upon herself to get to the truth of a case that the police almost immediately close. And this is where the fun begins for all of us readers because you just know that Willa is exactly the kind of character who will keep digging until she gets and answer, and that this digging is likely to unearth more than the odd skeleton, as well as ruffle more than the odd feather of the other guests from that fateful night. And I, for one, loved every minute of it,

Willa is a brilliant character. Troubled by the feeling that early retirement is not for her, getting her teeth into this puzzle really does give her some real fizz personality wise, and it's not just the champagne and prosecco that tops off some of the many cocktails that flow through the story. She is determined, kind of feisty and so thoroughly relatable to any woman of a certain age who may be worried that she is settling for less than she wants or needs. And for any mother suffering the empty nest syndrome too, where it is just Ma and Pa wondering whether or not they still have anything in common when it is just the two of them. Well, Willa is wondering, Marty less so.

Add in the reappearance of Willa's ex husband, Paul, business partner to the late Max Magnusson, and this is one heck of a trio that I just loved spending time with. The humour that flows between them, whether intentionally on their part (clear intentional on the part of the author) really made me smile. And I loved Marty too. His ability to surprise Willa when needed, hidden behind a relatively pedestrian view on life and an obsession with twitching, is just pitch perfect. He makes a brilliant partner to Willa, and whilst the emphasis is on the chemistry between Paul and Willa, Kelly Mullen really captures the charm and understated devotion between Willa and Marty beautifully.

The book is filled with larger than life, and sometimes questionable characters, who really capture the imagination and had me glued to the story. And I just loved Orson. Every mystery needs one. It is a proper old fashioned mystery. The drink version makes the odd appearance too. It's perhaps a step up from cosy crime, its charm rooted very much in the superb vein of humour that flows as freely as the cocktails. Speaking of which there are a variety of recipes placed throughout the book at varying intervals too, so you really can treat this as a participatory experience if you wish. The setting of Carmel-by-the-Sea is perfect. All the Californian glamour with the small town, everyone knowing everyone's business vibe, that makes the possibility of murder all the more absurd, and my lowe for Willa that bit stronger.

With umpteen surprises and some blink and you might miss them clues, it is the perfect read for armchair detectives to read along with and try to second guess the truth that will ultimately be revealed. An absolute delight that would probably make a perfect holiday read too.

[Brian Wilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Willa Keane is a retired interior designer who is enjoying a new lease of life as an ASMRtist, making sensory videos, usually involving cocktails on her 'Sips and Whispers ' youtube channel. Willa and her husband Marty are invited to the launch party of the Mysa bar, specialising in cocktails centred around Aquavit, a popular Scandinavian spirit.
Obviously, someone at the party dies and one of the guests are the murderer.

Cocktails are certainly a theme of this book, as expected given the title. Throughout, we're treated to cocktail recipes which, as Kelly Mullen states at the beginning, are meant to provide a taste-along 'soundtrack' to the story. The drinks served at the party are also used as a timeline by our 'sleuths' which I felt worked quite well. A novel way of having the guests remember where they were or what they were doing, neatly avoiding the 'I happened to glance at the clock' cliche of fixing events.

The whole story is told from Willa's point of view, so if she wasn't there to see or hear it, we don't know about it. I do think this left a lot of the other characters one dimensional, a couple of lines of backstory, what they were doing on the night, relationship to the victim and no more. Which was a shame as the plot is good and well thought out. It's the characters that bring a story to life and I felt too much was on Willa's shoulders with little relief from Marty or her ex husband Paul.

The police are stereotypical police in this kind of story, not wanting to get involved and immediately ruling the death as suicide. It gets them out of the way of Willa early on, but I did like the initial attempts of our investigators to include them. At least they didn't just try and go full into detective mode at the start.

Overall, it was a very interesting story with a neat solution. Keep an eye out for the clues as the summation at the end does show how we could have solved it.

I would like to convey my thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone Publishers for the chance to review this novel. All opinions are my own.

A Murder in Eight Cocktails is due to be released on 26th March 2026

[Bodies in the Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly Mullen's debut, This Is Not A Game, became an all-time favourite in 2024, when I was lucky enough to pick up a copy at the Century Books proof party at Capital Crime. The ARC itself is one of the most beautiful in my collection, complete with slipcase, but what I love most about it is the characters and the new world it introduced to me, of games design.

This time round we meet a new set of amateur sleuths, empty nester Willa Keane, her husband Marty and ex-husband Paul. Yes, you read that right - an investigation team including the narrator’s ex. That was definitely a new set up to me!

Paul has recently moved back to town as the business partner in a fabulous new nightclub whose USP is cocktails made with aquavit. All is going fabulously until his partner is murdered on the opening night, and, when the police decide it’s not murder but suicide, he turns to recently retired interior designer Willa for help to track down the killer.

