The dead of winter takes on a whole new meaning in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!On a night of heavy snow and bitter cold, newlyweds Monica and Greg are comfortably nestled before a warm fire when they’re roused by a late-night knock at the door. Surprised to find a troubled and confused woman on the doorstep, Monica is even more shocked when the … woman vacantly utters that someone is trying to kill her. Sensing distress but not danger, Monica decides to help this mysterious woman, but her clouded recollections yield little—until she dredges up memories of her sister and a nearby home, where they find the woman’s sister, dead. Unable to deny her own curiosity or the woman’s request for help, Monica begins digging into the suspicious death, only to discover a murky family history of valuable land, a bullying brother, an unscrupulous real estate developer, and endless rumors of good deeds met with bad blood. And when the trail of the killer begins to turn cold, Monica realizes that while the family wants to bury their sister, someone is out to bury the clues—and if Monica’s not careful, to bury her as well . . .Includes tasty recipes! Praise for Berried Secrets:“Cozy fans and foodies rejoice—there’s a place just for you and it’s called Cranberry Cove.” —New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams“A fun whodunnit with quirky characters and a satisfying mystery. This new series is as sweet and sharp as the heroine’s cranberry salsa.” —New York Times bestselling author Sofie Kelly
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Between audiobooks and Ebooks, I was able to binge this series and it has been a pleasant series to read. Monica is delightful and makes sleuthing look easy but dangerous. If I had one complaint about Monica it would be that she leaves a lot of the baking to her assistant Kit. Good thing he doesn’t mind.
Cranberry Cove feels like a real Michigan town that I would love to visit especially in the fall. I have found it very interesting in learning about cranberries. In all honesty, I thought they only grew in Washington state.
Each book has yummy cranberry recipes included. I am going to try the Orange Cranberry bread in this book very soon.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Beyond the Page, through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
IT was a dark and stormy night when a stranger knocked on the door of the home of Monica and Greg. Thus began the fifth book in the Cranberry Cove series. The stranger, Dana Bakker is convinced someone is trying to kill her but, because of an automobile accident a few minutes earlier, she doesn’t remember who or why. Actually, she finds her sister Marta Kuiper was the target – she’s dead in the family home.
There are numerous possible suspects and reason why Marta is dead. Combined with the development potential of the Kuiper land and Monica’s brother’s land, Cranberry Cove is a dangerous place to be. Monica puts on her sleuthing hat to identify the guilty party, asking questions and checking information.
A busy story with a lot going on with Monica and with various secondary characters keeps the reader Involved. I love mysteries where it’s not obvious “who done it” and why. One chapter and I was sure I knew who the killer was, but in the next chapter new facts were revealed and my opinion changed. While this wasn’t my favorite cozy mystery, it was engaging enough that I finished it in one day (no housework completed, however.)
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. The opinion is completely my own.
Murder and Mischief in Cranberry Cove
Things begin popping in Cranberry cove. There’s a murder, a developer wanting to build a mall and Jeff is thinking of selling the farm. Everyone’s lives are in the balance. Each person’s future depends on someone else’s decision. What a mess. The characters are very interesting but could have been more developed. It was a good story. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
BERRIED IN THE PAST is the fifth book in the Cranberry Cove series. Though this is the fifth book in the series, I was not at all lost; it stood on its own well.
I loved the way that clues were dropped like carefully spaced bread crumbs leading me through a complicated maze. There are wonderful characters with diverse, unique, and complex personalities. The plot is well thought out with the back story provided for anyone new to the series, but not dragging for anyone who may be an avid reader of the author.
This may be the first book I have read from this new-to-me author, but I would love to read more. There is also the added bonus of recipes!
Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC via NetGalley, my opinions are my own and are given freely.
Title: BERRIED IN THE PAST
Series: Cranberry Cove #5
Category /Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Recommended for: 16+ due to suspense
Grammar/editing: received as an unedited ARC / errors excused
Received from: Beyond the Page Publishing
Life is good for Monica and Greg. Newly married and life is looking good, they are snug indoors on a cold snowy night when their late night calm is disturbed by a knock at the door. Who on earth would e out on a night like this? When Monica opens the door she sees a woman, definitely not dressed for the elements, who asks for help. She says somebody is trying to kill her. Amnesia has clouded her memory and saying that she remembers a house with a red door won’t get them far. Monica, of course, lets her stay the night and the next day the search begins. when they do find the right red door they also discover her sister, dead. Natural causes turn to murder and Monica is drawn into family troubles. Will she be able to catch the killer before she becomes the next target?
