When Brenda Sheffield receives the letter from Edward Graham she knows her life will change drastically. She is now the proud owner of Sheffield Bed and Breakfast in the seaboard town of Sweetfern Harbor, willed to her by her uncle Randolph Sheffield. After pursuing a career as an amateur sleuth, she looks forward to the new challenge. Once she arrives in the picturesque village, the colorful … colorful shops and enticing townspeople hold her spellbound. Assured crime never happens in the safest place along the New England coast, she delves into her new career. Brenda learns that not all is as it seems in Sweetfern Harbor. A despicable woman named Lady Pendleton not only owns most of the town, but she also makes it her mission to continue vendettas against everyone by regularly raising rents on businesses and homes. She is known to have ruined people financially more than once.
The day Lady Pendleton’s car comes barreling toward the Sheffield Bed and Breakfast, Brenda watches in horror until it comes to an abrupt stop. When Lady Pendleton does not emerge from the car, Brenda discovers her slumped over the steering wheel. She is pronounced dead by the Coroner and he deems it a homicide. Most of the townspeople become suspects.
The very handsome Detective Mac Rivers enlists Brenda’s help in solving the case. Brenda discovers twists and turns in every tidbit of new information that reaches her. The intertwining of loyalties and fierce protection of one another in Sweetfern Harbor adds to the difficulty in solving the case. On top of that, Brenda must keep focused on the case, and not on Mac Rivers’ charm.
Sweetfern Harbor Bed and Breakfast Cozy Mysteries can be read in one to two hours. It is perfect for those moments when you are waiting at an appointment or want to enjoy a quick read.
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This Cozy Mystery has EXACTLY what you want. The characters are interesting. It is not obvious who the killer is, and there is a side love story to keep you engaged. I absolutely recommend this story and hope there are many more to come!
Brenda inherits a bed and breakfast. There is Lady Pendleton who is as mean as she can be to the entire town. She is killed and Brenda gets involved with solving the crime with Detective Rivers. If you want a cozy mystery to read to pass the time, this book is for you. But you need to suspend reality to enjoy this book. I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request and this is my honest review.
amateur-sleuth, bed-and-breakfast, law-enforcement, family, friendship, murder-investigation, novella
Basically the story is short but good, the narrator not so much.
A nice cozy involving a transplant to a small town on the New England shore who has inherited a lovely B&B with a reliable staff. She has a history of assisting with investigations so the local detective asks for her help in resolving the question of who actually murdered the most hated person in town. Good sleuthing is managed despite the short length of the book.
I was disappointed that the narrator had such a grating voice and the delivery was peculiar at best.
This is a quick, light read obviously intended to present the characters who will be at the core of the series. So far, we get just a general idea of who these persons are, enough to understand their place into the story. There is also a romantic interest, and we’ll see how this goes later.
The story is entertaining and the narration by Kasey Logan added a lot to my enjoyment. If you are looking for something easy and not too involving to listen, this is a good choice.
This review is for the audio book.
This was a fun quick listen. I did get a bit confused with so many characters getting introduced all in a short space of time but there was a lot of suspects to keep it interesting. I liked the small town community and the way everybody know everybody’s business. I did think it would have been better if the story was longer, as a few interviews happened without the listener being present. Also the characters could have been developed more with a longer story. It was good, what was there and I do think as the series continues the characters will become likeable the more you get to know them and it is a good start to a new series.
Brenda has inherited her uncle’s business a Bed and breakfast and all the wonderful staff that runs it. She soon settles in but finds the idyllic settings isn’t the friendliest place in the world, all because of one woman lady Pendleton. Everybody in town seems to have reason to hate her. She owns all the properties in town, from houses to business and as a consequence she puts up the rent prices as and when she wants or feels like it and no matter who it hurts. So Brenda isn’t surprised when she ends up dead, someone was going to snap sooner or later. With everyone having a motive and pointing the finger the police turn to Brenda for help, she used to work for a private investigation agency in a big city. So her keeping her ear to the ground would be a big help. Who really did kill the most hated woman in town? Her own husband?, the police chief’s daughter? Her lawyer? The suspects seem end less.
The narrator was okay bit seemed a bit breathless or the words were drawn out and I couldn’t always tell who was ment to be talking.
