When Houston reporter Lucy Resnick cashes in her retirement to buy her grandmother’s farm in Buttercup, Texas, she’s looking forward to a simple life as a homesteader. But Lucy has barely finished putting up her first batch of Killer Dewberry Jam when an oil exploration truck rolls up to the farm and announces plans to replace her broccoli patch with an oil derrick. Two days later, Nettie … Kocurek, the woman who ordered the drilling, turns up dead at the Founders’ Day Festival with a bratwurst skewer through her heart and one of Lucy’s jam jars beside her…and the sheriff fingers Lucy as the prime suspect.
Horrified, Lucy begins to talk to Nettie’s neighbors, but the more she gets to know the townspeople, the more she realizes she’s not the only one who had a beef with Nettie. Can she clear her name, or will her dream life turn into a nightmare?
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I loved so many things about this book. The perfect country setting, Dewberry Farm in Buttercup Texas with residents that have country names like Ursula, Opal, Rooster, Bessie Mae and Tobias. Lucy’s cow, Blossom, formerly known as Heifer #82, and her overweight, bald poodle, Chuck. An ongoing rivalry between the citizens of Czech and German descent. And laugh out loud moments reading about things like Lick Skillet Day, a bus that runs on fry grease, the real estate agent with the license plate that says BUY BUTT on it, and the mention of lots of kolaches. The murder mysteries were on point, and the colorful, quirky characters were amusing to say the least.
Buttercup, Texas is the recent home
of former investigator reporter Lucy
Resnick.
After the paper in Houston downsized,
Lucy moved on to buy and run her her
grandparent’s ranch. She has planted
her garden, has chickens plus a bought
a cow. She calls the cow Blossom. Little
did she known Blossom was known as
“the runaway cow” always finding a way
to escape. Also little did she know that
she didn’t buy the mineral rights on the
property. She discovered this when a
huge oil drilling truck shows on the
property to dig.
Luckily, Lucy is able to put a hold on the
digging. Unluckily, the woman who sold
her the farm turns up dead at the annual
Founder’s Day celebration. The woman
was skewered to death and a jar of Lucy’s
Dewberry Jam found next to the woman.
The Sheriff decides Lucy murdered the
woman.
Lucy needs to prove her innocence so
she starts her own investigation.
An adventure that is very well plotted out.
With several subplots making the story
interesting such as a cold case murder,
the murder of the beekeeper, an abusive
husband, a ghostly presence at the farm,
the goat farm and Chuck, the dog.
Talented writing with well fleshed out
characters that are complex,
Recipes are included at the end of the story.
This is an entertaining debut to a series. The setting of the small town in Texas is charming and relatable. The characters are likable and realistic. My favorite character is Blossom, the cow. She is humorous and strong-willed. The protagonist Lucy is my favorite human character. She is determined to make her farm successful. I enjoy how the past and present mysteries are woven together with several twists and turns. There are recipes included for the foodie cozy fans.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way, I have been influenced by anyone.
Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney beautifully fits into the cozy mystery genre that I enjoy so much. The rural setting of Buttercup, Texas is vividly conveyed and central to the story. Characters are created in this first-of-series story that will keep me wanting to come back. The mystery plot is well crafted, with the murder victim being a character you love to hate and the number of possible suspects just right. And Killer Jam is a clean read, which I greatly appreciate.
A series succeeds or fails based on the main character, and I found Lucy very appealing. During her years as a Houston crime reporter, Lucy had dreamed of the simpler life that she had experienced years earlier in Grandma Vogel’s kitchen, which led to her purchase of Dewberry Farm … “I went from being Lucy Resnick, reporter, to Lucy Resnick, unemployed homesteader of my grandparents’ derelict farm.” Lucy doesn’t go over the top in investigating the murder, but draws on her investigative journalist skills and contacts in order to defend herself.
There’s a gentle humor throughout that I loved. A couple of secondary characters add depth – Tobias, a veterinarian and possible romantic interest, and Quinn, a good friend with an abusive husband. There’s Rooster, an uncooperative sheriff who was elected more for his family connections than skill. We also see local prejudice between the German and Czech communities, and an unsolved murder going back to 1940.
And, of course, what would a cozy be without endearing animals? I fell in love with Chuck, a bald, slightly overweight poodle, and Blossom, a cow that likes to overturn buckets of milk when they are full and has hidden talents as an escape artist. I’ve got a feeling that Lucy is going to increase the animal population on Dewberry Farm in future stories and can’t wait for these developments.
Going forward, I hope for more character depth and maybe a little less descriptive passages. But Killer Jam is a great beginning to what promises to be a delightful cozy series.
Recommended.
Great story. I loved the farm in particular, the small town feel and the feeling of a peaceful (usually) isolation. Such a fun read that you can just sink into. I definitely recommend it!
Great beginning to an enjoyable cozy mystery. I read this when it first came out, but reread to see how the characters had developed. Very interesting.
Received a free copy from author for a review. I enoyed the story and the characters.
I enjoyed the story and different format and direction. Fun read, and starting book 2.
Investigative reporter Lucy Resnick has bought the farm – that is her grandparent’s farm outside the small town of Buttercup, Texas. However, just days after learning that the previous owner, Nettie Kocurek, retained the mineral rights in the sale and intends to drill for oil, Nettie is stabbed. With the police focusing on the outsider – Lucy – she has to act find to find the real killer.
This is a fun series debut filled with great characters and a fun small town that I really grew to love. The plot did blog down a little in the second quarter, but it soon started back up with plenty of twists and surprises to keep me confused until the end.