Murder in Meadow Wood: A Dolores Maye Cozy Murder Mystery Book Series Prequel

by Ruby Poole

A murdered woman. Too many suspects and secrets to count. Can Dee and her inquisitive Goldendoodle Rosie unravel this tiny home tragedy in time?

Independent, sassy Dolores Maye, recently laid off from her dream job as an investigative journalist, seeks solace in the tranquil tiny home community of Meadow Wood, Colorado. But peace is shattered when a woman dies mysteriously. Dee’s homemade herbal teas make her the prime suspect.

Did her tasty tonic terminate a tiny home tenant? Faithful Rosie is the only one who trusts Dee. The neighbors are suspicious. The local lawman has his eye on her. But nobody’s looking at the strange neighborhood handyman making mysterious midnight forays into the forest!

Precious time slips away as Dee enlists the help of the victim’s ex-husband Derek and races to solve the murder. Can Dee, Derek and Rosie sniff out the truth and crack the case before it’s too late? Grab your cup of tea and start turning pages to find out. This totally captivating cozy murder mystery will keep you counting suspects until the very end.

Genres: Cozy Mystery

96 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2024

Reviews

[Alice Hazelbaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dee, after being let go from her job in Chicago as an investigative reporter, takes a two-week vacation to try living in a tiny house in Colorado, in order to concentrate on her organic food blog, Farm Fresh Freedom. But not long after arriving, her golden doodle, Rosie, discovers the body of a woman she recently met and had tea with. When the Sheriff decides that Dee and her tea is to blame, Dee has to investigate to prove her innocence. She meets the woman’s ex-husband, Derek, buying ingredients for her teas, and together they start investigating. A fairly quick read by an author new to me, from whom I received a free ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of these fun characters in her future books!

[Deborah Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dee is on vacation visiting Meadow Wood, Colorado to see if she can live in a tiny house she has rented for two weeks. She meets a few of the neighbors and then later when walking her dog she finds a Woman she met earlier dead. She is a suspect since the woman had tea at her home. So many suspects for such a tiny town in the Mountains. I loved this story and I recommend it.

[Chili Diane Evance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of a small tiny home community where some of the residents join force to solve a murder. A very good who done it.

[Tg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent quick mystery hits all the boxes. Great characters, interesting story, great community, plus a dash of romance. Super cozy mystery suggests you need to read more from this author.

[G. Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally got to reading this prequel and I am glad I did.. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to get the next one. Delores came to Colorado for a 2 week stay to figure out what her next move will be and she wanted to check out what living in a small home was like.
The company she worked for sold the company and they let her go. She was an investigative journalists and traveled all over the world and loved her job but things of course were changing. She arrived at her new destination and just met one of her new neighours. She briefly met another but had to take her dog out for a walk so did not really get the chance to chat. They met a little later and the lady's name was Lucy and she brought another friend named Jennie. They left a while later and Dee (that is what Delores likes to be called) had to take her dog out again before sett,ing for the night.
Her walk was a good one until the dog sensed something wrong and Dee found out what it was and ended up calling the police. I am going to leave you at that cliff hanger for you
to check out this book. Happy reading

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolores Maye, Dee was just let go from her investigative reporter job and decided a change of scenery and a new start is in order. So, to see if she likes it, she rents a tiny house in Colorado with her golden doodle, Rosie and work on her organic food blog called Farm Fresh Freedom. But things go downhill when Rosie finds the dead body of the woman who had tea with her. The Sheriff is sure it was Dee's herbal tea that poisoned the woman. So, not knowing too many people yet, she has to take it upon herself to prove her innocence. She does get help from an unusual person; the ex husband, Derek of the deceased woman. There are so many red-herrings and things that aren't what they seem that we are taken on a roller coaster of clues. Can Dee prove her innocence? This is a fun read that I highly recommend and I can't wait for more! I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murdered woman. Too many suspects and secrets to count. Can Dee and her inquisitive Goldendoodle Rosie unravel this tiny home tragedy in time? Did her tasty tonic terminate a tiny home tenant? Faithful Rosie is the only one who trusts Dee. The neighbors are suspicious. Dee is staying in a Tiny Home as a vacation. Will she be able to prove it was someone else who committed murder? This is a very good mystery. If I could give it a 41/2 I would have.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really got a big kick outta Dee's new friends in Colorado and how the neighbors Lucy and Ruth took her under their wings. Derek was a total sweetheart just like his little boy and along with Dee, they made for an awesome investigative team. Now the murder was solved, it sounds like she might be staying a little longer…can't say I blame her! 😉

[Adpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun cozy from a new to me author. Well written story of a investigative reporter on a respite vacation in a tiny house in Colorado. She received quite the welcome to the neighborhood--a surprise! Her dog loves investigating as much as Dee does.
It has quite a cast of characters, but I loved the book. Can't wait to dig into the next one.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story really hooked me and I can't wait to read the next one. All the characters were likable and had surprising secrets. The lawyer turned organic farmer was different and his son sounded really cute. It would be nice to have a diagram of the inside of Dee's tiny home and maybe a map of the Tiny Home development. Very and enjoyable and surprise villain!!

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than Chapter 4 being in there twice, once in all bold text, and the rather abrupt ending, this was a nice book and a quick read. The resolution was sort of a "Yep, the bad guy did it, the other bad guys were caught doing bad things and the good guys had good things happen. The End." Okay, I admit it, it takes about four paragraphs instead of two sentences, but still...

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great start to a new series. Loved the plot of finding who murdered the women and why. Thought Dee was an interesting character along with Derek. A maybe romance may ensue. Fun story, recommend reading.

[Linda Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting read. I enjoyed the story, it flowed well & kept me entertained. Rosie, Dee’s dog, digs up the body and so the investigation begins.
I received a complimentary copy from the author. This is my honest, voluntary review.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in a series and a quick, fun read. Dee comes to rent one of the tiny houses for 2 weeks and walks right into 2 murders. She gets help from Derek, the ex-Chicago attorney, in finding out what happened

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story about an investigative reporter vacationing in a tiny house to see if it would suit her, and she finds a lot more than she was expecting.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick cute cozy.

[Marseydoats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story, and I love the cover! Will definitely continue the series.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short read, but I'm already eager to read Poole's next book. A sweet cozy with a divine romantic interest.