Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney


Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney

A Dewberry Farm Mystery, Book One
When Houston reporter Lucy Resnick cashes in her retirement to buy her grandmother's farm in Buttercup, Texas, she's looking forward to a simple life as a homesteader. But Lucy has barely finished putting up her first batch of Killer Dewberry Jam when an oil exploration truck rolls up to the farm and announces plans to replace her broccoli patch with an oil derrick. Two days later, Nettie Kocurek, the woman who ordered the drilling, turns up dead at the Founders Day Festival with a bratwurst skewer through her heart and one of Lucy's jam jars beside her and the sheriff fingers Lucy as the prime suspect.
Horrified, Lucy begins to talk to Nettie's neighbors, but the more she gets to know the townspeople, the more she realizes she's not the only one who had a beef with Nettie. Can she clear her name, or will her dream life turn into a nightmare?
★★★★☆

I got this book free from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for a review, which I'm thankful to them for.

This book is an incredibly strong start to this new series. The author gives attention to the characters she introduces so that you don't feel that she's only giving you a vague sketch of them, saving fleshing them out for future books, but she also makes you feel that there's more to learn about them. I left the book feeling a connection with the characters that I wasn't expecting when I first started it.

When I first started the book, I admit that I wasn't drawn in. The first chapter seemed dull and I couldn't feel a connection to the characters. That feeling didn't last for long, though. By the start of chapter 2 I was beginning to get drawn into the plot and interest in the characters quickly followed. I think that the charm of the novel came from the communalism that was such a central part of the interaction between characters. Characters weren't merely looking out for themselves, they were thinking of the good of their town as a whole. Characters that didn't follow this mode of thinking and did prioritize their wants above the town were seen as suspect or even villainous. It was treated as an unnatural trait to be selfish. I think that's one of the things I most appreciated about the novel from beginning to end is the way that the town worked together. I had a few issues with the book as it progressed, primarily in the form of a few awkward phrasings and a very, very minor continuity error, but my appreciation for the way that characters connected more than overwhelmed that and made the book an enjoyable read.

At the end of the book a few recipes were included, some of which I'd tried before reading the book and some of which I haven't. The ones that I'd made a variation of before, the maple twists and the jam, were delicious which makes me excited to try the other ones. Having a great book that also gives me a new recipe to try is a fun surprise.

I'm excited to see more books come out of this series. I'd definitely recommend this book to others and read future books if they came out.

Link to book on Goodreads and Indiebound.

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