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Dixie Dew Mystery #1
Doing It at the Dixie Dew
Winner of the Malice Domestic Competition for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel, a delightful Southern cozy from an award-winning author
Beth McKenzie's attempt to turn an old Southern mansion into a Bed and Breakfast called The Dixie Dew is thwarted when her first guest is found dead in bed. Murdered, it turns out. Three days later a young priest is found strangled in his chapel. The whole town of Littleboro is abuzz, and Ossie Delbardo, the town cop whose job heretofore mainly involved controlling football traffic on Friday nights, is not cut out to solve the murders.
With her barely opened B&B in danger of failing, and aided by her friend from high school and trusty handyman, Beth sets out to discover the truth of the murders. Littleboro has its share of characters, some of which are helpful and others misleading. There's Crazy Reba who lives in a tree, bathes in any bathtub she finds empty, and dumpster dives; Verna, the town know-it-all and affectionate owner of Robert Redford, a huge white rabbit; and Miss Tempie Merritt, music teacher and organist who always wears hat, gloves, and lace-trimmed white socks. When Beth herself is attacked, there's no more time for baking muffins and stencilling pineapples on the porch. She's in a race to uncover her neighbors' secrets before her hometown becomes her burial ground.
Doing it at the Dixie Dew is a charming and delightful debut boasting distinctly Southern personalities and a fine mystery.
Beth McKenzie's attempt to turn an old Southern mansion into a Bed and Breakfast called The Dixie Dew is thwarted when her first guest is found dead in bed. Murdered, it turns out. Three days later a young priest is found strangled in his chapel. The whole town of Littleboro is abuzz, and Ossie Delbardo, the town cop whose job heretofore mainly involved controlling football traffic on Friday nights, is not cut out to solve the murders.
With her barely opened B&B in danger of failing, and aided by her friend from high school and trusty handyman, Beth sets out to discover the truth of the murders. Littleboro has its share of characters, some of which are helpful and others misleading. There's Crazy Reba who lives in a tree, bathes in any bathtub she finds empty, and dumpster dives; Verna, the town know-it-all and affectionate owner of Robert Redford, a huge white rabbit; and Miss Tempie Merritt, music teacher and organist who always wears hat, gloves, and lace-trimmed white socks. When Beth herself is attacked, there's no more time for baking muffins and stencilling pineapples on the porch. She's in a race to uncover her neighbors' secrets before her hometown becomes her burial ground.
Doing it at the Dixie Dew is a charming and delightful debut boasting distinctly Southern personalities and a fine mystery.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published May 6, 2014
13 people are currently reading
479 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Moose
22 books40 followersFiction Writer, Poet, Novelist, Teacher
Ruth Moose writes. For forty years she’s written poems, short stories, book reviews and columns and recently completed her first novel. Originally from Albemarle, North Carolina, she now lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she continues to write and teach since her retirement from the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Creative Writing Department in 2010.
With an authentic Southern voice, her characters resonate the humor and tragedy of everyday lives.
Ruth Moose’s first novel, Doing it at the Dixie Dew, won the 2013 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Award, published by St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, May 2014. She was on the Creative Writing faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill for 15 years. She’s published three collections of short stories, The Wreath Ribbon Quilt, Dreaming in Color and Neighbors and Other Strangers with individual stories in The Atlantic, Alaska Quarterly Review, North American Review, Southern California Review and other places including publications in Holland, South Africa, England and Denmark. Moose has published six collections of poetry, most recently, The Librarian and Other Poems and Tea. She’s received, among other awards for poetry and short story, a MacDowell Fellowship and a prestigious Chapman Family Teaching Award. A native North Carolinian, she now lives in Pittsboro, NC.
Ruth Moose writes. For forty years she’s written poems, short stories, book reviews and columns and recently completed her first novel. Originally from Albemarle, North Carolina, she now lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she continues to write and teach since her retirement from the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Creative Writing Department in 2010.
With an authentic Southern voice, her characters resonate the humor and tragedy of everyday lives.
Ruth Moose’s first novel, Doing it at the Dixie Dew, won the 2013 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Award, published by St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, May 2014. She was on the Creative Writing faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill for 15 years. She’s published three collections of short stories, The Wreath Ribbon Quilt, Dreaming in Color and Neighbors and Other Strangers with individual stories in The Atlantic, Alaska Quarterly Review, North American Review, Southern California Review and other places including publications in Holland, South Africa, England and Denmark. Moose has published six collections of poetry, most recently, The Librarian and Other Poems and Tea. She’s received, among other awards for poetry and short story, a MacDowell Fellowship and a prestigious Chapman Family Teaching Award. A native North Carolinian, she now lives in Pittsboro, NC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
January 4, 2023
Fun "cozy" mystery with witty depictions of small-town Southern life. Cool it won the "Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition". Not all the mystery elements add up for a variety of reasons but enjoyable nonetheless.
August 20, 2016
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Doing It at the Dixie Dew is a divine debut!
Our first home was right next to a PBP (Pepto Bismol Pink) house so the cover grabbed by attention right away. Then when I had the book in my hands and started reading about Beth McKenzie returning to Littleboro, North Carolina, because her grandmother was dying I was drawn right in. She made sure her “Mama Alice” had the best of care until she passed. That left Beth with an old Southern Mansion that needed a lot of work and not enough money to do it all. But she got enough done to open a B&B and The Dixie Dew became a reality.
Lavinia Lovingood arrived as the first guest but sadly she checked out early and permanently from this earth the next day. Three days later a young priest is murdered and we learn Lavinia’s death was murder too! Not a great start for The Dixie Dew. Enter Ossie Delbardo, cop without a clue. Littleboro has a very low crime rate and because Beth is newly back in town it has be all her fault. Well hold on tight, she is not taking is accusations ans insinuations lightly. She will find out whodunit x 2 all on her own.
Classic small town and some of the characters take quirky to an all time high. The basically normal folks include Beth, of course. Ida Plum had known Mama Alice for years and basically hires herself to help Beth with the B&B. Beth’s contractor is in her corner and willing to help in any way he can. For me he sounds like one “McDreamy” of a guy who wears a tool belt. The rest I will leave for you to read about and classify.
This is a book full of Southern charm and funny moments. The plot ebbed and flowed naturally as Beth pondered and wandered to get the clues to fall in place. But there were some places where I sat up straight and gripped the book tightly, almost holding my breath until things were resolved for those moments and then again as everything fell into place for Beth at a very scary time and place. My heart was actually racing and for just a second I thought there was going to be a horrible twist. Thankfully I was completely wrong.
I was so surprised to learn the author wrote this story 27 years ago. It had won the Malice Domestic St.Martin’s Press Award for first novel. Then in 2014, she updated it and it was released in the form available today. Next Tuesday, Wedding Bell Blues, will be released picking up where this story left off. For those of you that have waited all those years to return to Littleboro, your wait is almost over. I am so lucky because I get to read them back to back.
Doing It at the Dixie Dew is a divine debut!
Our first home was right next to a PBP (Pepto Bismol Pink) house so the cover grabbed by attention right away. Then when I had the book in my hands and started reading about Beth McKenzie returning to Littleboro, North Carolina, because her grandmother was dying I was drawn right in. She made sure her “Mama Alice” had the best of care until she passed. That left Beth with an old Southern Mansion that needed a lot of work and not enough money to do it all. But she got enough done to open a B&B and The Dixie Dew became a reality.
Lavinia Lovingood arrived as the first guest but sadly she checked out early and permanently from this earth the next day. Three days later a young priest is murdered and we learn Lavinia’s death was murder too! Not a great start for The Dixie Dew. Enter Ossie Delbardo, cop without a clue. Littleboro has a very low crime rate and because Beth is newly back in town it has be all her fault. Well hold on tight, she is not taking is accusations ans insinuations lightly. She will find out whodunit x 2 all on her own.
Classic small town and some of the characters take quirky to an all time high. The basically normal folks include Beth, of course. Ida Plum had known Mama Alice for years and basically hires herself to help Beth with the B&B. Beth’s contractor is in her corner and willing to help in any way he can. For me he sounds like one “McDreamy” of a guy who wears a tool belt. The rest I will leave for you to read about and classify.
This is a book full of Southern charm and funny moments. The plot ebbed and flowed naturally as Beth pondered and wandered to get the clues to fall in place. But there were some places where I sat up straight and gripped the book tightly, almost holding my breath until things were resolved for those moments and then again as everything fell into place for Beth at a very scary time and place. My heart was actually racing and for just a second I thought there was going to be a horrible twist. Thankfully I was completely wrong.
I was so surprised to learn the author wrote this story 27 years ago. It had won the Malice Domestic St.Martin’s Press Award for first novel. Then in 2014, she updated it and it was released in the form available today. Next Tuesday, Wedding Bell Blues, will be released picking up where this story left off. For those of you that have waited all those years to return to Littleboro, your wait is almost over. I am so lucky because I get to read them back to back.
July 9, 2014
I was disappointed because of all the hype around this debut novel. It starts off with Beth trying to renovate an old home and turn it into a bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, one of her first guests dies and it looks like murder. Shortly after that, there's another murder and, of course, Beth finds the body.
The book has a lot of promise in that the narrative is pretty good at the beginning. Unfortunately, the plot goes downhill fast with some extreme and ridiculous characters and plot twists that would fit better in a bad sitcom than a cozy.
While I wanted to like Beth, I found several of her actions to be stupid. You don't hide vital information about personal attacks and stolen goods from the police, even if the lead investigating officer is a boob.
This was a major letdown. Trying to pass off idiocy as Southern charm just doesn't do it for me.
The book has a lot of promise in that the narrative is pretty good at the beginning. Unfortunately, the plot goes downhill fast with some extreme and ridiculous characters and plot twists that would fit better in a bad sitcom than a cozy.
While I wanted to like Beth, I found several of her actions to be stupid. You don't hide vital information about personal attacks and stolen goods from the police, even if the lead investigating officer is a boob.
This was a major letdown. Trying to pass off idiocy as Southern charm just doesn't do it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2014
This was a perfect southern cozy. looking forward to the next one.
August 4, 2016
Doing It at the Dixie Dew is filled with genuine Southern charm without a y'all in sight. Littleboro, North Carolina, abounds with eccentric characters, and author Ruth Moose certainly knows how to pepper her gumbo with them. The memory of Beth's grandmother, Margaret Alice McKenzie, lives on in the house this young woman is turning into a business. Beth has Mama Alice's recipes from her catering business and wants to turn one of the porches into a tea room. She even has the help of Ida Plum Duckett, who once worked alongside Mama Alice and is now Beth's "good right arm." And when you have an old house that needs some tender loving care, you need a handsome jack-of-all-trades like Scott Smith. Trust me, with his carpentry skills, his looks, and his caring personality, he's just the sort of guy to make Beth's heart beat a little faster.
But those are the normal characters. The truly eccentric ones are the woman next-door who's very attached to her large white rabbit named Robert Redford, the town's music teacher and church organist who always wears a hat and gloves, and Crazy Reba who Dumpster dives, lives in a tree, and takes baths whenever someone forgets to lock their doors when they run out to the grocery store. The only character I didn't care for is the town cop, Ossie Delbardo, who's clearly out of his depth with a murder investigation but insists that he knows Beth is the killer. I know this type of policeman exists, but I really don't care to have them populate the books I read.
The two things I most enjoyed about Doing It at the Dixie Dew are how the author created a hometown atmosphere that immediately made me feel welcome and populated it with small town characters that I recognized from my own childhood living in a village. The second enjoyment for me was how she used her characters. Taken at a glance, they may seem superficial, but keep reading. They're not. They have secrets they want to keep, and I think some of these characters are going to wind up shocking many readers just as badly as they shocked Beth McKenzie.
