{Release Day Review} The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz (@TiffanyReisz @HarlequinBooks)

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.

​The second that Paris sat elegantly at The Rickhouse bar, her plan was in motion.  She was going to seduce the owner, Cooper McQueen and steal one of his most treasured possessions – the last known bottle of Red Thread bourbon.
 
But even the best-laid plans go awry and Paris finds herself caught in the act.  To save herself from the police, she regales Cooper with a tale of deception and revenge that will shock even the most jaded of bourbon barons.

“Must be one hell of a story, then.”

“It’s what brought me here, the story.”

“Your story?”

“My story. I inherited it.”

“I think I’d rather inherit money than a story.”

“I have that, too, not entirely by my choice.”

“You don’t want to be rich?”
​
“God favors the poor. But don’t tell rich people that. It’ll hurt their little feelings.”

​The story of Tamara Maddox isn’t for the faint of heart.  It’s about an iron-willed seventeen-year-old girl who is the victim of circumstance.  Being the last of the Maddox line, it falls on her to keep the family alive – and falling in love with the beautiful boy that works in the stables is far from acceptable.
 
Levi Shelby was destined to be hers.  Just like Red Thread.  But the more she learns of its history and the sins committed by her family to ensure its bloodline, she makes a promise that it will all end with her.

“Please... I’m begging you,” McQueen said, leaning forward and holding his hands open in supplication. “Tell me what happened to Tamara. Did she die?”

​“We all die. Side effect of being born.”

​The Bourbon Thief is one seriously compelling departure for Tiffany Reisz! She once again completely ensnares the reader with her absolute mastery of one-of-a-kind characters and whip smart dialog.  The story itself is both haunting and grotesque in a way that only she can make alluring - and it delivers a startling punch.
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As potent as the liquor itself, this book is a little taste of twisted heaven…

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