Put Out to Pasture
Shiloh Bellamy has saved her family’s farm from financial ruin, but now what? She’s barely scraping by on the farm’s new organic business model, and the fall festival she organized to drum up business comes to a screeching halt when the body of a prominent townswoman is discovered underneath a scarecrow in a nearby field. Worst of all, the evidence points to Shiloh’s childhood best friend, Kristy, as the prime suspect.
Between cooking up delicious treats made with her farm’s produce, convincing her cantankerous father to let her do things her way, and dealing with a newcomer in town who could be serious competition for her customers, Shiloh doesn’t have time to wade into a murder investigation. But with a killer on the loose and suspicious activity circling closer and closer to Shiloh and the people she loves, she realizes there’s nothing to do but roll up her sleeves and get down to the dirty work of finding the killer and clearing Kristy’s name once and for all.
The Details
Series: Farm to Table Mysteries – Book #2
Author: Amanda Flower
Genre/Category: Cozy – Business/Culinary
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 1492699942
Page Count: 312
Rating: 
The Review
Amanda Flower is one of my favorite authors, and most of her books are fun and entertaining. Unfortunately, this one isn’t grabbing my attention the way the others have. Put Out to Pasture is only the second book in this new series, and it is better than the first, yet I still do not find that I like Shiloh very much. The organic farm idea is delightful, and I like that Shiloh gets some competition and has to work hard to maintain her composure; it gave her depth she didn’t have previously. But… that is not enough for me to give this book a higher rating.
Shiloh is trying to save her family’s farm by growing organic produce and selling her concoctions in her cafe. It’s working, but her head is still financially underwater. Her father is not helping, and her friends have their own problems. Drumming up business isn’t easy, so Shiloh decides to have a fall festival to bring people to the farm and introduce them to the wonders of organic growing and food. But everything comes to a screeching halt when the body of a local busybody/bully turns up under a scarecrow at the festival. Worse yet, Shiloh’s friend is accused of strangling the old woman; it’s up to Shiloh to solve the case.
Most of the characters in this book have some attractive characteristics, the suspects, and there are a lot of them, all have great motives and opportunities. Unfortunately, there is not enough information or interaction with the killer, making it hard to accept the killer as the real culprit. A few red herrings sprinkled throughout the story will help readers come to a conclusion but not necessarily the correct one. The organic farm and cafe are a lovely location and occupation for the main character and are original enough to keep readers happy. However, the police investigation was not what it should have been and is almost an afterthought. The reveal of the murderer and the motive was easy to see coming but didn’t seem to be well thought out or executed with Ms. Flower’s usual flare.
I hope the organic farm and cafe succeed, and Shiloh gets a better personality, one hopefully where she doesn’t jump to wrong conclusions all the time. Overall, Put Out to Pasture is an okay book, and does leave the door open for future installments that hopefully will give readers more of what they are used to from this author.
The Author
Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over twenty-five cozy mystery novels. She started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth-grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. In addition to being an author, Amanda is a former librarian with fifteen years of experience in Northeast Ohio.
More books from this author readers will enjoy include Marriage Can Be Mischief from the “An Amish Matchmaker Mystery” series or from the “A Magic Garden Mystery” series, Mums and Mayhem.
Represented by: The Seymour Agency
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