Doing It at the Dixie Dew should appeal to readers of Sarah Graves' Home Repair Is Homicide series as well as Mary Daheim's Bed-and-Breakfast series. Ruth Moose's book won the Malice Domestic Competition for Best First Traditional Mystery, and I can see why. I enjoyed it so much that I'm hoping to see Beth McKenzie and her friends again-- as well as wanting to keep an eye on the progress of transforming the Dixie Dew.
But those are the normal characters. The truly eccentric ones are the woman next-door who's very attached to her large white rabbit named Robert Redford, the town's music teacher and church organist who always wears a hat and gloves, and Crazy Reba who Dumpster dives, lives in a tree, and takes baths whenever someone forgets to lock their doors when they run out to the grocery store. The only character I didn't care for is the town cop, Ossie Delbardo, who's clearly out of his depth with a murder investigation but insists that he knows Beth is the killer. I know this type of policeman exists, but I really don't care to have them populate the books I read.
The two things I most enjoyed about Doing It at the Dixie Dew are how the author created a hometown atmosphere that immediately made me feel welcome and populated it with small town characters that I recognized from my own childhood living in a village. The second enjoyment for me was how she used her characters. Taken at a glance, they may seem superficial, but keep reading. They're not. They have secrets they want to keep, and I think some of these characters are going to wind up shocking many readers just as badly as they shocked Beth McKenzie.
Doing It at the Dixie Dew should appeal to readers of Sarah Graves' Home Repair Is Homicide series as well as Mary Daheim's Bed-and-Breakfast series. Ruth Moose's book won the Malice Domestic Competition for Best First Traditional Mystery, and I can see why. I enjoyed it so much that I'm hoping to see Beth McKenzie and her friends again-- as well as wanting to keep an eye on the progress of transforming the Dixie Dew.
June 15, 2014
People are dropping like flies in the small Southern town of Littleboro. Beth McKenzie’s inaugural guest at her new bread and breakfast, Dixie Dew, is the first body. Ruth Moose clearly knows her craft and gives an intriguing look into the life of a new entrepreneur and the challenges that are heavy enough without a death in the lovely old house she inherited from Mama Alice. Distraught and confused, the protagonist, Beth, journeys from elation to questioning her decisions and back again, struggling with a possible love interest, the police, and exploration to find out who is killing people in Littleboro. A cryptic note tucked into her dresser confounds and frightens her into action.
Ida Plum Duckett, Beth’s right arm in all things Dixie Dew, keeps things at the B&B in line as Beth stumbles, trying to find her place in the small town and withstand the stigma of Miss Lavinia Lovingood, who shocked the town by returning and then dying her first night back. Carefully tied off sub-plots and the mystery of Miss Lovingood, involve wonderfully named characters—a little Dickensian karma—in the setting of a charismatic house. The tortured tales of those murdered makes for a good read and hopefully introduces a new series at the Dixie Dew.
Ida Plum Duckett, Beth’s right arm in all things Dixie Dew, keeps things at the B&B in line as Beth stumbles, trying to find her place in the small town and withstand the stigma of Miss Lavinia Lovingood, who shocked the town by returning and then dying her first night back. Carefully tied off sub-plots and the mystery of Miss Lovingood, involve wonderfully named characters—a little Dickensian karma—in the setting of a charismatic house. The tortured tales of those murdered makes for a good read and hopefully introduces a new series at the Dixie Dew.
June 7, 2016
Beth returns home to North Carolina after her grandmother dies and opens up her house as a B&B. She is still in the process of renovations but open for business. One of her first guests is the last of an old town family returned after many years away. During her first night at the B&B, she is murdered, causing even more problems for Beth. Soon after, the local Priest is murdered and Beth is searching for the truth.
