“First-rate . . . stars big-city lawyer turned small-town organic farmer Megan Sawyer . . . [a] spirited woman with great integrity” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Megan Sawyer should be shouting from the barn roof. Washington Acres survived its first year, the café has become a hotspot for locals, and Winsome’s sexy Scottish veterinarian is making house calls–only not for the animals. … calls–only not for the animals. But as summer slips into fall and Winsome prepares for its grand Oktoberfest celebration, beer isn’t the only thing brewing.
When the town’s pub owner is killed in a freak accident, Megan suspects something sinister is afoot in Winsome–but no one is listening. As nights grow longer and temperatures chill, Megan must plow through Winsome’s fixation with autumn festivities to harvest the truth–before another dead body marks the season.
“A delightful read. It has everything you could want in a mystery–a spunky heroine with a charming love interest, quirky characters, a setting you desperately want to visit, and a plot that keeps you guessing!” –Amanda Lee, national bestselling author of the Embroidery Mysteries
“An exceptional cozy, Bitter Harvest offers up a veritable feast for mystery fans: a beautifully drawn setting, engaging characters, and plenty of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing.” –Cynthia Kuhn, author of the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries
“A perfectly-crafted smorgasbord of suspense, family drama and small-town intrigue.” –Liz Mugavero, Agatha Award-nominated author of the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries
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I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. I received this for free and I voluntarily chose to review it. I’ve given it a 5* rating. This second book in this Greenhouse Series pulled me in again to this small town setting with more dead bodies coming to light almost from the first. The very busy heroine puts her life on the line more than once, dragging friends and workers along with her. To mix the pot more, there is a community celebration bringing more strangers into town. This kept me guessing till the end, and wasn’t who I thought it could be.
Characters you want to know!
Interesting plot that was different.
Enjoyable book set in a small farm town in Pennsylvania. Winsome is preparing for Oktoberfest and not everyone is happy with the sponsorships given to businesses. The town has hired a PR woman, whom Megan strongly dislikes, especially after the committee changed the parameters and chose a large and not-so-local farm for the farm sponsorship. Megan’s grandmother comes upon the dead body of Otto Vance, a local brewer who had come up with the idea of Oktoberfest for the town. At first Otto’s death is ruled an accident, but Megan has her doubts, especially when the town’s other brewer disappears only to later be found dead as well. The characters in this series are well written and I love how Megan has turned things around at the farm and even gotten a café/store set up. This was an intriguing book and I look forward to reading more of the series. I hope to see Megan and Dr. Finn’s relationship develop and hope to see Megan come to terms with her mother’s leaving when she was a child, the reasons behind it, and her aunt Sarah’s involvement. Highly recommend this series!
Interesting take on the cute country town theme
Good recipe
This is a new entry in my holiday/season themed cozy list. It’s nice to have those comfort reads to pull out in the fall and winter.
Summer crops have been harvested and sold,
frozen, canned or donated. The fields are being
turned to plant cover crops. Braids of garlic are
hung in the barn.
The fall is upon the historic town of Winsome,
Pennsylvania. The town is known for its small
family farms selling their local produce. Now
the fall crops are coming in season.
Megan Sawyer left her career as an attorney
to care for her grandmother and has set up an
organic farm and cafe.
Description is vivid making the reader feel as if
they are right there in the story with the characters
whether at the farm, the Washington Acres Farm
and Cafe or the town of Winsome.
It is time for the Winsome’s Oktoberfest which is
supposed to promote local small business. But
the year, the town has hired a professional organizer
to run the Oktoberfest and things are not exactly
going as the rules were written for the festivities.
Murder, a mysterious chair, a found knife, a burnt
out campfire, rumor of an affair, the going’s on at
the Washington Acres Farm and Cafe blended
with suspense, several mysterious plotted
happenings, adventure, a lost dog plus a touch
of romance amid humor produce an interesting
read.
Plenty of animals fill the story:
the Pygmy goats: Dimples & Heidi, the chickens,
plus dogs: a Great Dane, Sarge (a German
Shepherd ), a lost dog, in addition to the two
main dogs: Sadie with a German Shepherd face,
a greyhound body Shepherd coloring and a
golden retriever tail and Gunther, who is a Polish
Tatra Sheepdog and the farm’s guard dog
This is book # 2 in the Greenhouse Mystery series.
It can be read as a stand alone. The author has
effortlessly mixed the present and the past.
A good read!!
This October is proving to be a busy one for Megan Sawyer. Not only is it harvest season on her farm, but the town of Winsome is putting on an Oktoberfest celebration, and her restaurant is one of the major sponsors. Things take a deadly turn when one of the local pub owners is killed in a freak accident. Only Megan doesn’t think it was an accident. When the police are quick to rule out the possibility of murder, it’s up to Megan to figure out what is really happening.
I loved the first book in the series and was anxious to return to Winsome and the characters. This book didn’t disappoint in the least. The characters continue to be strong, and the growth between books as well as the growth here was nice to see. The new characters were just as strong. Megan’s personal life provided a nice sub-plot while leaving plenty of time for the murder investigation, which included some great twists and turns.
Enjoyed the characters and how it made me want to continue reading it to the end.
Most enjoyable cozy. Even the animals are fun.. the goats are charming!
This was a great cozy mystery. Kept me reading and interested until the end and looking for the next book in the series. My favorite character in the Veterinarian.
Good read…wanted to read the next book because I enjoy the first one so much.