Thursday, September 19, 2019

Christmas Cow Bells

Who knew cows could be depressed? In Christmas Cow Bells by Mollie Cox Bryannew farmer Brynn MacAlister learns some valuable information about cows as she tries to make a success of her farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the first in the new Buttermilk Creek Mystery series by Bryan, Brynn has had to take the reins of her farm by herself after splitting with her boyfriend. (Christmas Cow Bells will be released by Kensington Publishing on September 24.)

One of Brynn's cows has taken to mooing all day because she lost her calf. Before long, her neighbors are complaining about the sound, but Brynn doesn't feel any great warmth from them anyway. She and her neighbor Nancy Scors haven't been made to feel welcome in Middlebrook, Virginia, and they are not sure why. 

Nancy lives in an old church and she had planned to turn it into a farm shop so local artisans could sell their wares. Some of the towns people were solidly against changing anything, especially the church. When Nancy dies in a suspicious fire at the church, Brynn wonders who would have killed Nancy or was it an accident? 

As odd and somewhat threatening incidents begin to happen to Brynn, she fears she might have to give up her farm and her dream in fear for her life. Trying to solve some of her minor issues, Brynn befriends local vet Schuyler Rafferty who uses acupuncture to try to ease Petunia's depression. But as events keep escalating, Brynn decides she needs to solve Nancy's murder and discover who is trying to run her out of town. 

A terrific start to a new series. 


Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. 

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