I really enjoyed this story. It is full of southern charm and flavor and I am rooting for Beth who is determined to make a go of it and full of drive. I also, really enjoy her friend and handyman - Scott who adds a bit of fun and romance to the mix.
She makes some unwise choices along the way but I really look forward to more adventures with her and some of the colorful residents and guests.
I really enjoyed this story. It is full of southern charm and flavor and I am rooting for Beth who is determined to make a go of it and full of drive. I also, really enjoy her friend and handyman - Scott who adds a bit of fun and romance to the mix.
She makes some unwise choices along the way but I really look forward to more adventures with her and some of the colorful residents and guests.
December 14, 2014
Completely delightful. The author completely nails life in a small Southern town, creates delightful characters, and the dramatic culmination is both completely amusing and entirely nutty. I can't wait for another book with these characters. I almost gave it four stars rather than five as I felt the editing could have been a little tighter to make certain parts a bit clearer but that's a minor complaint and didn't overcome my delight in the story, the fact that I had to read it in one sitting, and my desire for a sequel. If you want an enjoyable cozy romp, this is it.
I met the author at a writing conference and bought the book based on her personality. I'm not disappointed! More, please!
I met the author at a writing conference and bought the book based on her personality. I'm not disappointed! More, please!
February 7, 2016
I found out that the author had written this over 25 years ago, dusted it off and updated it. That is why there seems to be time glitches that are written the way society was then. However, I found it to be a satisfying quick read with a touch of southern gothic.
October 15, 2014
This was a charming cozy about a woman, Beth McKenzie who returns to her hometown in NC to open a bed-and-breakfast in her late grandmother's house. On the first night one of her guests is murdered.
May 13, 2016
I never warmed up to any of the characters and more time was spent describing their quirks than solving the mystery. And then all of a sudden at the very end there's allusion to a romance.
July 14, 2024
Wanted to try it since I enjoy some Golden Age mysteries and was curious if this was good based on what I heard/read. Is it? No, it's awful, and it's one of the worst mysteries I've ever read. I am honestly shocked this is the considered a high standard for such a relatively prestigious contest. Holy shit.
The protagonist Beth spends most of the novel chatting up the townspeople and fixing her home with her two assistants/coworkers/friends Ida Plum and Scott (the latter of whom becomes her love interest toward the end). She stumbles upon some clues like when she got her neighbor's letter by chance that showed her neighbor's handwriting matched the death threats she was getting. Then a passing store clerk friend, Malinda, mentions that the cop Ossie said that the poisoned Miss Lavinia died from hemlock poisoning. Did Beth try to ask around specifically about any of this at all? Nope. In fact, right after the discovery of the body, we pretty much immediately pan away, then quickly go back to a "norm" of baking/prepping the bed and breakfast. There's little actual "detective" work.
Then there's some extremely contrived reasoning that Beth uses to completely avoid Ossie the cop. She says he would just assume she's making things up like having an attacker in the night. But the thing is she has her *attacker's blood* from her knife attacks when he was trying to undo her room's chain lock. And since this book has cell phones (it was mentioned), there has to be DNA tests available. Or, since it's such a small town, she could probably walk around asking and looking for someone with an injured hand. But what does she do? Go put an ad in the newspaper for Pink Pineapple Tea and go about her regular business. What. The. Fuck. Seriously? This is the pinnacle that won the Best Traditional Mystery Contest? Granted, it was a decade ago, but was there really nothing better?
This is a flat cozy with little investigation, and a lot of the time is wasted reminiscing about her childhood or her grandmother "Mama Alice" or describing the "zany" inhabitants like Crazy Reba the hobo lady or Miss Tempie the awful organ/piano teacher, none of which is all that interesting. (Also, she uses other logic like "Ossie would just think I made up the attack on myself" or "I would be mocked for the fake death threats", but the issue is she could show the handwriting of the death threats to match her neighbor's or she could show the blood belonging to someone else from the attack.)