A fun, if simplistic , plot line with good characters. This quick, entertaining cozy mystery is a little bit of a stretch toward the end—but still a good read on a rainy day.
When Brenda Sheffield inherits a bed and breakfast from her uncle, she packs up her life as an assistant to a private investigator in Michigan and relocates to the charming small town of Sweetfern Harbor. As is the way, the residents there know everyone and everyone’s business but, for the most part, all get along very well. There is an exception though, and in this case, it is the local grande dame and largest property owner, Priscilla Pendleton. Soon after Brenda arrives, the town gets into an uproar because “Lady” Pendleton has announced another rent increase and is really putting the squeeze on the small, local business owners. When Lady Pendleton suddenly ends up dead and everyone in town has a motive to get rid of her, the local police detective asks Brenda to help him work through the long list of suspects.
“Posies and Poisons” is a short and quick introduction to the “Sweetfern Harbor” cozy mystery series by Wendy Meadows. The author has created a quaint setting in the small seaside town, one every reader will want to visit, if it were possible, with a variety of interesting characters to populate it. The main character, Brenda Sheffield, is calm and canny and very observant of her fellow residents. This amateur sleuth did not do anything out of the ordinary or put herself in harm’s way as most do, and that was a nice change. She was smart, sensible, capable, and likable. The police detective on the case, Mac Rivers, seemed less so. Likable, yes, and definitely a candidate as a romantic interest for Brenda but he seemed to jump from suspect to suspect too quickly.
I recommend this book for cozy mystery readers especially those that like those small-town stories.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
Posies and Poison Sweetfern Harbor Mystery, Book 1, my first read from author Wendy Meadows. Well-written cozy mystery with intriguing, well-developed characters. I was impressed and enjoyed the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Kasey Logan. I look forward to reading more in this series & from this author. “I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.” (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
When I started listening to this book, I realized that the narrator had the ability to change her voice for each of the characters. it definitely made listening more interesting. I wouldn’t necessarily have thought too much about that except for the first quarter of the book was sappy. Sickeningly sweet. I thought nobody talks this way. But I didn’t let it deter me and kept listening. It got better. Once we seemed to be through the introductions to each character and their wonderful shops and how sad they were and how much the villain was hated, then we started to get into the plot of the story. And the storyline was good. Trying to figure out who the murderer was from the clues is always a fun part of a cozy mystery. But this one had me guessing almost to the end. Would I recommend it? Absolutely! As it turned out, it was quite good.
All is not so well in Sweetfern Harbor
What do you do when the tyrant of the town comes up dead and is found to have been poisoned? Well, you put your running shoes on and investigate every single person in town because this tyrant left no person unscathed and the suspects are everyone! A great whodunit with a rare but wonderful ending! Loved every minute of it! Great story!
Brenda Sheffield (assistant to a PI) has just found out her uncle has passed away and she has inherited his bed and breakfast in Sweetfern Harbor. She is taken by surprise as she has only met the man once, but can’t wait to leave her old life behind and start anew.
The town of Sweetfern Harbor is just what Brenda has been looking for. The village is filled with beautiful shops and the friendliest of residents. Well, all but one… Lady Pendleton. It appears she owns more than half of the buildings and apartment rentals in town and is a bit of a tyrant. She is ruthless to the core and loves nothing more than raising rents and kicking people out of their homes and businesses.
When Brenda discovers the body of Lady Pendleton slumped over the wheel of her car in the driveway of the Sheffield B&B, she finds herself involved in a murder case alongside handsome detective Mac Rivers. Can the murderer be found before another victim is claimed?
This is a wonderful new cozy mystery series with lots of twists and turns, fabulous characters, and a great storyline.
Very much enjoyed this book! Fun series. I also left review on Amazon.
This was an interesting 1st book in a new series. You will feel like part of the Sweetfern Harbor family. Brenda inherits a B&B from her Uncle so she moves to Sweetfern Harbor to run it. It is a small tourist town with shops selling coffee, flowers,etc. Brenda meets Mac the local police detective when the town’s least liked resident dies. Brenda helps Mac investigate. Once the story is set up in the first couple chapters, it has a good pace, interesting characters, and a little romance. I am looking forward to returning to Sweetfern Harbor in the next book. (less)