A little Southern charm never killed anybody—until now—in an enchanting cozy mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Southern Discomfort and the Java Jive novels. After solving a murder at a local restaurant, Quinn Bellandini just wants to get back to her comfortable life running her grandfather’s B&B in Savannah, Georgia, with her sister, Delilah. But those plans get buried when … those plans get buried when Quinn and her new boyfriend, Tucker Heyward, dig up an old skeleton while doing some landscaping in his aunt Lela’s backyard. Before long, Lela becomes the prime suspect in the thirty-three-year-old unsolved murder of a high school homecoming queen.
Tucker is devastated. But Quinn’s conscience won’t let her risk an elderly woman spending her twilight years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit. And Delilah, bored by the quiet B&B biz, has been itching to do some more investigating of her own.
Soon they’re questioning a growing list of suspects, from nosy neighbors and snooty Savannah socialites to mild-mannered teachers and old high-school friends of the victim—including Quinn and Delilah’s own parents. But no one is safe from a killer who’s totally old school.
Discover all of Caroline Fardig’s gripping Southern B&B mysteries:
SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT | SOUTHERN HARM | SOUTHERN DOUBLE CROSS
And don’t miss Caroline Fardig’s thrilling Java Jive mysteries, which can be read together or separately:
DEATH BEFORE DECAF | MUG SHOT | A WHOLE LATTE MURDER | BREW OR DIE | MURDER OVER MOCHAS
more
Quinn and Delilah Bellandini help run Papa
Sal’s (their grandfather) Bed & Breakfast
in Savannah, Georgia. Besides helping
with the B&B, Quinn has an all girl band
named Sister Wildfire while Delilah performs
in the community theater productions.
Tucker Hayward is Quinn’s boyfriend. Tucker
is a contractor by trade and as a Christmas
gift for his Aunt Lela, he and Quinn are making
a patio with an in-ground fire pit.
While digging Quinn uncovered a human skull
buried in Aunt Lela’s yard. And so the adventure
begins…….the two Detectives on the case, Rufus
King and Steve Flynn determine foul play then
arresting Aunt Lela for murder.
The body turns out to be that of a young girl who
went missing on the night of her graduation thirty
years ago.
Tucker hire a lawyer to defend his aunt while
Quinn and Delilah start their own investigation.
A thrilling mystery filled with secrets, lies,
multifaceted and quirky characters with very
interesting backstories, class conflicts, bullying
add drama, tension and intrigue for an gripping
read. There is even a ghost in the B&B that gives
clues.
This is book # 2 in the Southern B&B Mysteries
series. It can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read Southern Harm. Thanks to
Alibi via NetGalley for the opportunity. My opinion
is voluntary and my own.
You can read this as a stand alone but it is a great series so don*t miss the previous and next ones. I feel it is jest getting started and continues to get better. Quirky characters, solid mystery and dangerous situations are lightened up a bit with few mishaps.
When raised as a southern belle, even a rabble~rouser finds time to mind her manners.
Back stabbing relationships, gossip and grudges all have their time and place.
So do Good Cop/Bad Cop practices. The whole family has trouble in this book!
So good I dont want to give anything way.
Nothing special about this book. Just another cozy with farfetched characters. A little boring. If you like cozies this book is readable.
I like the books in this series.
This is my first experience with Fardig and I enjoyed the book. I just was not in the mood for a heart stopping thriller, and this book intrigues the reader while moving at a leisurely, Southern pace.
I was very excited to see the second book in this series. It was perfect timing for a holiday read right at Christmastime. Quinn and her sister run her grandfather’s B&B. When she and her boyfriend uncover some bones, Quinn finds herself smack dab in the middle of another murder investigation. I love the southern setting of Savannah and the unique elements of southern charm that are woven in the story. The author does a great job of pacing the mystery with just enough breadcrumbs to keep me following along, but not quite sure where the story is going. Quinn is a great leading character and really brings the whole story together. I am already looking forward to reading book three.
I received an early copy of this book to read for a book tour and am voluntarily sharing my honest thoughts.
Do you have sisters? Or siblings in general? I do! I’ve got two sisters, and I can easily picture us playing detective like Quinn and her sister Delilah do! In fact, we used to cut pictures out of magazines, glue them into notebooks, and create suspect profiles for them. That’s what Nancy Drew will do to you!
So, let me back up. Sisters Quinn and Delilah run a B&B with their Grandpa Sal, but they are much too inquisitive and energetic to just do B&B work! Thank goodness for the skeleton that shows up in Quinn’s boyfriend Tucker’s aunt Lela’s backyard. Well, not good for the skeleton. And not good for Aunt Lela since she ends up in jail for the murder!
