I was much too young to have real memories of life on our family's farm but it did bring back some memories of old photos of me in a diaper feeding a bottle to a lamb and looking terrified while surrounded by chickens in another. Even with those vague memories, I felt a tug of recognition in Shiloh Bellamy's dedication to her family's farm. While I can't imagine doing the work she is required to do with minimal help, I could respect her efforts and courage, not to mention her energy. Faced with a mystery, the murder of a woman with an unlawful past, and that initial evidence seems to point to her best friend as the murderer, Shiloh adds saving her friend from arrest to her to-do list.
The plot moves along nicely, albeit interrupted by episodes of farm life and chores that give you a feel for the setting. In addition, the characters are colorful and could be our own neighbors, even the cranky ones. I even felt a pang of sadness for the seemingly unlikable victim near the end. Good writers have a way of doing that. Amanda Flower has a real feel for small town and farm life, making these characters and the setting come alive for us. The addition of a new neighbor adds promise, too, and not just because he is male model gorgeous and seems too good to be true. He shares Shiloh's dream of turning his newly purchased farm into an organic one, too. Hmm, dang, can't wait to see how this plays out in future books. Of course, there is steady, handsome Quinn, too, although Shiloh seems almost too busy to think of romance for more than a few fleeting seconds here and there.
Bottom line, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, What's extra nice is that I can revisit the dream farm of my toddler days without having to ponder doing any of the work. An intriguing mystery that kept me guessing until the very end, characters I'd like to call friends, and no farm chores. Yep, that's a win for us as readers.
Thank you #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the ARC.
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