Peg CochranBesprekingen
Auteur van Berried Secrets
Besprekingen
Dead and Berried (A Cranberry Cove Mystery) door Peg Cochran
Any day, Monica and Greg are expecting their first child any day. She hopes it won’t be today as she and Greg head to the Cranberry Cove Inn to watch the 4th of July fireworks with Monica’s college roommate, Kelly, and her family.
Kelly’s family consists of elderly aunts Violet and Beatrice; Uncle Ray, who owns a newspaper; Sherry, his second wife; Aston, Violet’s grandson; and Edith, Violet’s companion. After the fireworks end, Violet has apparently fallen asleep, but instead, they find that she has died. It will be learned that Violet was injected with sumatriptan which can cause a heart attack in those with heart disease, which Violet had.
Monica, in her condition, the last thing she wants to do is get involved in an investigation. But still, she would like to provide Kelly’s family with closure quickly. Shortly after beginning her research, Monica realizes that almost all of the family have a reason for wanting Violet dead. Violet is very wealthy, and most of her relatives could use the money they might inherit.
Another mystery Monica solves comes to light when Monica and Greg visit their house under construction. Suddenly their dog, Hercule, takes off running. When they catch up with him, he’s pawing at the ground and uncovers the remains of a skeleton. Ms. Cochran skillfully ties this mystery to Violet and Beatrice.
I’m always looking forward to the next book in this excellent series. The book was well-written and plotted. The characters are well-developed and believable. I particularly enjoyed Janice and the “old wives she was always offered about pregnancy. The community of Cranberry Cove is well described, and I felt I was following the residents around. There were plenty of red herring that I was kept guessing until the end as to the identity of the killer.
A delicious-sounding recipe is also included in the book.
I’m looking forward to more books in this excellent series.
In Cranberry Cove the owner of the farm store is a baker and is married to the bookstore owner. They are planning to build a home on some land they own near the pond and are also expecting their first child imminently (and receiving a megaton of unwanted pregnancy folklore). The first death is of an
wealthy old woman who has lots of relatives with expectations. Then a skeleton is found near the pond. Excellent sleuthing! A great addition to a series that I really like!
I requested and received an EARC from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
An enjoyable mystery, introducing the characters to this new series. I would be interested to read how they develop, especially Elizabeth, who I found to be the least interesting of the main characters.
A NetGalley Book
An enjoyable cozy mystery though I did find the character of Kaminsky much more interesting then that Elizabeth, maybe she might improve once she removes herself from his family.
A NetGalley Book
An enjoyable cozy mystery though I still don't find Elizabeth that interesting.
A NetGalley Book
I like the setting and characters in this one. Book one started with cranberry harvest (very interesting) at Cranberry Cove - Lake Michigan. Good mystery and writing.
As a Wisconsinite used to cranberry bogs I was surprised to learn that western Michigan had them, too. This book gives an easy tutorial on cranberry growing and harvesting along with a good murder mystery. The local TV news diva comes out to the farm for a highlight but leaves in a body bag instead of a news truck. Monica can't help but sleuth while cooking up cranberry deserts. Loved it! And the recipes, too!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
I love cranberries. I buy a year's supply each fall when they appear in stores for the holiday season. I keep them in the freezer and put them into my morning protein shake almost every day. So when I saw a cozy series set on a cranberry farm, I had to read it! There are four books in the series.
I enjoyed Monica as a main character. She is intelligent and dedicated to helping her brother. Jeff is recovering from injuries sustained in Afghanistan and really does need her help. The one character I really didn't like....and that almost made me stop reading the book on more than one occasion....is the overbearing stepmother, Gina. I found the character just a bit too annoying. Gina did mellow out and became helpful when the mystery got rolling. That's what kept me reading when I wanted to jump into the book and tell her to shut up. Lord have mercy -- what an annoying character! lol
All in all, a nice start to a cozy series! Since this series is a relatively short one....just four books...I will definitely read the rest of the series. I liked the side theme of a cranberry farm....there was a lot of information on growing and harvesting cranberries sprinkled in with the mystery. I enjoyed it!
This is definitely a cozy mystery. No cursing, no sex, no graphic descriptions of murder victims. An enjoyable "clean'' read. On to book 2!
This is the first book by Peg Cochran that I've read. She has written several other cozy series including the Gourmet De-Lite series, Lucille Mysteries and a new series, Murder, She Reported.