Quinn and Delilah are eager to clear Aunt Lela’s name since she’s the only relative that Tucker is close to. They promise not to put themselves in danger, and Tucker needs help. Since they’re “not” looking for suspects, only looking for anyone who can help them prove that Aunt Lela couldn’t have done it, Tucker agrees to let them help.
I’m sure you can guess how well the not looking for suspects part goes! I really enjoyed the characters in Southern Harm. Quinn and Delilah’s mom is a trip; their grandpa makes me want him as a grandpa; Aunt Lela is a spitfire…you’ll enjoy getting to know them all.
You’ll also enjoy trying to find the killer along with Quinn and Delilah. I’m sure you’ll have several suspects just like the girls (and I) did. Narrowing it down to “the one” wasn’t easy until close to the end.
Since this is only the second book in the series, I’m looking forward to seeing what else these sisters get themselves into! Cozy mystery readers, add this one to your Goodreads lists today!
Southern Harm by Caroline Fardig is wonderfully written, with great characters, it’s the perfect Southern mystery.
Will Quinn find enough evidence to get Aunt Lela out of jail for murder, or will she make matters worse?
Quinn and Deliah
The sisters help their Grandpa run their family B&B, but occasionally they are called upon to become sleuths. Deliah is older and more outspoken; she even swears. Where Quinn, the younger sister, is more the polite southern belle. However, in this installment, Quinn is standing up for herself. Yet, she is still polite and apologetic if she gets too carried away. The sister sleuths are funny, and I like the way that they keep each other inline and disagree at times.
The Mystery
Quinn and boyfriend Tucker find a skeleton buried in his aunt’s backyard. Then Tucker’s Aunt Lela is arrested for murdering the girl. Quinn and Deliah offer to investigate for Tucker’s Aunt. You know what happens when you start digging around in a murder from thirty-some years ago? You find things that people don’t want to be known from back then. In is the case, that is what Quinn and Deliah find. After speaking with multiple people, they have a reasonable timeline but still don’t know who did it. But they will figure it out one way or another.
I like all the red herrings and the sisters’ logic for suspects that the sisters find. I also like that Tucker steps up to help them. It was well-plotted and kept me guessing. I will tell you that the killer was one of my early suspects, but I dropped them because there didn’t seem to be any evidence. So keep your eyes peeled for those clues.
Five Stars for Southern Harm by Caroline Fardig
Southern Harm by Caroline Fardig is the first book that I have read by this author. I enjoyed the story immensely and can’t wait for the next book Southern Double Cross. So, five stars it is, and I highly recommend it to all cozy readers, out there.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Southern Harm by Caroline Fardig.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
SOUTHERN HARM by Caroline Fardig
The Second Southern B&B Mystery
When Quinn Bellandini agreed to help her boyfriend, Tucker, dig a fire pit as a gift for his aunt, she didn’t expect such heat in December. She also didn’t expect to dig up a dead body! The skeletal remains turn out to be those of a girl gone missing after her high school graduation thirty years prior. A girl who lived next door to Aunt Lela and the same girl who was brazenly flirting with her husband. Tucker is devastated when his aunt is taken into police custody and Quinn agrees to help find suspects other than Lela, an idea Quinn’s sister Delilah relishes. As the sisters reach out to the girl’s former friends, they soon realize their parents, who were in the same graduating class, know more than they’re saying. When their dad warns them off investigating and their mother vanishes without a word the Bellandini sisters realize their parents may just hold the key to the murder.
Family is the strength behind the Southern B&B Mysteries. The bad, as well as the good, tie these characters together and drive their actions. The lengths they will go to despite the past is admirable. I love the dynamic between Quinn and Delilah. The goody two shoes sister and the slightly wilder one who attacks adventure with glee. It’s nice to see Quinn get a little feisty this go around. Although feisty for her is still mind mannered to most! I love the subtlety of Uncle Frank who gives his own advice and the nonchalant way others see him, or don’t.
The fact that the victim was not newly murdered is a nice change of pace. We see how people change, or remain the same over time. And how high school drama is never that far away.
SOUTHERN HARM is a delightful mystery that finds skeletons in the closet as well as in the ground!
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
This is an enjoyable little cozy. Quinn and her sister Delilah help their grandfather run a B&B. Soon the girls are mixed up in a 30 year-old murder. Quinn is helping her boyfriend dig a firepit for his aunt. In the process she uncovers a skeleton. The remains that turn out to be an old high school friend of her parents and the next door neighbor of Tucker’s aunt. Soon Aunt Lela is arrested. Quinn and Delilah want to help Tucker and Lela so they set out to find others who have motive. Soon their own parents are arrested as well. Now Quinn and Delilah are doubly motivated to find the killer.
