Til Dirt Do Us Part

April 21, 2014
Maxwell’s engaging second Local Foods mystery (after 2013’s A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die) finds Cameron Flaherty preparing for her first farm-to-table dinner party. Eighty people will gather under a tent on her organic farm in Millsbury, Mass., served from a temporary kitchen in the barn. Fortunately, a threatened storm holds off, and the evening is a big success. The next day, however, Cam learns that one of her guests, cantankerous Irene Burr, has been found dead in a pig sty on a neighbor’s pig farm. When Bobby Burr, Irene’s carpenter stepson who helped repair Cam’s barn after a fire, becomes a suspect in what proves to be a murder case, Cam sets out with Bobby’s mechanic friend, Simone Koyama, to prove his innocence by finding the real killer. On top of the intriguing whodunit plot, Maxwell vividly portrays life on a small contemporary farm. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency.

May 1, 2014
At a dinner of local food growers, organic farmer Cam Flaherty can't help but notice that her guest, Irene, is rubbing some folks the wrong way. But when Irene is found dead in a neighbor's pigpen, Cam wants to help clear Cam's friend Bobby's name off the suspect list. Cam's customers bring her gossip and engage in some strange behavior, particularly Diane, who turns out to have ulterior motives for visiting the farm. While doing her amateur sleuthing, Cam finds time to enter her produce in a fair, help abused animals, and deal with her moody boyfriendall of which add depth to her character. The organic-farming backdrop ably supports a twisted and timely plot. There are plenty of farming-based cozies on the market today, but this one stands out in what is becoming a crowded field.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)