Deadly Brew: A Dewberry Farm Mystery

Thank you for visiting today.  Karen MacInerney is the author of The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, A Margie Peterson Mystery series, and A Dewberry Farm Mystery series.   A Dewberry Farm Mystery series consists of Killer Jam, Fatal Frost and Deadly Brew (just love the cover).  You can follow Karen on Facebook where she will find her amusing family anecdotes.

Deadly Brew by Karen MacInerney is the third chapter in A Dewberry Farm Mystery series.  Lucy Resnick owns Dewberry Farm in Buttercup, Texas.  It has been a dry summer with no rain for the last five months, and now Lucy’s well has run dry.  She needs to find a way to get water for her animals, plants and herself.  Tonight, though, Lucy is off to Buttercup’s first Witches’ Ball at Honeyed Moon Mead Winery owned by Serafine Alexandre.   They are enjoying the festivities including tarot reading when a scream rings out.  They run over to find Bug Wharton, owner of the controversial Safari Exotic Game Ranch, struggling to breathe in his truck.  They administer the requested Epi-Pen, but Bug fails to survive.  Sheriff Rooster Kocurek quickly zeros in on Serafine as the guilty party (because she is Wiccan).  Lucy knows Serafine did not harm Bug and starts hunting for the killer.  Reports are coming in about a supposed Chupacabra on the loose. Animals are being harmed and the descriptions of the beast are varied.  To add to Lucy’s already full plate, the old Ulrich farmhouse that Lucy rescued appears to be haunted and Quinn’s abusive ex has returned to town.  And Lucy thought life in Buttercup would be relaxing!  Join Lucy for a Halloween adventure in Deadly Brew!

Deadly Brew is nicely written, has a good pace, and a lovely setting.  It contains quirky, fun characters that readers will enjoy getting to know and spend time with in each A Dewberry Farm Mystery.  I do not recommend starting with Deadly Brew (you might be a little lost in the beginning). It is best to read the series in order.  There are some details missing from Deadly Brew (why Rooster is sheriff for example—isn’t it time for an election).  My rating for Deadly Brew is 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it).  The mystery is clever and many people will be surprised with the outcome.  I appreciated the paranormal elements in the story.  I hope we see more of it in the future books in the series.  There is some repetition of information regarding the main mystery, the goats (one is named Hot Lips), lack of rain and the exotic game ranch.  There are recipes for the dishes and drink mentioned in the story at the end of the book.  Deadly Brew is an entertaining (you will be chuckling) and action packed cozy mystery that will put you in the Halloween spirit.  I look forward to the next installment in A Dewberry Farm Mystery series.   

I am off to make more hurricane preparations.  In case Hurricane Irma swings up the west coast of Florida, I need to have the house ready.  I really do appreciate you taking time out of your day to read my latest review.  On my next visit, I will share my thoughts on Fatal Charm by Blair McDowell.  May each of you have a very special day.  Take care, stay safe and dry, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader