Description (from cover):'In the quaint seaside village of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy Holliday has a mostly idyllic life, tending to the Blueberry Acres farm she runs with her father and occasionally stepping in to solve a murder or two...
Summer has arrived! But as the community gears up for another festive strawberry-picking season, the villagers are shocked when local berry farmer Miles Crawford is found dead in a hoophouse near his strawberry fields. Rumors have been swirling around about a secret real estate deal between Miles and Lydia St. Graves. And now Lydia is missing after she was seen fleeing the scene of the crime...
When Henry 'Doc' Holliday becomes involved in the mystery, his daughter, Candy, finds herself caught in a jam as well. But things turn very sticky when Lydia suddenly reappears and asks for Candy's help in finding the true murderer...'
My thoughts:
When I first started getting back into reading cozy mysteries, I remember this series being one of the ones that really drew me back into the genre. What's not to love? Fantastic characters, a cute and charming seaside village in Maine and murder mysteries with tons of suspects with motive. I have dearly come to enjoy reading this series and seeing what Candy lands into next. If you've read this series before, it tends to incorporate past events into the newer novels and yet appeals to newer readers as they don't have to read the others to enjoy a good cozy mystery.
Miles Crawford, a local berry farm owner and a pillar of the Cape Willington community is found dead at his farm and the buzz about town seems to indicate that he was involved in a shady real estate deal. Candy must use her sharp wits and detective skills to determine if someone she knows could be a killer. She enlists the help of her father and some other friends along the way to determine who just had motive and why they would try to frame Candy and her father.
Every single time that I read this series, it feels like I am returning home. Catching up with characters that feel like my neighbors and when it's all over it's almost sad. Few series do that to me and this is one of those rare gems that I simply cannot wait to read. If you haven't had the opportunity to read this series, I highly encourage you to do so. I feel like you are missing out on a well-written cozy series that it would be shame for you to miss out on. Can't wait for the next one to see what happens next in my new favorite little town, Cape Willington, Maine. The ending leaves the reader in suspense and I am anxiously counting down the days until the next one is released.
Overall Rating: 5
Title: Town in a Strawberry Swirl
Author: B.B. Haywood
Series: Candy Holliday Mystery #5
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Pages: 320
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was selected from the library by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
