When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family’s organic farm and café, she expects to find peace and tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, Pennsylvania. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family’s Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings. Just when she … when she thinks she’s reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town’s hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner’s battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation—and she’s the chief suspect. Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances in time to find a killer before that killer strikes again?
“Tyson gives us an evocative sense of place, a bit of romance, and dimensional characters with interesting backstories. Readers are left looking forward to the next book in the series and hankering for organic mushroom tartlets.” – Publishers Weekly
“Charming and entertaining cozy series debut…Megan is a spunky heroine who loves her family and wants to succeed. Readers of animal-centric cozies will flock to this.” – Library Journal
“A warmhearted mystery with an irresistible cast of characters, two- and four-legged alike. Tyson’s small town setting is a lush bounty for the senses, and the well-structured plot will keep you guessing right up until the satisfying conclusion.” – Sophie Littlefield, Edgar Nominated Author of The Guilty One
“Tyson grows a delicious debut mystery as smart farmer-sleuth Megan Sawyer tills the dirt on local secrets after a body turns up in her barn. You won’t want to put down this tasty harvest of a story.” – Edith Maxwell, Agatha-Nominated Author of Murder Most Fowl
“Fast paced, engaging characters, and a plot with as many twists and turns as a country road. Murder may be ‘muddied’ in Winsome, PA, but the book’s a winsome winner.” – Gail Oust, Author of Cinnamon Toasted
“A good story with well-developed, fun characters. And anyone who grew up in a small town will remember ‘roots’ like these quite well. This is the book to enjoy on a nice spring day—sitting back, relaxing, and discovering Washington Acres.” – Suspense Magazine
“Hungry for a great mystery? A Muddied Murder is a delight and Wendy Tyson is a natural. She delivers a perfectly plotted mystery with well-planted clues and a healthy dose of secrets. This first Greenhouse Mystery will only whet your appetite for more.” – Sparkle Abbey, Author of Raiders of the Lost Bark
“Tyson weaves an irresistible story with delicious food, scheming villagers, and a secret worth killing for. Her heroine, prodigal daughter of Winsome, PA Megan Sawyer, may not carry a gun, but she’s packing brains, courage, and loads of integrity. Megan is a star. She”ll carry this winsome new series far.” – James W. Ziskin, Anthony Award-Nominated Author of the Ellie Stone Mysteries
“I love the comfortable tone and how easy the chapters flow from scene to scene giving me a glimpse into all the players in this well-executed mystery…kept me engaged in all of the happenings from the discovery of the body, to the interaction with the townsfolk and to events leading up to the apprehension of the killer, while exposing secrets that I hope we get to delve into in the next book in this delightfully charming debut series.” – Dru’s Book Musings
Related subjects include: women sleuths, cozy mysteries, amateur sleuth books, murder mysteries, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations.
Books in the Greenhouse Mystery Series:
• A MUDDIED MURDER (#1)
• BITTER HARVEST (#2) Spring 2017
Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you’ll probably like them all…
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Megan Sawyer’s plans to revitalize her family’s farm and open a small store and café are constantly hitting the road block of Simon Duvall. Simon is the head of the local zoning commission, and he keeps failing her on every inspection. After the latest one, Megan finds Simon murdered in the farm’s barn. Naturally, the police are looking at Megan as a suspect, but all Megan can wonder is why Simon was killed in the barn.
This is a wonderful debut! There are some secrets in Megan’s family that come to light over the course of the book and add another layer to the story. I can’t wait to see where that goes next. The mystery of Simon’s murder is also very well done with plenty of surprises along the way. Top that off with great characters. I can’t wait to return for the sequel.
Very good book! I enjoyed Megan and her grandmother and the town of Winsome. As Megan is trying to get her farm and cafe open, the zoning commissioner is found murdered in her barn. Megan and her grandmother are suspects and the police chief doesn’t seem to be looking for other suspects. Megan sets out to try to catch the killer. I enjoyed trying to figure out the killer and seeing the cafe open with such an overwhelming response. I look forward to reading more of this series and seeing Megan’s relationship with Devon grow!
I enjoyed reading about a woman starting over and making a life for herself. It is also neat that her efforts benefit her community as well. Great life lesson for us all. The mystery aspect had me guessing the entire time.
This was very good I didn’t know the ending UNTIL the end lol. It really is good.
The main character is a female farmer.
This was a nice, easy cozy mystery to read, with entertaining characters.
MUDDY MAYHEM & MURDER
I’ve had this book since it was published but finally took time to read it. WOW! Have I been missing out! This is one of the best Cozy Mysteries I’ve ever read! It’s fast paced and has an excellent plot. The characters are believable and very entertaining. The setting of Winsome, PA is a wonderful small town and Tyson’s apt descriptions of the organic farm and café make you feel as though you are there and walking through them! This has everything you want and need for a great read – believable characters with whom you can relate , great setting, mischief, mayhem and MURDER.
Well written. Love the tension between Megan who gave up a lucrative law practice to come manage the family farm and the historical society. Did George Washington really sleep in her farm? If so will Megan have to have unreasonable restrictions as she builds up her business? Love grandma but she has secrets. Love the Scottish Vet who fights for Megan and takes care of Veteran with PTSD. Great 5 star read.
What makes a good cozy? Well first, you need an intriguing mystery, obviously. For me, I also enjoy a small town setting full of interesting characters. A Muddied Murder hits it home with all three.
Welcome to Winsome, Pennsylvania. Megan Sawyer has recently left her life as a big city lawyer and moved back home with her grandmother, Bibi. She is ready to return to small town life, work her family farm, and open up a cafe downtown.
Unfortunately, Simon Duvall keeps putting her dreams on hold – he won’t issue the final permits she needs to operate the farm and open the store. So it’s no surprise that she’s the number one suspect when Simon is found dead – in her barn of all places.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Ms. Tyson drew me into Megan’s world. The characters are fun, and she kept me guessing on whodunit. (I didn’t figure it out until the end.) The farm setting worked well with the small town atmosphere and the history she pulled into the story. The writing was great – funny at times, suspenseful at others. She always kept me turning to the next page.
By the end, she solves the mystery but leaves the book ready to move into the next installment. I am looking forward to continuing with The Greenhouse Mysteries to see what comes next for Megan and Bibi.
A five star read. When you buy the next book in a series as soon as you see the end you know you loved the book. There is a murder with mystery of course but also back stories,. Megan is a hard working intelligent woman that left a promising law career, returning to her failing family farm to turn things around. You learn much about organic farming you want to start your own garden. You fall in love with a lot of wonderful characters, some are even human. Can’t help loving the Scottish Vet, and the goats, dogs and grandmother. READ READ READ a book you don’t want to put down and are sad when it’s over,
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. I received this as a gift and I voluntarily chose to review it. I’ve given it a 5* rating. This story pulled me in and kept tugging me on just to find out what next. Lots of characters to suspect. This had me guessing till the end.