Title: Peaches and Scream
Author: Susan Furlong
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Pages: 290
Book Source: Paperback

To help run the family peach farm during her parents’ absence, Nola Harper returns to her childhood home of Cays Mill, Georgia, and soon discovers that things back at the farm aren’t exactly peachy. A poor harvest and rising costs are threatening to ruin the Harpers’ livelihood, and small-town gossip is spreading like blight thanks to Nola’s juicy reputation as a wild teenager way back when. But Nola really finds herself in the pits when she stumbles upon a local businessman murdered among the peach trees.

With suspicions and family tensions heating up faster than a cobbler in the oven, this sweet Georgia peach will have to prune through a list of murder suspects—before she too becomes ripe for the killer’s picking…

My Review:

If you’ve read some of my previous books reviews, you may know that I think I was supposed to be a Southern Belle, and (although I’ve never been there) I just know Georgia will feel like I’ve finally arrived home. So when I found out that this cozy series takes place in Georgia, I was very excited.

There are actually two mysteries in this book. The first one is in regards to why Nola left town so many years ago. This one didn’t take me too long to figure out, but the mystery as to who the killer was, took me a bit longer. Susan Furlong does a wonderful job leaving red herrings and giving us lots of likely suspects.

Although I read a lot of food cozies, I rarely look at the recipes at the end. But the food descriptions were so delicious that I did. And I might actually try to make the peach jam. Since it’s cold here in Wisconsin, I could see this little taste of sunshine warming me up a bit.

Furlong gives the characters lots of dimensions, so I quickly felt as if I was part of their world. It was wonderful to read about a community who comes together and helps out anyway they can. Whether it’s by bringing food over when your brother-in-law is in jail or helping to put on a roof.

I’m really looking forward to my next visit to Cays Mill, and the second book in this series, Rest in Peach.