What do you think?
Rate this book
Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm #11
A Will and a Way
Spring has arrived, and Harriet Bailey teams up with wildlife rehabilitator Garth Hamblin on an intriguing quest—tracking down an injured European pine marten. No one has seen more than a glimpse of the elusive endangered species for many years. Garth hopes that together they can find and protect it. But can they do it quickly and quietly before someone else finds the creature?
Meanwhile, Harriet is happy to meet White Church Bay’s newest arrivals, Elena Hunter and her son, Jack. When the two move into a neglected seaside cottage, the local gossips invent outlandish stories about them. But then the newcomers’ lives are threatened, and Harriet rallies to their defense…although she cannot deny that she is curious about them. Why are they in town in the first place? Why is Elena so cagey about her past and Jack’s? And will their secrets put Harriet and her loved ones in danger?
Meanwhile, Harriet is happy to meet White Church Bay’s newest arrivals, Elena Hunter and her son, Jack. When the two move into a neglected seaside cottage, the local gossips invent outlandish stories about them. But then the newcomers’ lives are threatened, and Harriet rallies to their defense…although she cannot deny that she is curious about them. Why are they in town in the first place? Why is Elena so cagey about her past and Jack’s? And will their secrets put Harriet and her loved ones in danger?
- GenresMystery
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 13, 2025
20 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Johnnie Alexander
48 books400 followersJohnnie Alexander is a wannabe vagabond with a heart for making memories. As a bestselling, award-winning novelist, she has written more than thirty works of fiction in a variety of genres.
She is a Mosaic Collection author, co-hosts a weekly online show called Writers Chat, serves on the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference Executive Board, and is a regular contributor to the HHHistory.com blog.
A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, Johnnie shares a life of quiet adventure with Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at JohnnieAlexander.com.
She is a Mosaic Collection author, co-hosts a weekly online show called Writers Chat, serves on the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference Executive Board, and is a regular contributor to the HHHistory.com blog.
A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, Johnnie shares a life of quiet adventure with Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at JohnnieAlexander.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 4, 2025
3.5 stars, personally ⭐️ Christian Fiction - Cozy Mystery
About this book:
“Spring has arrived, and Harriet Bailey teams up with wildlife rehabilitator Garth Hamblin on an intriguing quest—tracking down an injured European pine marten. No one has seen more than a glimpse of the elusive endangered species for many years. Garth hopes that together they can find and protect it. But can they do it quickly and quietly before someone else finds the creature?
Meanwhile, Harriet is happy to meet White Church Bay’s newest arrivals, Elena Hunter and her son, Jack. When the two move into a neglected seaside cottage, the local gossips invent outlandish stories about them. But then the newcomers’ lives are threatened, and Harriet rallies to their defense…although she cannot deny that she is curious about them. Why are they in town in the first place? Why is Elena so cagey about her past and Jack’s? And will their secrets put Harriet and her loved ones in danger?”
Series: Book #11 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10!
Spiritual Content- 1 Corinthians 13:13 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & remembered; Prayers; Talks about God & those and events in the Bible; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, children’s church, Bible studies, & a pastor; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of faith & having faith; A mention of miracles;
*Note: Mentions of luck; A mention of a movie showing a cat going to the “feline afterlife”.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘dumb’; Some eye rolling; A fire, Trying to rescue someone in a fire, Injuries, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone faint & another trapped in a fire (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of injured animals, mistreated animals, blood/bleeding, broken bones, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including her doing surgeries & a dog that was hit by a car, a cat that was rescued from a burning trash can, and dog being left to starve to death, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including from a boating accident & cancer; for wives, siblings, & parents); Mentions of accidents (including a biker being hit by a car and someone being trapped in a fire), injuries, pain, passing out, & it being touch and go for someone due to injuries; Mentions of poisons & someone being poisoned by someone who wants them ill; Mentions of crimes (including a hit-and-run), criminals, & arrests; Mentions of a break-in & intruder; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of the events in Book #4 that involved sibling rivalry and a near tragedy; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of a pub; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of car accidents; A couple mentions of gambling; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of a woman hiding from her abusive husband; A mention of being bullied;
*Note: Harriet thinks about women she knew that had relationships with others that were full of competition and backstabbing rather than the “unconditional love and support that characterized healthy friendships”; Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters and events (The Brontë Sisters’ books); Mentions of a movie (The Three Lives of Thomasina); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of comedians (The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, & Jerry Lewis); A mention of BBC; A mention of Queen Elizabeth; A mention of a horror movie.
Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss; A bit of touches, embraces, butterflies, smelling, & nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Harriet thinks about her broken engagement and is concerned that she could be mistaken again about being in love; Mentions of dates, dating, break-ups, & a broken engagement; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of being smitten; A mention of a woman throwing herself at a man; A bit of love, being in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Harriet has a moment of self-consciousness when around a glamorous woman.
-Harriet Bailey, age 34 (?)