As for positives, I heard the author taught creative writing and was a poet, so I've seen her prose praised. It's fine. It doesn't wow me, but it's certainly readable (but there ARE some minor typos that I caught). It just doesn't do much beyond that for me - it's passable and not exceptionally amazing or engrossing, though this may in part be due to how boring the book's subject material is with its lack of investigation/cluing. There's some nice phrases, but I don't think it's that much better than average if at all.
The ending was also AWFUL. After Beth and Malinda find the poison parsley growing on Tempie's land and a dug-out trap near it, they realize she probably poisoned Miss Lavinia, and they also hear what they think are Tempie's footsteps spying on them. They're invited to Tempie's tea party the next day. Instead of going to the police, both go to the tea party of the person they think is the killer, drink the lady's tea and food, and for no reason at all, Tempie confesses everything to them while saying she plans to kill them both. Both try to escape Tempie and her thug/muscle, Rolfe, and they eventually climb out off a balcony and escape. Then they go back to the Dixie Dew, drink alcohol, and basically sleep to report the incident the next day. When it's reported, and Ossie the policeman questions Tempie, she confesses everything again, and Rolfe is arrested while Tempie commits suicide (because Ossie didn't think she needed to be put in prison and could just wait for her trial).
Holy fucking shit. There was absolutely no evidence against Tempie specifically, so she didn't need to confess any of this. The only evidence they DID have was against Rolfe with his injured hand, but again, that was an incident that Beth herself could've solved WAY earlier with actual investigation into who attacked her in the night. And why did the two even go to the place if they thought it was a trap? At the very least, they could have Scott or Ida wait in a car outside as backup. Plus Beth absolutely should've been updating Ossie, even if she thinks he's a shit cop, as she already had death threats, knew the sender, and had incidents like the night attack. There was actually VERY little evidence throughout. It was just an info dump of Tempie's confession of what happened and why.
The Father Roderick case is a mess. His housekeeper strangled him because he was about to report her stealing Miss Lavinia's jewels, and Tempie knew this. How did Tempie know the housekeeper did the strangling? This is never explained. Miss Lavinia was poisoned because Tempie wanted to speed up her death. After death, her money would go to the church, and Tempie would be let off for the money she was embezzling from the church through the years as the accountant. Was any of this clued before the end? Nope. Info dump via confession with many of the links being tenuous at best.
There's so many more issues I could go into, but I'll stop here. In summary, the crappy cluing, (complete lack of) deductions, investigation (or lack thereof), lack of strong evidence, and other aspects of the mystery are just awful. I would expect this of a cozy mystery quite honestly, but it's the fact that this won the Malice Domestic Mystery Contest that REALLY irks me the most. As someone who submit to the contest myself and did not place, I would be happy if the winners were at least competent mysteries. But this was not. It really shows how absolutely atrocious the mystery scene in the west is when it comes to good fair-play, clever puzzle plot mysteries.
I only forced myself to finish this because it won the contest, and I wanted to learn from it. The most I take away is that some of the prose/writing is decent with some occasional nice turns of phrases, but for the most part, it's an unremarkable mystery.
EDIT: Also, Miss Lavinia's dying message/farewell note "That is..." was something like "That is hemlock" or "That is the last time I have tea with Tempie Merrit", according to Beth. But if so...why not just write "Tempie" to point the finger at her killer? Or just write "Hemlock", not the "That is" part. It's such a dumb dying message.
The protagonist Beth spends most of the novel chatting up the townspeople and fixing her home with her two assistants/coworkers/friends Ida Plum and Scott (the latter of whom becomes her love interest toward the end). She stumbles upon some clues like when she got her neighbor's letter by chance that showed her neighbor's handwriting matched the death threats she was getting. Then a passing store clerk friend, Malinda, mentions that the cop Ossie said that the poisoned Miss Lavinia died from hemlock poisoning. Did Beth try to ask around specifically about any of this at all? Nope. In fact, right after the discovery of the body, we pretty much immediately pan away, then quickly go back to a "norm" of baking/prepping the bed and breakfast. There's little actual "detective" work.
