Kristina A. reviewed on 10/24/2016 + 1528 more book reviews

Fatal Frost by Karen MacInerney is the second book in A Dewberry Farm Mystery series. It is mid-December in Buttercup, Texas. Lucy Resnick (who owns Dewberry Farm) is soundly asleep until her dog, Chuck (a cute little apricot poodle) starts barking. Lucy gets up to investigate and sees a shadowy figure outside near the river. Lucy leaves Chuck inside (not a good idea) and heads outside the investigate. Lucy notices holes in the ground before she is hit hard on the head and knocked unconscious. Lucy wakes up quite a while later with a big bump on her head. Someone is definitely digging on her property and they damaged her peach trees and the dewberry patch. Someone is looking for hidden Confederate treasure. Evidently the old treasure story has been resurrected. Lucy then receives a call from Quinn, friend and owner of the Blue Onion. Krystal Jenkins did not show up for work (she wants Lucy to come in and help). Unfortunately for Quinn, Lucy has other plans. Lucy is heading to Peter's house to pick up her new goats, Hot Lips and Gidget (can you imagine calling a goat Hot Lips). While loading up the goats, they smell smoke. A small white house nearby is on fire. They hurry over to the house and Peter (a volunteer firefighter) rushes in. He brings out a woman and a small dog. The woman, unfortunately, is dead, but not from the fire (I bet you can guess the woman's identity). The woman is Krystal Jenkins. Krystal recently had a very public fight with Lucy's friend, Molly Kramer at the Blue Onion. Krystal recruited Molly's daughter, Britt for this strange Church that started nearby called Word of the Lord. They are against the commercialization of Christmas and protested the Christmas Market. Sheriff Rooster Kocurek feels that makes Molly the number one suspect (he is not known for his work ethic). Lucy is not going to let her friend get railroaded. Lucy starts looking into Krystal's life in Buttercup. But someone does not want Lucy discovering the truth. Will Lucy be able to find the real killer? Lucy's plate is very full this December. She needs to find a killer, deal with her new goats who have a knack for escaping, her parents are visiting, her truck is acting up, and let's not forget the rogue treasure hunter. Join Lucy and her friends in Fatal Frost.

Fatal Frost was an easy to read novel with interesting characters. I enjoyed following the clues to solve the mystery. The mystery can be solved before the killer is revealed if you pay close attention (you should be able to know who it is after the person is introduced). I did think that there was too much going on in the book. I did not mention everything in my synopsis (there is much more). There was just one thing after another including escaping goats and poison pen letters. Fatal Frost is the second book in the series, but you can easily read it as a stand-alone novel. I give Fatal Frost 4 out of 5 stars. I liked the paranormal element and wished there had been more of it in the book. While I did think there was too much going on, I am curious to see what happens next with Lucy.

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