With seasonal crowds flocking to its sandy beaches, lively downtown shops, and the Berry Basket, a berry emporium with something for everyone, the lakeshore village of Oriole Point is ripe for summer fun—and murder. Much has changed for Marlee Jacob since she returned to Oriole Point, Michigan, three years ago. Between running the Berry Basket, dodging local gossip, and whipping up … gossip, and whipping up strawberry muffins, smoothies, and margaritas to celebrate the town’s first annual Strawberry Moon Bash, the twenty-nine-year-old hardly has time for her fiancé, let alone grim memories of her old life in New York . . .
But unfortunately for Marlee, Oriole Point is muddled with secrets of its own. First her friend Natasha disappears after an ominous dream. Next the seediest man in town threatens to crush her business. Then an unknown person nearly kills her on the night of the Bash. When she discovers a dead body while searching for Natasha, Marlee realizes she’ll have to foil a killer’s plot herself—before the past permanently stains her future.
Strawberry picking at its finest. Dying for Strawberries has it all. Delicious small town ambience, tasty cast of characters, and a plot so satisfying you’ll want to return for another serving of the Berry Basket Mysteries.”
—Gail Oust, author of the Spice Shop Mysteries
“Whoever said small town life is dull never visited Oriole Point, Michigan! Marlee Jacob has enough humor and pluck to keep her lakeside town happily complicated for years to come.”
—Laurie Cass, author of the Cat Bookmobile Mystery series
“Sharon Farrow whips up the perfect recipe for a great cozy. Dying for Strawberries boasts a charming setting, a feisty heroine, and a smart mystery. What a treat!”
—Cindy Brown, Agatha-nominated author of the Ivy Meadows mysteries.
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I read lots of genres and Cozy Mysteries is one of my favorites. They are packed with quirky characters that you want to get to know better and lots of misdirection to test your powers of deduction and observation as you follow along on the crime solving spree. This book didn’t have as many of the likable characters as others in the genre do but did have an intriguing who done it.
New cozy series that has a berry theme (yum!) and set in Michigan what could possibly be wrong with that? Nothing!
I think this series has some great potential! The small town with close knit neighbors, possible love triangle, berries (if there is food I already like it) and intrigue.
Fair warning, the murder doesn’t happen until about 1/3 of the way into the book. I kept waiting for someone to end up dead but was surprised it took that long. But once it did you understand why because the scene needed to be set. Thankfully it was a character I didn’t like so I was glad to see him gone.
Marlee does a lot of pushing and prodding to get to the bottom of the murder because she believes she was the first target and was just lucky that she was fished out of the lake in time. She is on the right path and it is very surprising (to me) who is revealed as the killer because the author does a great job of playing down all of the suspects.
There is a lot of information presented at the beginning of the book and some of it takes time before it is truly explained. This did leave me a little confused until the whole story was revealed.
Then there is the fiance, Ryan. While he sounds nice, things are revealed about him that makes me wonder how long he is going to be the fiance. His attitude and thought process would not have worked with me and he would have been in the dust. Plus if he so allergic to bees, why does he not carry an epi-pen? Seems kinda odd especially considering his career field!
I still enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the next book
A fun cozy mystery!
Just what you’d expect for a good cozy mystery — characters weren’t annoying and plot kept me reading.
A fun read with likable characters.
Easy reading…great for the beach!
Am only half way through, but am enjoying enough that I’ve preordered the next in the series.
I read the book in one sitting, it was so interesting. Easy to read but held the interest.
I enjoyed this first in a series, it is off to a good start. When Marlee’s friend disappears after a fight with her abusive husband, Marlee is concerned and feels that he has something to do with it. While looking for answers he then turns up dead. On top of that a business owners meeting turns into an uproar. An attempt is made on Marlee’s life and she has a hard time convincing people that it happened. There are plenty of things that happen in this book and it all ties up nicely in the end.
I will definitely continue on with this series.
Marlee Jacob has settled nicely back into her home town of Oriole Point, and she is quite happy running her business, The Berry Basket. However, she quickly finds herself in trouble when her good friend goes missing, a surprise announcement rattles all the local business owners, someone tries to kill her, and then she finds a dead body. What is going on?
I enjoyed this book with how it played with some cozy mystery tropes early on while still providing us with a compelling cozy mystery. There’s plenty happening to keep us entertained all the way through, and the twists of the plot come together for a logical climax. Some of the supporting characters are still a bit thin, but we can get to know them better in later books. Marlee herself is wonderful, and the rest of the suspects are also viable characters.