Then there's some extremely contrived reasoning that Beth uses to completely avoid Ossie the cop. She says he would just assume she's making things up like having an attacker in the night. But the thing is she has her *attacker's blood* from her knife attacks when he was trying to undo her room's chain lock. And since this book has cell phones (it was mentioned), there has to be DNA tests available. Or, since it's such a small town, she could probably walk around asking and looking for someone with an injured hand. But what does she do? Go put an ad in the newspaper for Pink Pineapple Tea and go about her regular business. What. The. Fuck. Seriously? This is the pinnacle that won the Best Traditional Mystery Contest? Granted, it was a decade ago, but was there really nothing better?
This is a flat cozy with little investigation, and a lot of the time is wasted reminiscing about her childhood or her grandmother "Mama Alice" or describing the "zany" inhabitants like Crazy Reba the hobo lady or Miss Tempie the awful organ/piano teacher, none of which is all that interesting. (Also, she uses other logic like "Ossie would just think I made up the attack on myself" or "I would be mocked for the fake death threats", but the issue is she could show the handwriting of the death threats to match her neighbor's or she could show the blood belonging to someone else from the attack.)
As for positives, I heard the author taught creative writing and was a poet, so I've seen her prose praised. It's fine. It doesn't wow me, but it's certainly readable (but there ARE some minor typos that I caught). It just doesn't do much beyond that for me - it's passable and not exceptionally amazing or engrossing, though this may in part be due to how boring the book's subject material is with its lack of investigation/cluing. There's some nice phrases, but I don't think it's that much better than average if at all.
The ending was also AWFUL. After Beth and Malinda find the poison parsley growing on Tempie's land and a dug-out trap near it, they realize she probably poisoned Miss Lavinia, and they also hear what they think are Tempie's footsteps spying on them. They're invited to Tempie's tea party the next day. Instead of going to the police, both go to the tea party of the person they think is the killer, drink the lady's tea and food, and for no reason at all, Tempie confesses everything to them while saying she plans to kill them both. Both try to escape Tempie and her thug/muscle, Rolfe, and they eventually climb out off a balcony and escape. Then they go back to the Dixie Dew, drink alcohol, and basically sleep to report the incident the next day. When it's reported, and Ossie the policeman questions Tempie, she confesses everything again, and Rolfe is arrested while Tempie commits suicide (because Ossie didn't think she needed to be put in prison and could just wait for her trial).
Holy fucking shit. There was absolutely no evidence against Tempie specifically, so she didn't need to confess any of this. The only evidence they DID have was against Rolfe with his injured hand, but again, that was an incident that Beth herself could've solved WAY earlier with actual investigation into who attacked her in the night. And why did the two even go to the place if they thought it was a trap? At the very least, they could have Scott or Ida wait in a car outside as backup. Plus Beth absolutely should've been updating Ossie, even if she thinks he's a shit cop, as she already had death threats, knew the sender, and had incidents like the night attack. There was actually VERY little evidence throughout. It was just an info dump of Tempie's confession of what happened and why.
The Father Roderick case is a mess. His housekeeper strangled him because he was about to report her stealing Miss Lavinia's jewels, and Tempie knew this. How did Tempie know the housekeeper did the strangling? This is never explained. Miss Lavinia was poisoned because Tempie wanted to speed up her death. After death, her money would go to the church, and Tempie would be let off for the money she was embezzling from the church through the years as the accountant. Was any of this clued before the end? Nope. Info dump via confession with many of the links being tenuous at best.
There's so many more issues I could go into, but I'll stop here. In summary, the crappy cluing, (complete lack of) deductions, investigation (or lack thereof), lack of strong evidence, and other aspects of the mystery are just awful. I would expect this of a cozy mystery quite honestly, but it's the fact that this won the Malice Domestic Mystery Contest that REALLY irks me the most. As someone who submit to the contest myself and did not place, I would be happy if the winners were at least competent mysteries. But this was not. It really shows how absolutely atrocious the mystery scene in the west is when it comes to good fair-play, clever puzzle plot mysteries.
