Whiskey with a murder chaser!

Big cities are known to be dangerous, but former New Yorker and bar owner Ricki Fontaine is finding the small town of Waterton, Ohio, is proving to be the murder capital of the world—well, at least her world. The new Top Shelf is open for business, but business as usual for Ricki and the Shelf translates to another dead guy.

Ricki’s friend, Ruby Fogarty, is charged with murdering her boyfriend by clubbing him to death with a bottle of whiskey. The police consider the case closed, but Ricki is convinced Ruby is innocent and sets out to find the real murderer.

Although Waterton police detective Gabriel Russell is crazy about Ricki, he isn’t too crazy about her trying to do his job. The killer’s not too happy about it either.

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New York and Hollywood come to the Top Shelf!

Ricki and the Top Shelf crew have worked for weeks preparing for the launch party for Logan Parker's book. Waterton is abuzz, not just about their very own newspaper editor writing what promises to be a bestseller, but also about the movie based on the book that might be filmed on location in Waterton. But when the location scout drinks from the wrong energy drink—well, nothing ruins a party like a dead body!

Ricki's not so sure the location scout was the intended victim, and Gabe's not so sure it's a murder. One thing he is sure of—he doesn't want Ricki investigating. You'd think he'd know by now that she never listens.

Murder and men! Sometimes Ricki wishes she’d stayed in New York.

When Daniel Fuller, a hotshot real estate developer, chases a double shot of bourbon at the Top Shelf with a double shot to the chest in the parking lot, the police arrest Trey Franklin, the grandson of Waterton’s only taxi driver, Mose Franklin.

It appears to be an open-and-shut case:

—Trey has motive. Daniel was evicting Mose after buying his delinquent mortgage under suspicious circumstances.

—Trey has opportunity. He left the Shelf just minutes before the murder.

—Trey has the means—or at least he might. The police determine a .38 was the murder weapon, and Mose’s .38 is missing.

Mose begs Ricki to prove his grandson’s innocence, and at first, she refuses. But after talking to Trey, she agrees and sets out to find the real killer.

That should be enough to keep Ricki busy, but she’s got more than a murder to solve. Gabriel Russell, the hunky detective who left town to think about their relationship, is back. He wants to pick up where they left off, but Logan Parker, owner/editor of the local paper, wants to fill the vacancy left by Gabe. That’s problem enough, but the real problem is that Ricki wants them both.

And then there’s that FBI agent…

Small town council meetings are usually boring, but not when Ricki and murder are involved!

When Waterton councilman and local pharmacist, Ralph Waites, takes a wrong turn after a council meeting and ends up face down in the Ohio River, the Waterton police at first think it was an accident. The meeting had been held in the newly renovated warehouse between the Top Shelf and the river to introduce the townspeople to what will become a town museum, craft shop, and meeting rooms. The Top Shelf catered the event, and Ricki and the victim got into a shouting match by the end of it. When the Waterton police chief starts accusing Ricki of contributing to Ralph's death by serving him too much wine, Ricki starts investigating. She soon finds the councilman/pharmacist was not the upstanding citizen he seemed to be.

Between playing host to her mother and stepfather, who have come to town to meddle in her love life, and investigating murder, Ricki is a busy woman. And that's not even counting the catering business she's trying to get off the ground.

It's almost enough to drive a bar owner to drink!

Nothing ruins a wedding reception like a pirate taking a dive off a third floor balcony!

Well, the best man dressed as a pirate—it’s Halloween, after all, and the wedding reception is a masquerade event. It's also the Top Shelf's first big catering job. Not exactly an auspicious beginning, but not surprising when Ricki is involved.

When the groom is arrested for the murder, the bride and her father beg Ricki to help prove his innocence, but Ricki soon finds more questions than answers. Is the groom as innocent as he seems? The bride and the best man used to be a couple. Could the groom have killed him either accidentally or on purpose? Would he have ruined his own wedding reception and missed his honeymoon in a fit of jealous rage?

Both men played football for their college, and both were headed for the pros. Was someone trying to coerce the victim into a point-shaving scheme and things got out of hand?

For that matter, who was the actual target? Just before the murder, the groom and best man switched costumes as a joke. Was the best man the intended victim or was it the groom?

And the biggest question of all—who was the killer clown?