I enjoy the small town of Cranberry Cove, Michigan and all of the people living there. Monica’s husband owns a new and used book store, Monica makes tasty cranberry edibles and helps her brother with the cranberry business. The mystery left me satisfied – a puzzle complicated enough to keep me guessing and I guessed wrong.
Berried in the Past by Peg Cochran is the fifth in her Cranberry Cove mystery series. Monica and her husband, Greg, are comfortable sitting in front of the fireplace on evening when there is a knock at the door. Concerned because it is a little later than one normally expects guests, they hesitantly opened the door and found a confused woman who insists someone is trying to kill her. After inviting her in, and seeing to her welfare, Monica can’t let it go and needs to find about more about her. She can’t seem to remember where home is so the next day Monica drives her around town to see if she recognizes the house. She does. They enter the house only to find the dead body of her sister, several days old, lying in her bed. The mystery deepens.
Monica is a baker, specifically, making cranberry delights for the farm store she runs on her brother, Jeff’s, cranberry farm. She is in her mid-thirties and loves her job. She loves being creative and being her own boss. She loves coming up with cranberry delicacies, and she loves her husband. He runs a used bookstore in their small town and she had never expected to have someone like him in her life. Their life is a good one but she does seem to attract dead bodies. Her friend, Detective Stevens, is not convinced it was death by natural causes, despite being told that by the ME, who arrived on his way to the airport for a well-deserved vacation. She decides to look into it. She is also the harried single mother of a toddler, but she is more careful than the ME. This is a very character-driven book with terrific characters. There are plenty of lesser story lines, holding the reader’s interest until things happen in the main one. This was a terrific story. I recommend it.
I received a free ARC of Berried in the Past by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #berriedinthepast
Berried In The Past is the fifth book in the Cranberry Cove Mystery series.
Cranberry Cove is experiencing bitter cold and heavy snowfall, but Monica and Greg are having a romantic evening curled up in front of their fireplace when there is knocking at their front door. When they answer the door, there is a lady who identifies herself as Dana and says that someone is trying to kill her. She relates that she has run her car off the road while trying to find her sister’s home. They all agree to wait until the morning after the roads have been plowed to help Dana find her sister’s home. The next morning Monica and Dana set out to find Dana’s sister. Soon Dana remembers enough that they can find the house. They receive no response when they knock on the door. Dana tries the door and finds it unlocked and they enter calling her sister’s name. Getting no response, they start searching the house and soon find her dead in her bed. The coroner is called and is in too much of a hurry to start his vacation and states she died of natural causes.
Dana doesn’t believe that the coroner’s decision is correct and asks Monica if she will help to find out how her sister really died and Monica quickly agrees to help. Monica soon learns that some of the sister’s pills are missing and that may have caused her to have a heart attack. She also learns that Dana’s brother has been trying to get his sister to see the house that the three of them own. A real estate developer is also in town and wants the property to build housing. It also appears that a couple of her friends might have wanted to see the sister die.
A sub-plot hits close to home for Monica. Monica’s brother, Jeff, wants to sell the cranberry farm so he will have money to repair the injuries from a war injury to his arm. She’s worried that she and Greg will have to find a new place to live and she will lose her bakery.
The story is well-plotted and written. The residents of Cranberry Cove are well-developed and quite enjoyable. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing till the end.
There are also delicious-sounding recipes included in the book.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this delightful series.
Loved being with Greg and Monica for a while. Would you open your door to a stranger and then invite them to spend the night? Would this be a good move on Monica’s part or would she regret her hospitality? Follow along as we learn Dana’s story and Monica’s investigation into the murder that takes place. Do you know someone who was so hurt that they carry a grudge for several years, even if they act like they don’t? What would you have done in this person’s place? No, I’m not giving any names. I enjoyed this story and the characters. I think you will too. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
Berried in the Past by Peg Cochran is book five in the Cranberry Cove Mystery series. This was the first I have read but was able to get current quickly and plan to read the previous books.
Monica and Greg are relaxing in front of the fireplace during a snow storm when a stranger shows up at their door. She thinks she was ran off the road and someone it trying to kill her. Her car is off the road and no tow truck is going to be able to get it. They put her up for the night in the guest room. The next morning Monica drives her around the area when she recognizes a house. When they go in, they find her sister dead. It doesn’t appear suspicious but little things aren’t adding up. Who would want her dead and why. Monica sets out for answers.
