A fun Colorado bed and breakfast who-dun-it perfect for days stuck inside.
When the Brandywine Inn guests are trapped with a killer in their midst, Anne Freemont tries to uncover the killer before anyone else dies. But as the blizzard approaches, is there a ghost in the bed and breakfast too?
Anne Freemont is excited about the opening of the Brandywine Inn. When the guests arrive, it’s easy to … When the guests arrive, it’s easy to see that there’s bad blood in the group. When one of the guests dies, it seems to have been of natural causes but when another person dies, Anne knows that a killer will stop at nothing for revenge. As a blizzard bears down on the inn, can Anne uncover the killer before someone else dies?
Cordial Killing is the second book in the Backyard Farming series by Vikki Walton. The backyard farming series can be read in any order. Each book has a theme and Cordial Killer is about elderberry cordial, along with the theme of friendship.
◆◆◆Scroll up and buy this book now!◆◆◆
more
If ever there were a reason to pick a book purely on title alone, this would be at the top of my list. There are so many meanings, but anything with an actual cordial recipe is one I must sample. Earlier this year, I read the first book, Chicken Culprit, in Vikki Walton’s series, A Backyard Farming Mystery, and chatted with the author afterward. I enjoyed the book and looked forward to seeing what else would happen in this fun Colorado town. Walton’s second book, Cordial Killing, is better than the first, and is something I’d recommend to cozy fans and mystery lovers.
I did not grow up on a farm nor do I know much about all the things you can do in your own backyard to grow things. Of course we had a vegetable garden and lots of flowers and trees, but this series makes the whole concept quite cool! In this second book, a charming house is converted into a bed and breakfast. It’s opening weekend, but Hope, Anne, and Kandi could never have suspected a second murder would occur in their small hometown. Four women and a doctor descend upon them for a weekend getaway, but they haven’t all seen one another in many years. Former doctors and lovers only end up with one thing in common — someone’s gonna be killed and it’s definitely related to someone’s hurt feelings from medical school. But trying to weed through all the clues is what makes reading it such fun. Throw in a ghost, a runaway, a vape, and a few secret affairs, you know it’s gonna get dicey!
From the get-go, I saw great improvement between the first and the second book. While part of it is due to an author having more freedom after the initial book in a series, there’s also a lovely jump in writing style, character development, and story execution. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this one. At first, I thought… they’re all named Elizabeth Taylor (inside joke — you have to read to understand it) and I’m gonna lose track of who is who. But by a third into the story, the personalities are clear and the scenes are dramatic. It’s easy to stay on track and connected with the story and suspects.
Walton weaves a good balance between the main mystery and side stories. As we see the lives of the three b&b owners move on after the murder in the first book, we learn more about their pasts, their needs, and their friendships. Anne, as the main character, is someone I’d like to meet and know. Hope is a great doctor and has perfect life advice. Kandi, while sometimes bordering on the obnoxious, is intended to be that way. I suspect Walton’s planning a nice growth arc for her, which makes seeing the changes all that more valuable. I disliked her in the first books, I’m waffling in this second book, and I can only guess what will happen in the third one. But I will definitely be reading it because Walton’s created a fun series with lots of room for expansion, intrigue, and clever action. Take advantage of this series as it’s early on so you can stay abreast as each new book is launched. You might also learn some great recipes, techniques, and skills.
If you opened up a bed and breakfast and your first guests were trouble, would you keep going like nothing is wrong or would you quickly refund their money and send them on their way? How would it affect the outlook of your business? Would you be ready to try again right away or give up? Walton has an intriguing cozy mystery that will leave readers suspicious of everyone until the very end.
Anne, Hope, and Kandi are all excited to open their new bed and breakfast, Brandywine Inn. As they greet their first guests, it is apparent that the five guests know each other and are less then pleased with the reunion which means trouble for the three owners. Fearful that the grand opening may not be a successful one, they agree to see what happens and hope for the best. They find out that the guests had all been friends at one point in time, so the three women cross their fingers and hope that this stay can restore their friendship. They couldn’t have predicted a death that could quite frankly…not be an accident. The first death was easy to blame on a heart attack, but the second death from Cordial? That starts to raise suspicion and make everyone fearful. With the snow storm coming through their area, no one is able to leave and their may now be a killer among them.
Walton’s story is compelling with its rising mystery and lovable characters. The story has a few grammatical errors, but this should not hinder enjoyment of the novel. Walton is creative and original with her scenes and the plot, making the characters fun, mysterious, and credible. This is the second book in the Backyard Farming Mysteries; however, it can be read as a standalone. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you may want to pick this series up.
A copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by the author and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating to Cordial Killing by Vikki Walton.
Very immersive and very well written. The perfect cozy mystery to curl up with
Nice enjoyable cosy mystery
Anne, Kandi and Hope were great characters. Their bed and breakfast was a great idea and I liked the start of the story. The guests of the bed and breakfast were all surprising. And the way they were etched, I enjoyed reading about the back story of every single guest.
Though it came in the middle of the book, the first murder was expected, considering the history that the guests of the Bed and Breakfast, have wit each other.
The mystery was a little guessable, but the description and the chemistry between the characters especially between Anne and the Sheriff was enjoyable.
Liked the cute, cosy mystery.
Not my cup of tea
I didn’t like Anne. She irritated me. She was too schoolmarmish. She gave me the feeling that she thought she was better than others. And being a bit snarky is okay, but too snarky is just plain old mean.
Kandi said ‘like’ too much. (Quote as an example of what I mean: “Did I, like, scare you?”) She kept doing it and doing it and there was no escaping it. And the extra emphasis on the word that was continually written in italics was too much for me. So that irritated me as well.
Furthermore, the characters weren’t developed enough. I guess the mystery itself was okay, but the characters make this a no from me.
This is a page turner, a fun cozy murder mystery. Love the title and how it fits the plot. You learn to make an elderberry cordial and someone is killed. There are ghost like happenings and four suspects. A fun whodunit. Would recommend this to all who like cozy mysteries.