Put out to pasture

Shiloh Bellamy left her career as a producer in L.A. to return to her hometown of Cherry Glen in northwestern Michigan to run her dilapidated family farm. With limited funds, she has managed to make some repairs and is beginning to bring the farm back to life, culminating in an ambitious plan to host the town's upcoming Fall Daze festival. Unfortunately, the irritating Minnie Devani is found strangled at the farm, with Shiloh's best friend Kristy Brown's distinctive scarf apparently the murder weapon. Knowing that Minnie and Kristy had argued publicly, Minnie's best friend's husband, who happens to be the local police chief, seems ready to railroad Kristy for the murder. Concerned for Kristy, Shiloh investigates, all the while dealing with an antagonistic neighbor and a new competitor who also farms organically. Shiloh must also come to grips with her growing feelings for her deceased fiancé's best friend. The lovingly portrayed rural atmosphere, details of running a farm, and a well-drawn small-town setting frame this satisfying cozy.

Flower's entertaining sequel to 2021's From Farm to Trouble opens on a beautiful October day in Cherry Glen, Mich., where the Fall Daze festival is in full swing. Former Hollywood producer turned organic farmer Shiloh Bellamy devised the event to bring visitors to the farm and to test new recipes for baked goods. Shiloh's father, however, isn't pleased by the hundreds of strangers milling around, and Shiloh, too, begins to doubt the wisdom of the festival once she starts running out of food for the hungry tourists. Finding more muffins turns out to be the least of her worries when an unpopular local is found dead at the foot of one of the decorative scarecrows set up in a nearby field. Worse still, the body has been strangled with the eye-catching scarf belonging to Shiloh's best friend, the manager of the popular Cherry Glen Farmers Market. Shiloh must once again turn sleuth to catch the real culprit. Flower efficiently establishes the who, what, where, and how right at the beginning. Cozy fans will hope to see a lot more of the earnest, quick-witted Shiloh. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Feb.)