|
Charlotte Finn inherits her great uncle Tobias’
produce farm and heads west to California leaving the craziness
of her advertising career in Chicago behind. She thinks that
the return to nature will be good for her soul and that running
a 50-acre produce farm of strawberries won’t be too
hard.
Reality hits though when she is faced with the fact that the
farm is a money pit. There’s nothing to be done but
cut her losses and sell it. Her childhood best friends, Diane
and Beau have driven from Santa Monica to meet her and provide
moral support.
As the realtor, Mr. Lurvy, tours the fields with Charlotte,
Diane, caretaker Joe Wong, and farm expert Samuel Brown, he
falls and lands next to the corpse of a young man who’s
got a pitchfork through his neck! Since the farm won’t
sell during a murder investigation, Charlotte has to run the
farm, figure out whom she can and cannot trust, and find the
killer before he or she strikes again.
It only took until page four for me to realize what a delight
this book is. Charlotte’s relationship with animals
and insects is charming. It was nice to meet the characters
and learn about them bit by bit as this first book lays the
groundwork for the series. The author did a great job with
setting the scene, drawing the reader’s interest in
the characters’ long-term relationships, and giving
insight as new friendships and other relationships are forged.
As I read this book in March of 2020, the world is in turmoil.
Reading “Dead on the Vine” allowed me to put that
aside and step into the world of Finn’s Family Farm.
Well done, Elle Brooke White, well done!
I highly recommend this mystery to one and all.
|
