Check Out the First Book in the New Backyard Farming Mystery SeriesCHICKEN CULPRITFinally healing after her heart-breaking divorce, Anne Freemont is ready to put the painful past behind her. Discovering an old Victorian for sale in the small mountain town of Carolan Springs may be just what she needs. The beauty of Colorado beckons, so Anne heads west to start her new life.Yet, before … heads west to start her new life.
Yet, before Anne’scompletely settled in, her neighbor is found dead in his compost pile. What’s worse is that Anne’s quirky young neighbor, Kandi Jenkins, could be the killer. When Kandi begs for her help, Anne feels she has no choice but to help the young woman.
However, she finds herself quickly at odds with the local sheriff. And while she uncovers more of the community’s secrets, she’s also exploring her awakening feelings for Sam Powers, the town’s deputy coroner.
Once Anne starts looking at who could be the real killer, the suspect list keeps getting longer and longer. It seems that Carolan Springs is a place of many secrets. But who would want to murder Ralph and who’s willing to kill again to keep their secret?
Cast of Characters
- Stewart Rogers: Ralph’s nephew who’s always turning up unexpectedly.
- Hope Boswell: Doctor and herbalist who’s come home to care for her ailing mother.
- Faith Boswell: Dealing with early onset dementia, she still has what some call second sight.
- Eliza de French: An Ethiopian woman whose beauty hides an ugly secret.
- Jeff Jenkins: Kandi’s goal-oriented husband who often travels for work.
˃˃˃ First Book in The Backyard Farming Cozy Mystery Series
Chicken Culprit introduces us to Anne Fremont, a divorcee starting over in the fictional town of Carolan Springs, Colorado. With a diverse cast of characters, the locale isn’t short of personalities and suspects.
With a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor that women of a certain age can relate to, Chicken Culprit takes a look at love, loss and the impact of the past in our lives.
˃˃˃ Q&A with the Author
1.Why did you decide to write a mystery series around homesteading?
Mysteries have always been my favorite genre since I received my first set of Nancy Drew books. When I finally decided to write my own I knew I wanted to write about something I love and that’s homesteading or backyard farming. I live in the suburbs but our landscaping is a combination of permaculture food guilds, gardens and Xeriscape. We have chickens and are beekeepers. My chicken, Rusty, was a character in her own right. Now she’s one in my first book.
2.What advice would you give to someone who wants to start backyard farming?
Decide what you want the most and do that first. Then add to it. Don’t do too much at once. You can use the simple quiz on my website to help determine the top three things for your havenstead.
3.What’s a havenstead?
I believe that your home should be your haven. Homesteading has been around for hundreds of years. Now you can create your own havenstead.
4.Can you give us a glimpse into the next book?
Sure! Someone and possibly a couple of someone’s are going to die. It will feature another part of homesteading and that’s around the food production side of things. In this case the main star will be the elderberry plant. The book after that will feature bees.
5.What do you hope your reader’s take away from your book?
It’s not great literature. It’s a short book in simple language. I hope people will enjoy it as a light read with a touch of humor, a spotlight on the human condition, and learn a bit about chickens and eggs.
˃˃˃ Connect with Vikki
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If you’re a fan of curling up with a quick, readable mystery, then you’ll love Chicken Culprit. And if other books in this new Backyard Farming series are as entertaining as this debut novel, they will prove to be utterly enjoyable. Be ready to immerse yourself in small town living, complete with a few wayward and badly behaved chickens!
This was a cute story with a totally surprising ending. I loved everything about it except the female issues. They added absolutely nothing to the story. I would read more by this author.
The story is engaging, the plot suspenseful, and the characters likable. It is a delightful sleuth murder mystery and If you like a book that you don’t want to put down, a story that mesmerizes you, and good writing, then read this book! You won’t be sorry!
This well-written book kept my attention throughout the entire book, trying to figure out “who done it”. There were surprises, twists and turns that kept not only my attention but kept me reading until I finished the book!
Easy to read and funny, yet an interesting murder mystery. Fun to read.
I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend to everyone.
If you want an easy read that is enjoyable this is the book.
A fun little read with very lovable characters and wonderful small town feel.
Enjoyed this book and was sad when it ended!
A great clean read with lots of action and great character with a lot of surprises ..
Charming characters and situations. Fun read.
Fast, light hearted reading. Nice book to just pick up and not have to do too much thinking or keeping track of everyone. Love it!
Lots of twists and turns, engaging characters and plenty of action.
it was an ok cozy, easy to read with a who-dun-it plot
Too many characters. Hard to follow.
I read a couple chapters and still didn’t care what happened to the characters, so I quit reading.
Not the typical cozy mystery that I normally read. I really enjoyed the characters and scenery depicted in the book.
Loved this book..read in 2 days…couldn’t put it down. Totally did not expect the ending.
Loved it, missed sleep trying to finish!
A fun read.