A SECRET IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH y Gin Jones & Elizabeth Ashby

Fiction, Cozy Mystery

4****

Blurb: It’s Halloween, and Maria Dolores is hoping for a trouble-free weekend, the last one before the Lighthouse Farmers’ Market closes for the winter. But her hopes are dashed when a state agricultural inspector threatens to shut down the market prematurely… right before a young woman falls to her death from the lighthouse cliff! The local homicide detective thinks it was suicide and won’t listen to Maria’s extensive list of possible suspects for foul play or the fact that the victim was known for getting into fights that went beyond mere words. Not even Maria’s boyfriend, lawyer-turned-farmer Merle Curtis, can convince the detective otherwise. Now it’s up to Maria to unearth A SECRET IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH before the killer buries the truth—and possibly Maria along with it—forever.

Thoughts: This is the 17th book in the Danger Cove Mysteries – and the third one with Maria Delores as the main character. It’s Halloween weekend and the last weekend for the farmer’s market in Danger Cove and market manager Maria Delores is just trying to hang on until the market closes down. But… the murder of someone dressed as she is, then someone tries to run her down in the street lets her know that someone really wants her dead. Add to that, a crooked agriculture inspector, a bee keeper who can’t make up his mind, and an irritating vendor who criticizes her every move and you have the makings for an interesting whodunnit.

And a very satisfying ending!

Recommended.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the Gemma Halliday Publishing for providing this book. All opinions are mine and are not solicited or influenced by anyone or anything.