Picked Off

A Halloween-themed fundraiser for Carol Strong, a friend of Brie's aunt Eva is planned at Udderly Kidding Dairy. In Picked Off by Linda Lovely, Brie is looking forward to meeting Carol's son, Zack, a successful NFL quarterback. (Picked Off will be released on June 5 by Henery Press)

Carol Strong is running for governor of South Carolina, but she has some enemies who might try to disrupt the evening. Security is being provided by Brie's two would-be boyfriends, Paint and Andy. When Chester Finley drives up in a hearse with a bullhorn, he accuses Carol of being a "traitorous bitch". Chester is a member of CAVE - Citizens Against Virtually Everything.  He's pretty brave when he has his posse of other thugs with him.

Zack jumps in and punches Chester. Before a full on melee breaks out, Eva chases the intruders off with her shotgun. Trying to resume the evening takes some doing, but things seem to be running smoothly.

With everyone in costumes, security is tough so it's no surprise when someone assaults Zack with a pitchfork and no one can identify the assailant. Seriously injured, Zack is rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Carol stations herself at his bedside until a phone call takes her away. Suddenly Carol is missing and no one has any idea what has happened to her.

Along with her three sidekicks - Mollye, Paint and Andy - Brie tries to find Carol and keep the star quarterback safe. There's plenty of plotting and planning and lots of running away from the "bad guys" in this latest installment of the Brie Hooker Mysteries, and as usual Brie and Aunt Eva are right in the thick of things.

Another enjoyable mystery. 

Checkout the new Giveaway on Tuesday, May 8 at MapYourMystery.com

Bones to Pick

Brie Hooker, vegan chef, puts her career on hold and moves to Ardon County, South Carolina, to attend her aunt Lilly's wake and help her other aunt Eva on the farm. In Bones to Pick by Linda Lovely a goat farm seems an unlikely setting for a vegan chef. Things get even more complicated when Tammy the Pig unearths a skull and some bones on the farm.

When the skull turns out to belong to Brie's aunt Eva's long missing and abusive husband, Brie is sure there will be more trouble. Nepotism being what it is, the sheriff is related to Jed Watson and it doesn't appear he wants to be impartial in his investigation. Sheriff Jones and Deputy Lawson are no friends of Eva's and would gladly lock her up for murder.

Fortunately Brie's mother is the City of Clemson's attorney and she is able to maintain some order while the investigation progresses. Complicating Brie's life is the appearance of two very attractive men - Andy, the local veterinarian, and Paint, the local moonshiner.

It's not ironic enough that someone named Brie is a vegan, but now she is asked to work on the goat

farm with her aunt. Trying to convert everyone around her to become a vegan is the most irritating trait of Brie. I always find it ironic that vegans are almost evangelical in their commitment to converting people. I don't think people who eat meat try that hard to convert people, or maybe they do.

Anyway back to the mystery. Brie's decision to investigates gets her in hot water when the owner of the nail salon, who happens to be Jed's ex-girlfriend, winds up poisoned after Brie's visit. This doesn't deter her and she coerces Paint to take her to Hog Heaven, a bar where drug deals go down and where Nancy's husband Eli hangs out. He is there even though his wife died the day before.

Brie unravels old land deals, dubious partnerships and a murderer. An enjoyable mystery with some potential for interesting future books in the series.