I only forced myself to finish this because it won the contest, and I wanted to learn from it. The most I take away is that some of the prose/writing is decent with some occasional nice turns of phrases, but for the most part, it's an unremarkable mystery.
EDIT: Also, Miss Lavinia's dying message/farewell note "That is..." was something like "That is hemlock" or "That is the last time I have tea with Tempie Merrit", according to Beth. But if so...why not just write "Tempie" to point the finger at her killer? Or just write "Hemlock", not the "That is" part. It's such a dumb dying message.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2024
Guess I'm not much of a cozy mystery fan, as I just couldn't get into the descriptions that should make this "cozy," though it certainly has a distinctly "southern" feel, and it was an intimate community...I just didn't care about any of them. For those who enjoy a slow-paced, gentle mystery full of eccentric characters, I'm sure this will be a pleaser, just not my personal taste. I DID enjoy the local North Carolina setting...
January 3, 2018
So far it is a good little book for a cold winter evening. My one complaint is the number of characters and the endless description of every one of them. It is a small town and they're all "characters" but it isn't necessary to tell me the history of every one of them. I'll give a more thorough review once I'm done.
July 25, 2019
After seeing the question about the book I decided to write a review. I can see now that the book was written long before its release. I was going to complain about the fact that the main character has a cell phone in one part of the book but never has it again. Really pissed me off at the ending. Now it all makes sense.
September 28, 2021
This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed the book thoroughly, especially the characters. McKenzie and Malinda are funny as all get out, especially when they drink. Who could've thought little elderly women could lead such dramatic lives. Can't wait to continue on, especially to see more between McKenzie and Officer hotty lol.
May 8, 2018
I wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunately I did not. The characters were uninteresting and stupid at times, who hides evidence, attempted murder and a break in from the police, even if the police are idiots? Probably won’t read another book by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2018
I rated this book 5 stars but I've changed my mind. The story was good in the beginning. The end was terrible. It went by fast and left many questions. It's like the author ran out of time and rushed the ending. Too bad, the storyline was good.
September 20, 2020
Slow 🐌 to get into at first but as I read more it got GOOD😊. The town "characters" were a hoot and WOW nice one with Scott😍. (STEAMY) I only regret not checking out the second book when I checked this out at the library😩.
February 8, 2017
Traditional Mystery
Littleboro -- Pittsboro predevelopment
2 deaths --
obstinate/hostile sheriff
boyfriend, faithful coworker
Littleboro -- Pittsboro predevelopment
2 deaths --
obstinate/hostile sheriff
boyfriend, faithful coworker
April 7, 2018
a lot of crazy old ladies down South that need medicine one hot handyman at the B&B
October 7, 2018
1.5 Far too predictable with superficial characters. A forgettable albeit short book
December 29, 2018
This was a difficult book to get through. It was an easy read but lacked excitement. While it had Southern charm but just left me flat.
March 24, 2022
I thought I was going to enjoy this book/series much more than I actually did. It wasn't horrible or anything, it just wasn't good enough that I care to read on in the series.
April 22, 2022
Poorly written, not at all interesting. I only read it because it was chosen by a book club I belong to. Will not be reading any more by this author.
November 28, 2022
Good clean cozy mystery in the south.
June 21, 2023
Cute entertaining cozy mystery
July 11, 2024
Fun.
It’s a fast read, but enjoyable.
It’s a fast read, but enjoyable.
December 3, 2024
An ok cozy mystery of you're looking for something light and not that taxing. However, the story hardly kept my interest, I would skim pages and the whodunit didn't really make sense with the story.
July 4, 2025
My favorite part was the acknowledgments where the author listed all the people she did NOT wish to thank.
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