rabck from booklady331; Light mystery set in a Milwaukee bar, Mack is a bar owner who finds a dead body by her dumpster. It's just 10 months after Dad's death and the body is his girlfriend, Ginni. And all the evidence points to Mack, although her regulars are suspects too. The detective on the case, Duncan Albright, agrees to let her keep the bar open during the investigation, as long as he can keep an eye on her. So she "hires" him to be a bartender, and it turns out that he's good at it, entertaining and can find out lots of things by chatting up the customers. The audio version has him speaking with a lovely Scottish burr, and of course, Mack didn't kill Ginni, because she stars in several more books in the series. ( )

This was a fun book and introduction to the Mack's Bar series. Mackenzie "Mack" owns the bar she inherited after her father's murder a few months earlier. Matters become even more complicated when she finds a dead body in the alley behind the bar, and the victim is her father's former girlfriend.

Mack's life has not been an easy one. Her mother was involved in an accident when she was pregnant with Mack and kept alive until Mack's birth. The trauma inflicted on Mack left her with a neurological disorder called synesthesia. This condition causes short circuits or crossed wires in her senses so that she sees smells, tastes sounds, smells colors, etc. It is something she's learned to live with, but it can be overwhelming in times of stress. Since her father's death, several problems have caused Mack to lose money, putting her in a difficult financial situation.

Duncan Albright is the lead detective on the murder case. He is intrigued by Mack's condition and suspects that it could help solve Ginny's murder. Because many of the leads point to Mack as the chief suspect in the murder, he needs to keep an eye on her. But she is not the only suspect, as any of her employees or patrons also had motive, means, and opportunity. He believes there is a link between her father's and Ginny's murders. Duncan talks Mack into letting him go undercover as a bartender so he can observe and investigate. The only drawback is the attraction that flares between them and distracts them from their goal.

The employees and patrons of the bar are a diverse and quirky group. Their personalities are well-drawn and varied enough to keep them straight. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing where each fell on the list of suspects. Most of them have known Mack for a long time and don't believe she is guilty. I loved seeing them come together to clear her name and their own.

I also liked the inclusion of the history of Milwaukee and Al Capone. It added a little uniqueness to the setting, which otherwise could have been any city. Mack's discovery of her father's interest in Capone caused her to wonder if there was a connection between that interest and his murder.

I loved following the investigation. It was a little surprising that Duncan shared so much information with Mack since she was a primary suspect in the murder. However, his instincts tell him that she is innocent. There is another person that moves up the list when secrets about his life come to light, but I felt that he was a little too obvious to be a real contender. The tension continued to build as Duncan tried to narrow down the suspect list, and Mack attempted to sort out her synesthetic reactions to the clues they found. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Mack stumbled on a secret room and the murderer. I was on the edge of my seat as Mack fought for her life. While the culprit was not a surprise, the motivations were interesting.

I liked Duncan's proposed partnership with Mack as a "consultant" on future cases. I'm looking forward to more time spent at Mack's, intriguing cases, and perhaps more about the chemistry between Mack and Duncan. ( )

Mackenzie has inherited the Milwaukee bar from her father, who was murdered ten months ago. Now she discovers a body in the alley behind the bar. To make life more interesting, she has Synaesthesia, a neurological disorder that 'confuses' the senses - she'll see things she smells, smell things she hears... and so on. Was a nice addition to the mystery.

Some wonderful characters in the bar employees and regular customers. I did guess at the bad guy early on, but it didn't make the story any less interesting as it unfolded.

Bonus for me personally was that I am familiar with the general area of Milwaukee where the bar is located (and miss those types of neighborhood bars!) The romance part of the story doesn't overtake the mystery.

I've put the second in the series on my 'want to read' list, but will probably hope for a price deal. ( )

I was a little skeptical about this book at first, but Mack's synthesthesia kept me reading. The book was quite interesting, as it turns out, and I definitely want to read the next book to see what crime the Capone Club solves next. ( )

4.5 stars. Excellent start to a series that could be a lot of fun. That half star? Only because I'm not a huge fan of the bar setting - it brings to mind that nasty, dingy atmosphere that smells like beer, smoke, and the sickly sweet smell of drunks. Blech.

BUT, one can see the potential in such a setting and Ms. Abbott does an excellent job building her little world-within-the-bar with likeable, engaging characters. And I genuinely love the twist of Mack's neurological condition: synesthesia, the condition where the afflicted's senses are cross-wired so they can taste sounds, or see smells, for instance. It's rare to stumble across a new idea in cozy mysteries, and this is definitely a new idea - I can't wait to see what the author is going to do with this in future books.

The plot combined the un-solved case of her father's murder with the more recent dead body Mack finds behind the bar. I love how it ended and that's all I can say without giving anything away. The tie-in with Capone legends was great fun! I must admit I had it down to two suspects and the one I favoured was the killer at the end, but honestly, guessing right did not diminish this book for me one little bit. I did not want to put this book down until it was done, and then I wanted to read more.

An engaging, fast-paced, well-written book that wasn't ever bogged down by internal dialogue rambles, "let's make a list of the suspects" or any of those other filler-devices so many author's use lately. I found it a genuine joy to read and I'll be eagerly awaiting the second book. ( )