Dollycas's Thoughts
Shiloh Bellamy has been working so hard on her family farm and now she is being rewarded. Bellamy Farm for the first time in its long seventy-year history has been selected to have a booth at the Cherry Farm Market in Traverse City. She knows this is a big deal and plans to make the most of it. So she decided to spend the money to have a custom booth made. The new booth was shaped like a giant berry basket overflowing with cherries. It is sure to capture people's attention.
In addition to all the booths, there were bands and plays on the stage and fun contests like a cherry pit-spitting competition. Shiloh was able to step away from the booth to watch the people spit those pits, but one man appeared to choke on his. Shiloh rushes to help him but she is too late. It turns out the man wasn't choking on the pit. The death is deemed suspicious and Shiloh is right in the middle of the investigation. Her reputation for butting into cases has reached Traverse City but when she learns her cousin Stacey was dating the man in secret because he was still married she knows she has to do something. So she and her lovable pug Huckleberry are on the case. Can she solve the crime and keep things going at the farm and the festival? Maybe with the help of her friends, she can because she is not ready to have everything she worked so hard for go up in dust.
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Shiloh truly had her hands full in Crime and Cherry Pits. Her days were filled with taking care of the farm and orchard, baking tasty cherry treats to serve at the festival, working at the festival, trying to get her cousin Stacey on board with the plans for her grandmother's stocks, and now trying to solve a murder.
Shiloh always tries to do what's right for everyone but her relationship with her father is rocky. Her cousin is a whiny brat with high expectations. She is close to single dad Quinn and his daughter Hazel. Hazel spends a lot of time with Shiloh when Quinn is working as an EMT/firefighter. He clearly has feelings for Shiloh but has decided they can only be friends. She is also becoming very good friends with Sheriff Milan Penbrook which drives Quinn a little crazy. Her right-hand woman/farm director, Chesney is all in on helping make Bellamy Farms everything Shiloh dreams it can be and they make a wonderful team. All these characters are well-crafted and grow in different ways in each story. I truly wanted to smack Quinn a few times though. Stacey is a pain as well.
I found the mystery very intriguing and the way the victim died interesting. Happening at a huge festival left the suspect pool wide open. Shiloh was on high alert trying to clear Stacey and find other viable suspects. She is also distracted by some scary things happening at the farm. Things do take a drastic turn for our amateur sleuth but it doesn't keep her from snooping when she appears to be in the right place but quickly sees it's at the wrong time. I enjoyed the way the reveal and takedown happened and then took a moment to pat myself on the back for solving the crime before it was revealed.
The Epilogue left me with a smile on my face. The future looks pretty bright for Shiloh and Belamy Farms. That is until Shiloh finds herself involved in a little murder and mayhem again.
Crime and Cherry Pits was an entertaining lighthearted mystery with appealing characters for the most part. I am keen to see what Ms. Flower has planned for Shiloh next.
Shiloh Bellamy has been working so hard on her family farm and now she is being rewarded. Bellamy Farm for the first time in its long seventy-year history has been selected to have a booth at the Cherry Farm Market in Traverse City. She knows this is a big deal and plans to make the most of it. So she decided to spend the money to have a custom booth made. The new booth was shaped like a giant berry basket overflowing with cherries. It is sure to capture people's attention.
In addition to all the booths, there were bands and plays on the stage and fun contests like a cherry pit-spitting competition. Shiloh was able to step away from the booth to watch the people spit those pits, but one man appeared to choke on his. Shiloh rushes to help him but she is too late. It turns out the man wasn't choking on the pit. The death is deemed suspicious and Shiloh is right in the middle of the investigation. Her reputation for butting into cases has reached Traverse City but when she learns her cousin Stacey was dating the man in secret because he was still married she knows she has to do something. So she and her lovable pug Huckleberry are on the case. Can she solve the crime and keep things going at the farm and the festival? Maybe with the help of her friends, she can because she is not ready to have everything she worked so hard for go up in dust.
___
Shiloh truly had her hands full in Crime and Cherry Pits. Her days were filled with taking care of the farm and orchard, baking tasty cherry treats to serve at the festival, working at the festival, trying to get her cousin Stacey on board with the plans for her grandmother's stocks, and now trying to solve a murder.
Shiloh always tries to do what's right for everyone but her relationship with her father is rocky. Her cousin is a whiny brat with high expectations. She is close to single dad Quinn and his daughter Hazel. Hazel spends a lot of time with Shiloh when Quinn is working as an EMT/firefighter. He clearly has feelings for Shiloh but has decided they can only be friends. She is also becoming very good friends with Sheriff Milan Penbrook which drives Quinn a little crazy. Her right-hand woman/farm director, Chesney is all in on helping make Bellamy Farms everything Shiloh dreams it can be and they make a wonderful team. All these characters are well-crafted and grow in different ways in each story. I truly wanted to smack Quinn a few times though. Stacey is a pain as well.
I found the mystery very intriguing and the way the victim died interesting. Happening at a huge festival left the suspect pool wide open. Shiloh was on high alert trying to clear Stacey and find other viable suspects. She is also distracted by some scary things happening at the farm. Things do take a drastic turn for our amateur sleuth but it doesn't keep her from snooping when she appears to be in the right place but quickly sees it's at the wrong time. I enjoyed the way the reveal and takedown happened and then took a moment to pat myself on the back for solving the crime before it was revealed.
The Epilogue left me with a smile on my face. The future looks pretty bright for Shiloh and Belamy Farms. That is until Shiloh finds herself involved in a little murder and mayhem again.
Crime and Cherry Pits was an entertaining lighthearted mystery with appealing characters for the most part. I am keen to see what Ms. Flower has planned for Shiloh next.
