Pamela Grandstaff

This is the first in a series of mysteries about the town of Rose Hill. It is a college town nestled in the foothills of West Virginia. Scott Gordon is the chief of Police, and he likes how things are at work and in his small town...on the slow side. So when the town bully is murdered at the Vet's office, Scott is stumped. He's never thought of himself as a detective, nor does he have the manpower or the necessary connections to solve this or any other murder, so he ends up calling in Sarah from the sheriff's office to help him solve this crime. The plot was interesting even if it was somewhat predicable. The two main characters, Scott and Sarah were believable as well as likeable but there were just way too many sub-plots going on. Maybe because it's the first book in a LONG line of the Rose Hill series of books, 14 to date. I hope the characters in the future books receive some extra "meat" on their bones along the way and also that the crimes become a bit more complicated and harder for the reader to solve. I knew "who-done it" before the halfway mark of the story. I chose this book for the reason that I choose many of the books that I wouldn't normally read... for a challenge category for one of my groups. I intend to try another in the series to give them a fair chance.… (meer)

Blythe Buffington returns home as her mother worsens and dies. Her daughter is there also with all kind of attitude. Her second husband has been cheating on her. Emma, a hometown friend, helps her with the funeral. Blythe and she have a falling out. At the funeral, Blythe finds out she is broke thanks to her husband's poor investing. She inherits her mother's estate but does not get to enjoy it as she is murdered. Who did it? Why?

I enjoyed this story. The towns of Cozy Mountain and Sweetbriar are filled with quirky people. I liked them. I liked Emma as she tries to discover who murdered Blythe. She also tries to figure other things that are happening at Blythe's house. I loved her friend Georgie. He is a hoot! I did figure out who murdered Blythe although not the reason. I also figured out a few other things happening in and around Blythe's house. But again, not the reason.

I look forward to reading the rest of the series.… (meer)