This is fun and easy to read. The characters are quirky. The sisters disagree, Mom is a rainbow child, Dad is a flake, Aunt Lela is a firecracker. There are several suspects. Quinn zeroes in on two that Delilah believes are innocent and vice versa. Let the sleuthing begin!
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and offer my honest opinion on this book.
Southern Harm is the second installment of Caroline Fardig’s Southern B&B Mysteries. When Quinn Bellandini is helping boyfriend Tucker Hayward to construct a fire pit and patio in his beloved Aunt Lela’s backyard, Quinn strikes an unusual stone with her shovel, a stone that turns out to be a skull. Then, the found bones turn out to be those of neighbor girl Esther Sinclair who had run away on the night of her high school graduation decades earlier. Though the mystery is solved as to where Esther had gone, there comes a bigger mystery; why was she found in Aunt Lela’s backyard and who killed and buried her?
WhenAunt Lela is taken into custody, Quinn and her sister Delilah set about trying to discover the identity of the true perpetrator and clearing Aunt Lela. But as they go about this, much is learned about that time, including information they didn’t need to know about their elusive parents.
This is a well written mystery with many twists and turns. The true villain is unveiled in the final chapters, leaving it a guessing game until the very end. Love this author! Love this series! Can’t wait for the next installment! I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!
I enjoyed this entry in the Southern B&B series, no sophomore slump here. Quinn and her sister, Delilah are still working with their grandfather running their B&B. If that isn’t enough, Quinn is helping her boyfriend, Tucker, build a fire pit for his Aunt Lela, as a Christmas gift. In the process their world goes sideways big time. As they dig, the uncover the bones of a young woman who disappeared 33 years ago and the number one suspect turns out to be Aunt Lela. Tucker turns to Quinn and Delilah to clear his aunt and keep her out of prison. Turns out that it’s not just Tucker’s aunt in the hot seat, the girl’s parents are drawn into the cold case and their investigation becomes more intense. Who, on the long list of suspects, killed the Homecoming queen?
More than just bones have been unearthed. A lot of well kept secrets come to light. In the course of investigating, several prominent families have the spotlight focused on them. It had me guessing to the very end. Lots of twists, turns and red herrings abound and I guessed wrong. As for the characters, they are certainly quirky and I enjoyed spending time with them. I’m looking forward to book #3.
Quinn and D are at it again. When Quinn and her boyfriend, Tucker, dig up a skeleton in his aunt’s yard, they are thrown into the past. Quinn and D’s parents’ past. The skeleton is the girl they all thought left town 33 years before. Tucker’s aunt is accused of the murder and they know that they have to investigate. Along the way, they find out so many things about their parents and they are not sure who committed the murder. They have to keep looking for the murderer with so much at stake.
This is the second installment in the Southern B&B Mystery series by author Carolyn Fardig. I enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to the second. Let me say, I was not disappointed. Ms. Fardig has set the series in Savannah with its southern charm and then populated it with fun, quirky and interesting characters that attract readers. I particularly enjoy the relationship between sisters Delilah (or D as she is called throughout the book) and Quinn. They are so different yet the bond between sisters is strong. Having a sister of my own, I can relate to their relationship and its ups and downs. The cast is rounded out by Tucker – Quinn’s boyfriend and D’s best friend – Papa Sal, their mother Suncloud and a revolving cast of secondary characters.
Once again Quinn has the misfortune to dig up another dead body. This time the police suspect Tucker’s aunt Lela who had a history with the young girl whose body was found. Employing the help of D and Quinn, the girls begin to investigate the decades-old murder which involves a former high school friend of their parents. Unfortunately, as the begin to dig up suspects to question, the clues seem to point right back to their parents. Now, the girls have three innocent people near and dear to them that they need to clear. Because the murder is decades old and there are so many secrets and lies, the girls find it difficult to give the police a really good viable suspect to clear their respective families. The mystery unfolds through a story that has a good pace and keeps the reader guessing. I was surprised by the killer’s identity and thought the author wrapped up the mystery nicely.
I enjoyed this story and was entertained by the characters throughout. The mystery kept me guessing and the setting was full of southern charm. I’m looking forward to more books in the series.
I voluntarily read a digital ARC provided to me by the publisher, Alibi, through Netgalley.
cozy-mystery, southern, family-dynamics, murder-investigation, situational-humor, verbal-humor
A fun southern mystery. The boyfriend’s aunt is charged with the murder of the girl whose skeleton was discovered in the flower bed even though it happened over thirty years ago and the girl was presumed to have run away. So the two sisters get involved to find a more likely killer. Let the sleuthing begin!
Their mother is a flake, there’s a ghostly uncle, and grandpa was a marvelous stage magician before grandma opened the B&B in Savanna, Georgia. Lots of laughs, red herrings, and misdirection make this a great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Alibi/Penguin Random House Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!