A Sprinkling Of Murder
A Fairy Garden Mystery, Book 1
Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: June 30, 2020
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1496726340
ISBN-13: 978-1496726346
Kindle ASIN: B07W8Y4D6R
About the Book:
Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: June 30, 2020
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1496726340
ISBN-13: 978-1496726346
Kindle ASIN: B07W8Y4D6R
About the Book:
Fairy garden store owner Courtney Kelly believes in inviting magic into your life. But when uninvited trouble enters her shop, she’ll need more than a sprinkling of her imagination to solve a murder . . .
Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies. After her mother died when she was ten, she lost touch with that feeling of magic. A year ago, at age twenty-nine, she rediscovered it when she left her father's landscaping business to spread her wings and start a fairy garden business and teashop in beautiful Carmel, California. At Open Your Imagination, she teaches garden design and sells everything from fairy figurines to tinkling wind chimes and trickling fountains. Now she's starting a book club tea.
But the light of the magical world she's created inside her shop is darkened one night when she discovers neighboring dog-grooming business owner Mick Watkins dead beside a fountain. To make matters worse, the police suspect Courtney of the crime. To clear her name and find the real killer, Courtney will have to wing it. But she’s about to get a little help from an unexpected new friend . . .
My Review:
A Sprinkling of Murder is a cute first book in Daryl Wood Gerber's new Fairy Garden Mystery series, complete with real fairies and everything. Courtney Kelly is the owner of the Open Your Imagination fairy garden and tea shop. She designs fairy gardens and teaches patrons how to construct their own. After witnessing several people argue with another shop owner (at different times), Courtney discovers him dead inside her shop. With an unverifiable alibi and the death occurring on her property, Courtney finds herself at the top of the suspect list. Knowing she didn't do it, Courtney tries sleuthing on her own before she finds herself behind bars.
At the beginning of the story, Courtney is your typical cozy mystery amateur sleuth. I would imagine the adreneline causes you not to think straight, so I try to let their cluelessness go and move on. For someone who claims to watch CSI, she did an awful lot of no-nos at the scene of the crime, though. Once the police arrive, Courtney tells them everything she did and/or touched, much to their frustration. As the story progresses and Courtney tries to prove her innocence, many potential suspects come out of the woodwork. At one point, Courtney even creates a suspect board in one of her new fairy gardens at home.
This is a very unique story with unique elements. I enjoyed the fairy garden shop setting, complete with a live fairy. The characters are fun and exciting. I enjoyed Courtney's character. She's trying to remain independent from her father. Her business is successful and thriving. Even though she has being a suspect over her head, she goes about her daily business while trying to figure out who killed Mick Watson and why in her store. The author delivers several suspects with means and motive, making figuring out who-dun-it difficult. There are twists and turns and red herrings, and while I may have suspected, I never was really sure. I'm looking forward to book 2.
I was provided a copy of this book to read.
My Rating:
About Daryl Wood Gerber:
Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries as well as the French Bistro Mysteries. In June 2020, her new series, the Fairy Garden Mysteries debuts. As Avery Aames, she pens the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. Daryl also writes the Aspen Adams novels of suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, garden, and read, and she has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!
Author Links:
WEBSITE: http://www.darylwoodgerber.com
FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/darylwoodgerber
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/darylwoodgerber
YOUTUBE: http://youtube.com/woodgerb1
INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/darylwoodgerber
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/darylwoodgerber
GOODREADS: http://goodreads.com/darylwoodgerber
AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2BznPLW
TOUR PARTICIPANTS June 29 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 29 – The Cozy Pages – REVIEW
June 29 – Angel's Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT
June 29 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
June 29 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
June 30 - Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 30 - I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
June 30 - Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, RECIPE
June 30 - A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW
June 30 - Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW, GUEST POST
July 1 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
July 1 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW
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July 2 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW
July 2 – Sneaky the Library Cat's Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 2 – This Is My Truth Now – REVIEW
July 2 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW
July 2 – The Book's the Thing – REVIEW
July 3 – Sapphyria's Books – REVIEW
July 3 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW
July 3 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW
July 3 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 3 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
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Thanks, Saph, for hosting me on your blog. I'm delighted you enjoyed the story, amateur sleuthing aside. LOL That moment of suspending disbelief, right? Fairy best wishes ~ Daryl
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful give away for the 4th of July! I can't wait to read this book. dbahn(at)iw(dot)net
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun New series. Excited to read it and step into Courtney's world.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for visiting!
ReplyDelete