The harvesting of the cranberry crop at Sassamanash Farm is in full swing. Monica is busy baking scones for their store when her future sister-in-law, Lauren, enters the kitchen. She informs Monica that the local television station will soon arrive to record a segment for their What’s Up West Michigan broadcast. Betsy Dejong heads for the cranberry bog to record the cranberries’ harvesting and then head to Monica’s store to record her retail area. Monica, much relieved that her spot is over, returns to the kitchen to resume her baking. Her brother Jeff comes bursting into the kitchen, informing Monica that he just found Betsy’s body near their drive. The police will soon zero in on Dan, one of Jeff’s workers who argued earlier with Betsy, as the prime suspect. But, Monica does not believe he is capable of murder and will begin investigating to clear his name.
Monica will soon find no shortage of suspects to check out. They include Betsy’s fiance, whose first wife died under suspicious circumstances, Jasmine, the photographer, the producer of the segment, and even Betsy’s sister will come under scrutiny.
I found the book well-written and plotted, with an exciting cast of believable, engaging, and well-developed characters. This book has a beautiful new addition, Hercule, an endearing dog that has adopted Monica and Greg.
There are also delicious-sounding recipes included with the book.
I’m looking very much looking forward to the next book in this exciting series.
But later on, her brother tells her to call 911 because he thinks Rick's assistant Lori Wenk is dead. When the police arrive, it's apparent from all of the bee stings on Lori's face that she died from them. Or is it? The police also discover an injection site on her -- and later find out she's been murdered. Now Monica wonders if Rick wanted to rid himself of the woman, who was clinging to him; or his wife Nora, who disliked her, too. Then she finds out more -- that Lori had a habit of trying to file sexual harassment suits when she was rebuffed; and also that she was disliked by several other people. But who wanted her dead? That's a question Monica needs the answer to, if she can get it before the killer finds her first...
This is the third book in the series and I would like to say that they're improving, but they're not. Still, at least they're holding their own, and I have hopes yet that they might improve along the way. The reason I say this is because when the murderer appears, it practically slaps you across the face. The motive for the murder was patently obvious also, without it even being explained toward the end of the book. I honestly couldn't understand why Monica didn't figure it out immediately, with everything the murderer was saying to cement their guilt.
Still, I kept reading since I was already involved in the story and wanted to see where the author was going to take it from there. But because of this, I found that it was of no matter whoever Monica thought the killer was, I already knew; and she never even went in that direction until it was almost too late (because we know she will be walking into danger sooner or later). Therefore, there wasn't much of a mystery for me, because I had already solved it and I just wanted to see what else the book had to offer.
I was surprised at a couple of developments - I really don't like the fact that Gina is being portrayed as man hungry, since at first she seemed to be devastated that she was dumped by her husband, but now she seems desperate to have a man in her life. Gina needs some self-esteem. She needs a therapist, and now.
Then there were a couple of other developments that seemed rushed, since this is only the third book, but it's fine and didn't bother me too much. It was basically the fact that I discovered the truth so early on that I just kept reading in order to finish the book, if for nothing else than to see the murderer explain their actions to Monica. In the end, it was an okay book, and I will probably continue reading the series anyway.
Cranberry Cove is experiencing bitter cold and heavy snowfall, but Monica and Greg are having a romantic evening curled up in front of their fireplace when there is knocking at their front door. When they answer the door, there is a lady who identifies herself as Dana and says that someone is trying to kill her. She relates that she has run her car off the road while trying to find her sister’s home. They all agree to wait until the morning after the roads have been plowed to help Dana find her sister’s home. The next morning Monica and Dana set out to find Dana’s sister. Soon Dana remembers enough that they can find the house. They receive no response when they knock on the door. Dana tries the door and finds it unlocked and they enter calling her sister’s name. Getting no response, they start searching the house and soon find her dead in her bed. The coroner is called and is in too much of a hurry to start his vacation and states she died of natural causes.
Dana doesn’t believe that the coroner’s decision is correct and asks Monica if she will help to find out how her sister really died and Monica quickly agrees to help. Monica soon learns that some of the sister’s pills are missing and that may have caused her to have a heart attack. She also learns that Dana’s brother has been trying to get his sister to see the house that the three of them own. A real estate developer is also in town and wants the property to build housing. It also appears that a couple of her friends might have wanted to see the sister die.
A sub-plot hits close to home for Monica. Monica’s brother, Jeff, wants to sell the cranberry farm so he will have money to repair the injuries from a war injury to his arm. She’s worried that she and Greg will have to find a new place to live and she will lose her bakery.
The story is well-plotted and written. The residents of Cranberry Cove are well-developed and quite enjoyable. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing till the end.
There are also delicious-sounding recipes included in the book.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this delightful series.
Also present is her brother Jeff's mother, Gina, who's opened a store and move there, too. Now, though, her own mother, Nancy, because she's met a man who lives in Cranberry Cove and has decided to pay a visit to both him and Monica. But soon after her arrival, he's murdered -- and she discovers that not only was he seeing her, but Gina. Now the local police have told her not to leave town, because both women might be suspects. To make it worse, Monica finds that her friend Tempest is also a suspect in the murder. So Monica decides to do an investigation on her own, and hopefully find a killer who just might get away with it...
This is the second book in the series and I am glad to say that I liked it much better than the first. While it started out slow, I was happy to see that in this book Monica has developed a bit of a backbone, and I also like the fact that even though Nancy disliked Gina, they aren't at each other's throats and have come to a common ground. (I really dislike the 'evil nemesis' angle in books).
Although Monica knows both women are innocent, she begins to wonder who hated the mayor enough to kill him. While there aren't a lot of suspects, Monica sets her sights on one in particular, but then something occurs to make her wonder if she's looking in the right direction. She gives what clues she does discover to the police, and hopes that Detective Stevens will follow through on them.
While this book isn't too involved in throwing everyone red herrings, one thing I didn't care for was the fact that Monica was like a dog with a bone. She wasn't going to let go of her insistence on this person being the guilty party, and had made up scenarios in her own head how they could have done it. I get that she wanted to prove her mother, Gina, and Tempest innocent, but I didn't feel that there was really anything pointing to them specifically anyway.
When the ending came and the killer was revealed, the reason for the murder was again an interesting one that was unexpected, and I did enjoy the way the murderer was caught. It was done differently, and that was a nice change. As stated above, I did enjoy this book more than the last and I will continue the series to see if it improves even further.
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, it ran so slow. It was difficult to get into the beginning of it, and while cranberry farms might be interesting to some, they aren't to me. I'd go so far as to say if I were on vacation, unlike tourists in the area, I wouldn't even bother with a tour of one. (I do like cranberry juice, but that's as far as it goes for me).
Anyway, Monica is not the kind of person I'd like to know. She's judgmental of others, even going so far as to make fun of her stepmother, who apparently is a decent person and treats her like a daughter. The only complaint I have with Gina is she calls Jeff "Jeffie," and what grown woman still calls her son something like that? That's my husband's name, and I'd cringe if my mother-in-law even used it once.
Monica herself is a very bland personality, and I almost gave up on the book because of that, but I wanted to see it through anyway. I figured out the murderer the minute the person stepped onto the page, which isn't a good thing; also I felt there should have been some clue along the way, but there was nothing until the end. Monica also put herself into a stupid situation because, as I like to say, she couldn't think on her feet and didn't put it together until the last moment.
There are some great-sounding recipes at the back, so at least that's a plus. However, I'm not sure if I'll read the next in the series or not.
A frightened woman on Monica's doorstep led to finding a dead woman in her own home who's death was summarily dismissed as natural causes. Not.
The short tempered greedy brother of the distraught amnesiac is also brother to the dead sister and in deep conversation with a developer working on farm owners. It turns out that he has even made inroads in discussion with Monica's own brother who is considering selling their family farm in order to have restorative surgery.
The motives pile up even faster than the clues. Good sleuthing!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley.
Elizabeth “Biz” Adams, photographer for the Daily Trumpet and reporter, Ralph Kaminsky gets a call to head out to the World’s Fair to report on the finding of a body in the Aquacade. As they are approaching the Aquacade they pass the police escorting Joey Dorman who has been arrested for the murder of Florence “Flo” Grimm. Flo worked at the DuPont exhibit, who was promoting their latest discovery...nylon hose, which Flo had been strangled with. Biz and Kaminsky don’t feel that Dorman is guilty and set out to learn who the killer might be. In their questioning of Flo’s co-workers, they are considering her boyfriend as a prime suspect, but soon they also have to start considering some of her co-workers.
Just as they are on the right path to solving the murder, Kaminsky needs to be hospitalized and Biz begins to wonder if the killer will be found. But then Biz realizes that she has been on several assignments with Kaminsky and decides that she just might be able to learn who the killer might be.
I love this series, not only are the books well written and told, but they also have a wonderful cast of characters. In addition, the reader also learns what life was like, in this book, 1939, living conditions and costs of various items. I also enjoy reading about Biz and how she deals with her mother. The mother wants Biz to find a young man from society and marry and give up her job at the paper. But Biz has met Detective Sal Marino and feels that he might be the man she would like to have a romantically involved with.
I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in this very interesting series.
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