Mulch Ado About Murder
Spring in Westbury, Massachusetts, has been unusual, hot, muggy, and hard to take. Organic farmer Cam Flaherty needs rain desperately, but instead of rainstorms, she gets murder.
Spring has not been great for Cam, and her parent’s sudden unexpected visit throws her for a loop. When her mother joins a group of locals to protest the newest business owner’s methods of soilless hydroponic growing, it is almost too much for Cam to handle. When Cam finds Nicole dead in a vat of hydroponic slurry—clutching a set of rosary beads—her boyfriend Detective Pete Pappas has a new murder to solve, and Cam’s mother is a prime suspect. Clearing her mother of any suspicion is Cam’s primary focus, and with the help of her father, she sets out to find the killer.
Series: A Local Foods Mystery – Book 5
Author: Edith Maxwell
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Garden
Publisher: Kensington Books
Rating:
Cam’s dad is a joy to read about. He is unassuming, calm, and restrained. Even when his wife is accused of murder, he remains a calming presence. For the first time in her adult life, Cam realizes that she genuinely loves her father and mother and doesn’t want to lose them.
All of the characters in this story are hard-working, happy people that you might meet in any small farming community. They are, for the most part, regular, average citizens who enjoy small-town life where entertainment is homegrown.
Cam is a troubled hard-working young woman who doesn’t think her parents care about her or want her in their life, so she stays away from them. However, their unexpected visit helps her understand them better and love them more. She can see them in a different light than when she was younger and is making headway, getting them to be a bit more affectionate with her and talking to her. The scene when her mother finally opens up and tells Cam about her fears and the past brings pure joy and makes the reader love Cam’s mother.
This book is written in a delightfully simple manner; it has some twists and turns that keep you guessing as to the identity of the killer. It is well-written and a quick read. The characters are believable and interesting. Westbury, Massachusetts, is the type of town you can find almost anywhere in America and will love reading about the culture. Ms. Maxwell has crafted a wonderfully delightful mystery that any cozy reader will enjoy. This series is highly recommended.
About the Author
Edith Maxwell has always been a writer. She made her living writing technical documentation in the software industry, wrote features and essays as a free-lance journalist, edited medical texts, and produced several published articles and a doctoral dissertation in the field of linguistics. And before that, she wrote fiction and news articles, with her first paid published story appearing at age 9. Creating fiction, long and short, is what makes her happiest (although she wrote a prose poem about her late father that she’s rather proud of).
She is active in Sisters in Crime and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a long-time member of the Society of Friends (Quaker), and the recent past Clerk of Amesbury Friends Meeting. Her art story was featured in the National Endowment for the Arts 50th anniversary celebration.
As a former organic farmer, Edith knows the language and tensions of someone like Cam Flaherty, the farmer in the Local Foods mysteries. Edith lived in southern Indiana for five years and loved the slow pace and language of its natives, so it made sense to set the Country Store Mysteries there. She taught independent childbirth classes and worked as a doula for some years, giving her insight into the life of a historical midwife as portrayed in the Quaker Midwife Mysteries. And her new Cozy Capers Book Group series comes straight out of both her imagination and several solo writing retreats on Cape Cod.
Edith lives in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but is originally a fourth-generation Californian. She has two grown sons and lives in an antique house with her beau and their two cats.
Contact Edith: edithmaxwellauthor@gmail.com
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