A Muddied Murder
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
“Tyson grows a delicious debut mystery as smart farmer-sleuth Megan Sawyer tills the dirt on local secrets after a body turns up in her barn. You won’t want to put down this tasty harvest of a story.” – Edith Maxwell, Agatha-Nominated Author of Murder Most Fowl
When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family’s organic farm and café, she expects to find peace and tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, Pennsylvania. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family’s Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings.
Just when she thinks she’s reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town’s hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner’s battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation—and she’s the chief suspect. Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances in time to find a killer before that killer strikes again?
Related subjects include: women sleuths, cozy mysteries, amateur sleuth books, murder mysteries, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations.
Books in the Greenhouse Mystery Series:
• A MUDDIED MURDER (#1)
• BITTER HARVEST (#2) Spring 2017
Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all…
Author Bio:
Wendy Tyson’s background in law and psychology has provided inspiration for her mysteries and thrillers. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Wendy has returned to her roots and lives there again on a micro-farm with her husband, three sons and three dogs. Wendy’s short fiction has appeared in literary journals, and she’s a contributing editor and columnist for The Big Thrill and The Thrill Begins, International Thriller Writers’ online magazines. Wendy is the author of the Allison Campbell Mystery Series and the Greenhouse Mystery Series.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This pleasant first in a new cozy series from Tyson (Deadly Assets) introduces former-lawyer-turned-organic-farmer Megan Sawyer, who has returned to her hometown of Winsome, Pa., to run the family farm, Washington Acres. Megan is baffled by the refusal of zoning commissioner Simon Duvall to grant the permits she needs to finish the renovations for her long-planned organic cafe, but before Megan can challenge him, she and local veterinarian Daniel "Denver" Finn find Simon's bludgeoned body in her barn. Her years as a lawyer have given Megan the skills to do her own digging, and she discovers that she's not the only one in town with a painful past and long-buried family secrets. Tyson gives us an evocative sense of place, a bit of romance, and dimensional characters with interesting backstories. Readers are left looking forward to the next book in the series and hankering for organic mushroom tartlets.
Customer Reviews
A Muddied Murder
Megan Sawyer left her job as a lawyer in the city to go back to her family home to help her grandmother, Bibi. Her plan was to get the farm going again and open a store and café where she'd use things grown on her family's organic farm. The Zoning Commissioner, Simon Duvall kept failing every inspection and holding up her permits preventing her from opening. Lots of other things went wrong for her like too much rain and her goats getting out. Those things she could handle but the permits she couldn't. When Simon was found dead in her barn she's the prime suspect. Megan took on the job of finding out who really killed him.
This cozy mystery was easy to read and a very enjoyable story to get lost in. Even with the detailed descriptions of Megan's farm and business slowing it down a bit, I liked this story. The characters in this small town were very likeable and several had unusual backgrounds. Then there were the dogs and pygmy goats keeping things lively. Megan had a big but welcome change in both her profession and accommodation but she handled everything well. Even when she was suspected of murder she kept going. The only time I found her annoying was when she went out - to the barn or check something outside - when there was a murderer on the loose. That seemed pretty foolish to me. And she was wonderful to her grandmother. I loved Bibi!
It did have a pretty exciting ending and I was surprised when I found out who the bad guys were.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.