Kelly uses this as a way to explore what it’s like to have a strong reminder of your younger self walk back into your life just as mid-life is making you question who you are. There’s an undertone throughout this novel of wondering whether Willa made the right choices swapping bohemian Paul for reliable set-in-his ways Marty.

Cards on table, I was Team Marty all the way. He just didn’t sound boring to me in the slightest. But then, I’m a happily middle-aged librarian whose life partner is a slightly older librarian, so unsurprisingly I know and like a lot of people who are rabid birdwatchers and as a rabid bookworm I’m happy in my life choices …

If you like crime novels with real puzzles at their core, realistic self-deprecating main characters, and cocktails, A Murder in Eight Cocktails should go to the top of your TBR when it comes out in March.

It is, quite simply, marvellous.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Murder in Eight Cocktails is exactly the kind of mystery you want to curl up with on a lazy weekend—bubbly, clever, and full of personality. Set in the sun‑kissed charm of Carmel‑by‑the‑Sea, the story follows Willa Keane, a fifty‑five‑year‑old influencer whose marriage is feeling a little… flat. What starts as a glamorous night out quickly spirals into chaos when the cocktail bar’s owner turns up dead and Willa finds herself caught between her bird‑obsessed husband and her charismatic ex.

The dynamic between Willa, Marty, and Paul is one of the book’s biggest delights. It’s messy in the most entertaining way, full of awkward moments, old sparks, and unexpected teamwork. Willa herself is a fantastic lead—sharp, funny, and determined, even when she’s in over her head.

The mystery is paced with a light touch, balancing humour with genuine intrigue. The seaside setting adds a breezy charm, and the cast of side characters feels lively and memorable, each one adding a splash of flavour to the investigation. The “suicide note” that doesn’t quite add up gives the plot just the right amount of tension, and watching Willa piece things together is thoroughly enjoyable.

If you love mysteries with wit, warmth, and a dash of romantic chaos, A Murder in Eight Cocktails is a delightful pick. It’s playful, engaging, and as Stacey Halls puts it—about as fun as murder gets.

With thanks to Kelly Mullen, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC

[Soozee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is that Willa Keane, a former interior designer, has retired and fancies herself as an 'influencer' for booze, particularly for people with one of those designer affectations. However, her life is in a rut - well off, lovely husband, but she craves excitement.

They go along to the opening of a cocktail bar, at which the owner dramatically dies, and Willa decides she is just the person to find his killer, particularly as the police think its suicide. Its astounding how inept the police are at looking at the clues and facts, and ridiculous how Willa, her husband and ex-husband, go about staking out suspects and following leads. The whole thing is totally unbelievable, but it makes for an entertaining read.

The plot itself is pretty risible and the ending just removes any remaining viability. The characters are very one dimensional and the interspersion of cocktail recipes just interrupts the flow of the story, although one can easily by-pass them.

Overall it wasn't really for me. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and Cornerstone for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[EmmaReadsCrime · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

Willa is a 55-year-old influencer in the ASMR niche. Her content involves relaxing her followers using the sounds of cocktail making. She is invited to the opening of a new bar, where the owner k*lls himself. It’s ruled a suicide, but Willa is convinced that he was murdered and sets out to investigate for herself.

Throughout the book, there are cocktail recipes included. The idea is that you make the cocktails when you come across them in the book and drink them while reading. I didn’t do this, but I thought it was a fun idea. It would be a great book to read on a weekend away with friends while making the cocktails.

Willa was a likeable character, and the story as a whole was very easy to read. Alongside Willa, the other main characters were her husband, Marty, and her ex-husband, Paul. I thought the dynamics were unusual, but it worked, and I liked how their relationships developed.

It didn’t blow my socks off, but I did think this was a fun and enjoyable read!

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky murder mystery based in and around Carmel, California centres on the life of a slightly bored, retired mother who spends her time recording ASMR reels of cocktail making.
The mystery is the suicide or possible murder of an aquavit aficionado, and our heroine becomes obsessed with solving the crime, assisted by her birdwatching, routine-focussed husband and her charismatic, spontaneous ex-husband. Yep quite a unique storyline.
Cocktail recipes are peppered throughout the book for those lovers of mixology.
I thought it was ok and a quick read, but got frustrated with continuous “winking” and the ASMR-fest.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

[Jade Doodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing more fun in a book then amateur sleuths getting involved with things they absolutely shouldn’t. This book brought all the things you’d expect, twists, mystery, great characters and an interesting storyline. A nice, easy read!

[M.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4.

The concept, while intriguing, doesn't quite work. And it is distinctly lacking in the humour element.