Book Review: Murder on the Farm, A Malvern Farm Mystery Book 1, Kate Wells
Book Review: Murder on the Farm, A Malvern Farm Mystery Book 1, Kate Wells
Blog Tour: September 6, 2023
Jude Gray is late for a wedding. She was showered, dressed, ready to go, but made one last check of the lambing pens on her farm. A ewe had rolled onto her newborn lamb, nearly crushing it to death. So, as one does, Jude moved the ewe, rescued the lamb, and made a mess of her hair, her outfit, and her perfume.
She never expected to be a farmer. Never expected to be raising sheep. But when her husband died just a few years after they married, she was left with his family’s farm and a decision. Feeling like she could not just give up a farm that had been part of his family for generations, Jude worked like crazy to keep it going. Early mornings, constant labor, dealing with the unexpected; like every farmer, her world centered around her work. The unexpected, though, should never have included finding the body of a friend on the farm.
Sarah Lloyd was vibrant, full of life and energy. She had been Adam Gray’s friend since childhood, and had quickly adopted Jude into their friendship group, encouraging the relationship and remaining a steady friend after Adam’s death. Despite some recent poor decisions she had made, Jude could never believe Sarah would kill herself. Since the police seem eager to write the case off as a suicide, Jude determines to look into her friend’s death herself.
Sometimes, though, when you are investigating a friend’s life and death, you discover more than you ever wanted to know.
Kate Wells has written a charming book with a delightful and determined farmer/sleuth. Jude is assisted by her sister, who arrives unexpectedly along with her toddler son. Add in a delightful companion dog named Pip (great with people, not so great herding sheep) and the rescued lamb named Pancake, the investigative team of amateurs does their best to help the DS who is looking into the case unofficially.
This book would have been fun driven only by the characters. Wells, though, has delivered on a twisty plot that left me guessing to the very end. Filled with false flags and red herrings, this is an excellent “whodoneit,” and the big reveal and climactic ending were everything that the plot promised to deliver. Fortunately, this is just the first of a series, so I will be able to follow Jude and her unlikely team through further adventures.
Our thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for our copy of Murder on the Farm, provided so we could write an honest review of this novel. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives on this novel, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: Murder on the Farm, A Malvern Farm Mystery Book 1, Kate Wells