Kristina A. reviewed on 4/27/2020 + 1528 more book reviews

Six Cloves Under by Gin Jones has Mabel Skinner inheriting her aunt's garlic farm, Stinkin' Stuff Farm in West Slocum, Massachusetts. Being an app developer, Mabel does not know a thing about farming. She is dumped in the deep end because the garlic must be harvested within the next three days. The more Mabel learns about her aunt's death and the farm, the more she suspects that her Aunt Peggy's death was not accidental. Mabel will have to proceed with caution if she does not want to tip off the killer and end up as fertilizer food. Six Cloves Under is the amusing debut of A Garlic Farm Mystery series. Mabel Skinner is an interesting character. She is an app developer who prefers to work at night (I can relate). She goes to bed around 3 a.m. and considers noon to be morning. I did not appreciate Mabel's abruptness and rudeness with people. I can understand being cranky when being awoken at the crack of dawn (7 a.m.), but you can still be polite. Mabel is also an introvert and an analytical thinker. I did think that Mabel being a night owl was overmentioned (I got it after the first five times). There is a nice cast of secondary characters that round out the story especially the friendly next-door neighbor, Emily Cotter. I liked that the author chose a garlic farm for the setting. It is unique for a cozy mystery. There is also a lavender field which sounded like it is lovely when in full bloom. I enjoyed learning more about the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that the area farms are involved in. The mystery was different for a cozy. Peggy's death had not been ruled murder, but I had to agree with Mabel that things did not add up. While I identified the guilty party early on, I enjoyed following Mabel as she put together the clues. Six Cloves Under is a fun tale with glorious garlic, a crop conundrum, a shortage of sleep, developing deadlines, friendly farmers, and a confounding crime.

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