Bourbon Tour Mystery Books in Order

The Bourbon Tour Mystery series trades Amish country and Southern bayous for Kentucky’s rolling hills and distillery tours. At its heart is Jill Curtis, a travel writer whose assignments in Bourbon Country keep turning into murder investigations.

In One for the Road, Jill is sent to Kentucky to find out why thousands of tourists flock to the state’s bourbon trails every year. She takes a room at a bed-and-breakfast run by estranged relatives and begins touring historic distilleries with her videographer friend, Michael Erickson. What should have been a straightforward feature on hospitality and heritage derails when Jill literally stumbles over a body at a distillery. Suddenly she is both a key witness and a suspect in a killing tied to a long-standing feud between two bourbon-making families.

Jill’s curiosity and training as a journalist make it impossible for her to stay on the sidelines. As she digs into rivalries, old romances, and the economics of premium whiskey, she also navigates a promising new relationship with state trooper Nick Atkins. The case forces her to decide how far she is willing to push for the truth when doing so might cost her the job she loves or the trust of her newly rediscovered relatives.(target.com)

In 100 Proof Murder, Jill’s bourbon-tour series of articles continues in Louisville. She looks forward to combining work—tours of major distilleries—with personal time, since Nick is now based in the city. The trip takes a dark turn when the master distiller at Parker’s Distillery dies suddenly the night before Jill’s scheduled visit. His daughter, Alexis, suspects foul play despite the official ruling of a heart attack and turns to Jill for help.

Teaming again with Michael and drawing on Nick’s investigative instincts, Jill is soon caught up in a maze of family resentments, inheritance tensions, and corporate competition within the bourbon industry. The more she learns, the more it seems that someone was willing to kill to protect a legacy brand or to claim a share of it.(barnesandnoble.com)

Across the series, Ellis uses tasting rooms, rickhouses, and small-town festivals as backdrop for her puzzles. The tone leans cozy: violence happens off the page, relationships matter, and food and drink details are part of the charm. Yet the stakes feel real for characters whose livelihoods and families are bound up with a product that is both a source of pride and a point of contention.

Readers who enjoy amateur sleuths, regional travel, and mysteries laced with just enough romance will find the Bourbon Tour books an inviting escape into a very specific corner of American culture.