This easy to read cozy has a great cast of characters and plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end. Cochran will have you feeling like you are in Cranberry Cove.
Recipes are included and you might start craving a muffin or cookie.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
Berried in the Past by Peg Cochran is the fifth A Cranberry Cove Mystery. New readers will have no problem reading this story. We get to return to the cozy town of Cranberry Cove with its charming shops and friendly citizens. Monica and Greg are newlyweds who live a cottage on Sassamanash Farm. Monica creates baked treats featuring cranberries which are sold in the farm store plus does the accounting for the farm and Greg owns Book ‘Em in town which sells used plus new books. It is after nine p.m. on a winter night when someone knocks on their door. Dana Bakker’s car skidded off the road after she escaped from the hospital. She believes someone is trying to kill her, but Dana is unable to recall more details. Dana was in the hospital from where she hit a tree and is now suffering from amnesia. She recalls a house with a red door (a common thing in Cranberry Cove). Monica takes her hunting for the red doored house and they find a dilapidated farmhouse with Dana’s sister dead inside. At first blush, it looks like the woman died of natural causes. Soon evidence points to murder. I thought the whodunit was straightforward and can easily be solved early in the book. Dana’s amnesia does not slow down our amateur sleuth. There are less than a handful of suspects for Monica to consider. There are good clues along with misdirection. I kept hoping the author would throw in a twist to surprise me at the end (one can dream). I did enjoy the action-packed reveal scene at the end and the clever way the guilty party is captured. There is further intrigue when Jeff considers selling Sassamanash Farm to pay for an experimental surgery on his arm. The town is up in arms and someone leaves threats at the farm and has notes delivered to Monica. There are warm, cozy moments in the story between Monica and Greg (newlyweds are lovey dovey). Kit, Monica’s assistant, is having some relationship and housing issues, another farm employee has happy news, plenty of baking with mouthwatering descriptions plus time spent with friends and family. Gina provides some lighthearted moments with her search for Mister Right. There are recipes at the end of the book. Berried in the Past is a warmhearted cozy mystery with a body in a bed, auto accident amnesia, cranberry cookery, troubling threats, a determined developer, nuzzling newlyweds and a mysterious murder.
Monica lives on a cranberry farm in Michigan along with her newlywed husband, Greg. On a snowy eve, their dinner is interrupted by a strange woman saying someone is trying to kill her. They take her in for the night and listen to her story. The next day Monica tries to help her find where she was fleeing from. They end up at her sister’s home and find her dead.
This is my first book that I’ve read in this series. I enjoyed it very much.
It has been almost two years since the last Cranberry Cove book by Peg Cochran and I have to say I was happy to make a return visit to Cranberry Cove. One of the reasons I enjoy this series so much is that it is set in my home state of Michigan. Cranberry Cove is a fictional town, by Ms. Cochran does such a delightful job of throwing in charming elements of small-town western Michigan that it makes me sad I can’t really visit this town. Monica and Greg are settling into married life when a knock on the door one evening changes their peace and quiet. Monica is once again in the center of a death that at first does not seem all that suspicious. However, once Monica gets a gut feeling she has to follow it through.
The mystery was well done and carries nicely throughout the story. There are not a lot of suspects to choose from, but Ms. Cochran does a wonderful job of leaving a trail of clues behind some twists and turns. I was convinced, right along with Monica, that I knew who the killer had to be. And of course, I was wrong, which was revealed in a climactic ending.
I really enjoy the secondary cast of characters that populate this charming town. They all feel like they are hitting their strides and settling into their personalities and are at the right place in their lives. There is still plenty of room for growth and development for the characters as their lives continue to evolve. I sincerely hope that I get a chance to visit this town and these characters in more books to come in this series.
I voluntarily read a digital advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher, Beyond the Page, through Netgalley.
family-dynamics, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, Michigan, murder-investigation, developers, greed
A frightened woman on Monica’s doorstep led to finding a dead woman in her own home who’s death was summarily dismissed as natural causes. Not.
The short tempered greedy brother of the distraught amnesiac is also brother to the dead sister and in deep conversation with a developer working on farm owners. It turns out that he has even made inroads in discussion with Monica’s own brother who is considering selling their family farm in order to have restorative surgery.
The motives pile up even faster than the clues. Good sleuthing!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley.