Karen MacInerney has a Triple Hit with her Dewberry Farm Mysteries

Book 1 in the series! And I loved this series from the first paragraph! "I've always heard it's no use crying over spilled milk. But after three days of attempting to milk Blossom the cow (formerly Heifer #82), only to have her deliver a well-timed kick that deposited the entire contents of my bucket on the stall floor, it was hard not to feel a few tears of frustration forming in the corners of my eyes." So much feeling in that short opening paragraph. And the story is off and running from there.

You quickly meet the heroine of the story, Lucy Resnick who went from Investigative Reporter for the Houston Chronical to Homesteading the farm that had been formerly owned by her Grandparents and she bought back 6 months before the start of the story.

Between finding out the woman who sold her the farm had kept the mineral rights and was planning to drill for oil and then finding the same woman dead at the Founder's Day festival Lucy is not having a great start to farm life. Add to that the town Sheriff who is related to the dead woman accusing her of the murder and Lucy has to put her Investigative Reporter skills to good work and discover the real murderer before she ends up in jail.

I love every twist and turn in this book. The escapee cow, the hunky Veterinarian who helps her and her friends who back her up. this book is fun and fast paced. I honestly was surprised at who the true killer turns out to be. Normally I have it figured by the 3rd chapter, but this one kept me guessing.  

From there, I have fast jumped into book two and there is another murder and this time her best friend is being accused. Of course the Sheriff who is totally self centered, pig headed and prejudiced refuses to see the reality and Lucy has to jump in and find the real culprit once again! Things are heating up with Dr Tobias Brandt, the local Veterinarian. And Lucy's parents come to visit for the holidays. It's a stressful time yet Lucy pulls it all off with aplomb! (Note, she references the Hill Country Lavender Farm, which got me giggling. The woman who started that beautiful farm outside of Austin with her husband was a friend of mine when I was a little girl. Jeannie Ralston wrote about the experience in her book, "The Unlikely Lavender Queen".)

My reason for reading books one and two so quick was "Deadly Brew" was coming this week and I had to catch up! And book 3 sure did not disappoint me at all! Karen MacInerney sure hit a trifecta of great intrigue, new characters and not just the murders but a mystery animal mauling and killing livestock. Add in an exotic animal farm with shady owners and a Honey Mead Brewery all before Halloween and once again you have a recipe for murder and a bit of mayhem.

Karen MacInerney Author of Dewberry Farm Mysteries