Bran New Death (Merry Muffin Mystery, #1)

by Victoria Hamilton

[Mystereity Reviews]

Bran New Death I started this a year or 2 ago and at the time, just didn't get into it.  There's a fair amount of back story that's dumped into the first chapter or 2 of the book and I think it turned me off.  Fast forward to now when I decided to clean out my Kindle of all the books I've started and not finished.  A sink-or-swim clean out, if you will.  Either I could get into it or I wasn't ever going to.
 
Merry Wynters at a crossroads in her life when her job falls apart in New York City, heads upstate (to my former neck of the woods, actualy) to figure out what it will take to sell the castle she inherited from her great uncle.  She finds a small village inhabited by eccentric townspeople harboring many secrets.  When a man is found dead on her property, Merry sets out to solve his murder and the mystery behind her great uncle's death.
 
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The main character, Merry, is likeable and easy to relate to and a good plot that lagged in a spot or 2, but was well paced and enjoyable.  I had it figured out pretty early, but there were a few aspects that surprised me. But the one thing that made me stick with this book is that it didn't fall into the usual trap of the MC finding a body and the local hick cop hauls her in, despite no evidence..  Because that's not how it works, folks.
 
Although, I had to take off a half a star for a small, but significant error:  the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) doesn't give a shit how much you deposit in a bank account.  But the IRS and the Treasury Department sure do.  
 
A great read, and can't wait to start the next one.