She’s trying to report on the facts, but someone is framing her for murder.
A local nectarine orchard burning to the ground is front page news, and as the only reporter for the Tri-Town Times, Tilly Donner is determined to uncover the facts and find out who started the fire. That is, until she finds the main suspect with a knife in his chest, taking his dying breaths.
With the help of her two … breaths.
With the help of her two best friends and the local small town gossip vine, Tilly uncovers clues to help the police solve the case. But her plan backfires when the Sheriff believes the evidence leads to Tilly being the killer.
Can Tilly discover who committed the murder and prove her innocence before her reputation and life are ruined?
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Seems like even when Tilly says she’s not investigating, she still finds suspects! I found I could easily relate to the lead characters since they’re in an older age group. The fire and murder mystery was really hard to figure out! I was so surprised at the outcome. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a fun light mystery set in a small town. Tilly is an outsider. She moved to town with her husband. When he left her for another woman she decided to stay. Tilly is also a writer for the paper and when her next door neighbor is murdered she finds herself in in the middle of things.
Tilly Donner is a reporter for a small town in California called Oak Peak. Her neighbor has a nectarine farm that has gone up in smoke. Being the only reporter in town it is up to her to find out what happened. Oh and also one of her other neighbors has been murdered, and she just happened to find the body. She is off to solve his murder mystery, and also get to know the hot new neighbor along the way.
Great start to a wonderful new series by an awesome author.
Can’t wait to read the next book.
What a great story! This first book in a new series was a fast and quick read. It’s definitely a page turner and I was surprised at the end. I enjoyed the characters and had to laugh at some of the scenes. If you like small town cozy mysteries with a bit of romance I would recommend this book. I look forward to reading book two.
News and Nectarines is the first book in the Tri-Town Murders.
Final Rating: 5 Stars
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A well written murder mystery story that kept me turning pages. Tilly to the Tri-Town to recover from a broken marriage and betrayal. There is a fire in the nectarine orchard, murder, suspense, drama, danger, twists, and turns. I want to read more in this series. This is a new Author to me. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Tilly is recovering from a broken marriage and betrayal. A neighboring fire and then a murder has Tilly asking questions that make some people uncomfortable. When someone tries to frame her, she definitely wants to find out who and why. I enjoyed reading this mystery and will follow the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Tilly is a journalist in a small town. When a fire breaks out in the orchard next door, and her neighbour is killed the following day, she decides the police need some help.
The book is a fairly typical small town cozy, with a romantic connection between Tilly and the detective in charge.
An entertaining small cozy and an enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Great new cozy series, the author has an accessible style that made me feel like I was experiencing the story along with the MC. The setting and side characters were fully developed too, unlike in some cozies where they are more of a backdrop.
The mystery itself was good and kept me turning the pages. There were plenty of suspects and I did not guess the ending, but when I got there it made sense.
Highly recommended to fans of cozies, is a complete story but likely best to read the series in order. I have chosen to review this complimentary copy and plan to continue the series on my own.
At 1 a.m. fireworks went off in Mr. York’s yard and caught the Ruperts’ nectarine orchard on fire next door. The noise startled Tilly Donner from a sound sleep, and as the cat raced from the room, the dog dove under her blankets which tangled her legs and, hitting her head on the nightstand, she crashed headfirst onto the hard floor. A dozen more calamities occurred as she raced to the closet to get dressed, but at least was now awake enough to cover the story as the only reporter for the Tri-Town Times! Mr. York had stored fireworks for someone else in his shed for 22 years – they were made illegal by the current Mayor Shelton’s father back then when another incident burned the entire town to the ground. When Tilly questioned Mr. York further, “off the record”, he told her the fireworks actually belonged to Mayor Shelton! He was thinking of allowing fireworks again. Mr. York said he didn’t know who had lighted the fireworks, but she didn’t believe him.
Deputy Byron Mills drove up to ask what happened. Tilly had dated him a couple times, but summed him up as brawny and brainless. He couldn’t even take the hint when she didn’t answer his calls or texts. But she walked home while Mr. York answered his questions. Her dog had thrown up and got the runs from nerves over the fire, so she spent a long night cleaning. Ten minutes before her alarm would go off, Minnie Johnson was banging on her door to ask if she had seen her cows that ran away when the fireworks scared them. Tilly’s alarm clock went off upstairs, and she went into the shower only to find she was out of shampoo. So with greasy hair, bags under her eyes, and a black & blue lump on her forehead, she dressed and knew this was not going to be a good day… AGAIN.
She got into her truck but stopped at Mr. York’s house to see how things went the previous night. He didn’t answer the door, so she walked around back. Near the shed, she found him on the ground with a knife in his back. He could hardly speak, but said he knew who lit the fire and “they” did this to him. She ran to get her phone from her truck and he was dead when she ran back to him.
With the help of her two best friends and the local small town gossips, Tilly finds clues to help the police solve the case – until the Sheriff believes the evidence points to Tilly as the killer! Can she find the real murderer before she is arrested for the crime?
I liked the overall story and the characters. The “Perils of Pauline” approach where everything goes wrong all the time again and again, is a fun way to make readers laugh. But it got very tedious when there was no end to it. Way too much overkill that ruined the “fun” effect that fewer events would have created. The characters were likable and I did enjoy the book.
I really like the book. It was well written and had a surprise ending. For me anyways. Thanks for the chance to read it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A cozy mystery with both intrigue and humor. The town of Oak Peak seems like a quiet little town with not much new to report. But when fireworks go off and fires start to burn Tilly Donner a reporter with the Tri-Town Times goes to work. While she’s looking for facts, small-town gossip spreads, and clues turn up. Tilly is only trying to help the police solve this crime with the information she hears, but she may find more trouble and suspect then she knows what to do with.
This is a well-done mystery set in a town with an interesting group of characters. It will be fun to see where Tilly’s next assignment takes her!
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. I very much enjoyed this cozy ans getting to know the characters. Good characters always make for a better read and gives me a connection with them and the story. This book doesn’t disappoint in that area. I totally like Tilly ans friends! So glad to get into the Tri-Town Murder series early and looking forward to more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.