Farm to Trouble (Farm to Table Mysteries, #1)

by Amanda Flower

First in a new cozy mystery series from USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower!
Coming home to a run-down farm, gossipy neighbors, and a shady investor is a lot to handle… but a murderer on the loose is the final straw!
Shiloh Bellamy cashed in her big city job and 401K to return home to Michigan to save the family farm, but turning Bellamy Farms into a sustainable, organic operation—complete with a farm-to-table café—is no small feat. Especially when her new investor is found dead among the flowers just hours after the contract is signed. Everyone knows her father had a grudge against the investor, and word travels fast in a small town...
Now, Shiloh must clear her family's name and track down the real killer before her organic farm dreams wilt before her very eyes. But with her father trying to stop any progress on his land, her cousin belittling her every effort, the farmhouse falling down around her, and the whole town believing her family at fault, Shiloh's small town troubles are growing much faster than her crops. She'll have to trust her own investigation or risk all her dreams drying up before they begin.
In the farmer's market for a new cozy mystery? Farm to Trouble is:Perfect for readers of Kate Carlisle, Sheila Connolly, and Eva GatesFor fans of small-town fiction and amateur sleuthsFrom a USA Today bestselling author comes Farm to Trouble, a fresh new cozy mystery! When Shiloh Bellamy gives up her corporate life to revamp her family farm back home in Michigan, she gets more than she bargained for. With one person dead and the whole town against her, this amateur sleuth will have to crack the case—and get the farm up and running—before her goose is cooked!

• ISBN10: 1492699918
• ISBN13: 9781492699910
• Publish Date: 23 March 2021 (first published 1 March 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Poisoned Pen Press
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Farm to Trouble is the first book in a new series by prolific author Amanda Flower. Released 23rd Feb 2021 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 288 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I'm a huge sucker for cozies. Bonus points for pets (cats or dogs, I'm not picky), baked goods, knitting, book clubs, and I don't mind the occasional obligatory hunky sheriff/detective love interest. This book ticked a lot of boxes for me. Underdog heroine/amateur sleuth lead character moves back to her small-town home from "the big city", complicated history with the local hunky lawman, an adorable pug sidekick (awww), and a few other appealing plot features which might be a little standard, but that's why we devour cozy mysteries.

This one is pretty well written, with good characterizations and pacing. The book's written in first person point of view which could have been a little distracting, but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment - the author is quite adept at her craft. There are a scant few places where the dialogue was a bit rough, but again, nothing that killed my suspension of disbelief or lessened my enjoyment.

The language is clean, the crimes are (mostly) bloodless, and there's a romance subplot but nothing sexually graphic. There are some minor plot elements leading to the next book, but no major cliffhangers. It's a safe and fun read.

Four stars. Recommended for cozy mystery lovers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.