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Book Review of No Farm, No Foul (Farmer's Daughter, Bk 1)

No Farm, No Foul (Farmer's Daughter, Bk 1)
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Dollycas's Thoughts

Shelby McDonald has a farm, ee-I-ee-I-o, and she also has a blog, The Farmer's Daughter, where she posts about her life along with recipes and gardening advice and tips and also about this murder investigation she finds herself in the middle of. I liked it because in a way it is like she is talking directly to us readers, but she scares me a bit because she shares way more than we bloggers are cautioned about, like her children and her suspicions regarding a murderer still on the loose. Thankfully the only murders I post about on my blog are fictional.

Shelby's hosts a church potluck/fundraiser on her Love Blossom Farm but as things are wrapping up she finds Prudence, the minister's wife dead. She quickly realizes there was a killer on her property and it could be someone she knows quite well. Many suspect seeds are planted in her mind by her own observations and things her friends have said. Will she by able to harvest the right one before someone else is pushing up carrots?

This is an outstanding start for this series.

Shelby comes across realistically dealing with her farm and the produce and products she sells. She is also dealing with 2 children, a adventurous boy and an about to be thirteen year old daughter whose favorite word is "fine". I remember those days and with 2 daughters I survived that phase twice. She is super friendly to everyone and has a lot going on in her life.

The Love Blossom Farm located just outside Lovett, Michigan sounds like a place I would not only love to visit but love to live. Years ago, it was a dream to live on a farm, not with cows or pigs etc. but growing fruits and veggies and having a few chickens with plenty of wide open spaces for children to play and dogs and cats to roam, much like Shelby's. It just never worked out for me so these fictional visits will have to do for me.

Peg Cochran also gives us a fruitful mystery where the suspects seem to be multiplying. Before she can eliminate one, something sends her mind toward a different person. There was one clue that stuck in my mind but I just couldn't seem to make it fit until Shelby and I shared that "a-ha moment".

This story was a delightful read. The mystery kept me guessing and the characters were fantastically written. Shelby being a blogger like me was a bonus. She recommends food and recipes and I review and recommend books that usually include food and recipes.