Title: A Muddied Murder
Author: Wendy Tyson
Publisher: Henery Press
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Pages: 276
Book Source: Trade Paperback
Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family’s organic farm and café, she expects to find peace and tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, Pennsylvania. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family’s Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings.
Just when she thinks she’s reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town’s hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner’s battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation—and she’s the chief suspect. Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances in time to find a killer before that killer strikes again?
My Review:
There is so much to love about this new cozy series. It was the perfect time for me to read this, since Spring is trying to let itself be known here in Wisconsin. I am looking forward to the farmer’s markets in the area, as well as the pizza farm we try to go to at least once a month in the summer. And I was super excited when it was mentioned in the book that they might try to make their farm into a pizza farm in the future. I know they are just characters in a book, but I quickly fell in love with the community, and want the farm/shop to succeed!
While the mystery was done very well, and part of it even had me guessing until the end, it was the characters that make this book so amazing. Megan has the perfect amount of tenaciousness about her, and the way she loves/cares for her farm, friends, and family is wonderful.
Then the romantic lead, who is hot, Scottish, and a veterinarian…. What more could a woman (or man) ask for! I really appreciated that although Megan is a widow, she isn’t full of angst when meeting and falling for Denver. There was barely any will they/won’t they, which was so refreshing. I’ve had to stop reading books/series because I couldn’t handle all the guilt that one or both of the romantic leads were feeling.
There is also Megan’s grandma, Bibi, who is a farmer through and through. Her body may be slowing down a bit, but her mind is still sharp, and she is full of useful knowledge. We also get to meet various townspeople, which Wendy Tyson does great character development in a short amount of time.
I’m looking forward to getting to know the characters even more, and seeing if Tyson can write more mysteries that have me guessing until the end.