Blurb:

From the internationally celebrated author of the Original Sinners series comes a brand-new tale of betrayal, revenge and a family scandal that bore a 150-year-old mystery

When Cooper McQueen wakes up from a night with a beautiful stranger, it’s to discover he’s been robbed. The only item stolen—a million-dollar bottle of bourbon. The thief, a mysterious woman named Paris, claims the bottle is rightfully hers. After all, the label itself says it’s property of the Maddox family who owned and operated Red Thread Bourbon distillery since the last days of the Civil War until the company went out of business for reasons no one knows… No one except Paris.

In the small hours of a Louisville morning, Paris unspools the lurid tale of Tamara Maddox, heiress to the distillery that became an empire. But the family tree is rooted in tainted soil and has borne rotten fruit. Theirs is a legacy of wealth and power, but also of lies, secrets and sins of omission. The Maddoxes have bourbon in their blood—and blood in their bourbon. Why Paris wants the bottle of Red Thread remains a secret until the truth of her identity is at last revealed, and the century-old vengeance Tamara vowed against her family can finally be completed.

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Review:

My, my, my. This is a twisted tale that spans generations and tugs at the tangled kudzu that has a stranglehold on a knotty family tree; uncovering ugly secrets full of scandalous deceit that taps into its deepest roots.

The Bourbon Thief is a story within a story within a story, multiple stories woven together. All related in one way or another, and tied more tightly than you’d first expect. It’s the story of a story told in an effort to finally, hopefully, set the past to rest — and to rights — for the last time.

This is the story of the repercussions from life altering decisions made over a hundred years ago and how they affect the generations to come. The story of how wealth and power don’t buy immunity from revenge. The story of what happens when lies beget lies. When betrayal and secrets are swallowed down with two fingers of a well-aged bourbon.

The tale is intricate and dark and sweetened with witty the banter and innuendo for which Reisz has such talent. The characters are flawed, all endearing when the moment calls, but evil oozing from their pores with the taste for vengeance. Every bit of this is delivered with sly southern grace…only what you need when you need it, charming when necessary, any bitterness masked with a knowing smile and cool words to lure you in further. That’s just how we roll in the South and Tiffany nailed it.

I was hooked from the fist chapter all the way through to the end — as I’ve always been with Tiffany’s writing. Even with the blurb teasing me for months, this was way more than I expected. It’s not that I underestimate this author, I know better. It’s that she continually exceeds my already high expectations. And, if I believed in that sort of thing, I’d think Tiffany Reisz has channeled the spirit of V.C. Andrews in this latest novel.

This review also posted on GoodReads.