P.O.V. of Harriet
240 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars (and a half)
Book eleven in this cozy mystery series introduces new characters, some familiar faces, and also a couple mysteries with a lot of details to keep up with. I will say that it did take me a bit to get into this mystery, but I kept reading and found the plot interesting as different things were revealed.
It was interesting to learn about the pine marten which aren’t actually endangered but are adorable. This book had a lot more of Harriet being a veterinarian and fixing up hurt animals, probably the most out of the whole series so far. There was a some suspense at the end too that I wasn’t expecting and I look forward to seeing what happens next for these characters.
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
About this book:
“Spring has arrived, and Harriet Bailey teams up with wildlife rehabilitator Garth Hamblin on an intriguing quest—tracking down an injured European pine marten. No one has seen more than a glimpse of the elusive endangered species for many years. Garth hopes that together they can find and protect it. But can they do it quickly and quietly before someone else finds the creature?
Meanwhile, Harriet is happy to meet White Church Bay’s newest arrivals, Elena Hunter and her son, Jack. When the two move into a neglected seaside cottage, the local gossips invent outlandish stories about them. But then the newcomers’ lives are threatened, and Harriet rallies to their defense…although she cannot deny that she is curious about them. Why are they in town in the first place? Why is Elena so cagey about her past and Jack’s? And will their secrets put Harriet and her loved ones in danger?”
Series: Book #11 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10!
Spiritual Content- 1 Corinthians 13:13 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & remembered; Prayers; Talks about God & those and events in the Bible; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, church events, children’s church, Bible studies, & a pastor; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of faith & having faith; A mention of miracles;
*Note: Mentions of luck; A mention of a movie showing a cat going to the “feline afterlife”.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘dumb’; Some eye rolling; A fire, Trying to rescue someone in a fire, Injuries, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone faint & another trapped in a fire (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of injured animals, mistreated animals, blood/bleeding, broken bones, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including her doing surgeries & a dog that was hit by a car, a cat that was rescued from a burning trash can, and dog being left to starve to death, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including from a boating accident & cancer; for wives, siblings, & parents); Mentions of accidents (including a biker being hit by a car and someone being trapped in a fire), injuries, pain, passing out, & it being touch and go for someone due to injuries; Mentions of poisons & someone being poisoned by someone who wants them ill; Mentions of crimes (including a hit-and-run), criminals, & arrests; Mentions of a break-in & intruder; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of the events in Book #4 that involved sibling rivalry and a near tragedy; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of a pub; A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of car accidents; A couple mentions of gambling; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of a woman hiding from her abusive husband; A mention of being bullied;
*Note: Harriet thinks about women she knew that had relationships with others that were full of competition and backstabbing rather than the “unconditional love and support that characterized healthy friendships”; Mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters and events (The Brontë Sisters’ books); Mentions of a movie (The Three Lives of Thomasina); Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of comedians (The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, & Jerry Lewis); A mention of BBC; A mention of Queen Elizabeth; A mention of a horror movie.
Sexual Content- A barely-above-not-detailed kiss; A bit of touches, embraces, butterflies, smelling, & nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Harriet thinks about her broken engagement and is concerned that she could be mistaken again about being in love; Mentions of dates, dating, break-ups, & a broken engagement; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of being smitten; A mention of a woman throwing herself at a man; A bit of love, being in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Harriet has a moment of self-consciousness when around a glamorous woman.
-Harriet Bailey, age 34 (?)
P.O.V. of Harriet
240 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars (and a half)
Book eleven in this cozy mystery series introduces new characters, some familiar faces, and also a couple mysteries with a lot of details to keep up with. I will say that it did take me a bit to get into this mystery, but I kept reading and found the plot interesting as different things were revealed.
It was interesting to learn about the pine marten which aren’t actually endangered but are adorable. This book had a lot more of Harriet being a veterinarian and fixing up hurt animals, probably the most out of the whole series so far. There was a some suspense at the end too that I wasn’t expecting and I look forward to seeing what happens next for these characters.
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
May 25, 2025
Fabulous! I loved the dual mysteries of this one as well as the romance elements for some of the characters. Easily one of my favorites of the series.
August 25, 2025
This is the first book I have read in the series. It was a sweet read set in the English Countryside around Cobble Hill Farm. Harriet is a veterinarian, and I loved how she cared for her patients. Polly was funny and worked in her office.
The town had its typical gossip and secrets that came to light along the way. The story had everything I like in a mystery- humor, danger, a sweet romance, plus an underlying Christian theme of love and faith. I enjoyed the children also and laughed at their antics.
The ending wrapped everything up nicely. A great, well-written read that I enjoyed.
The town had its typical gossip and secrets that came to light along the way. The story had everything I like in a mystery- humor, danger, a sweet romance, plus an underlying Christian theme of love and faith. I enjoyed the children also and laughed at their antics.
The ending wrapped everything up nicely. A great, well-written read that I enjoyed.
March 3, 2025
This one had me crying towards the end. This book had a baby fox (kit) and a pine marten (in the weasel family), both were injured creatures and a poor neglected dog. Two new individuals trying to stay anonymous and under the radar. There is a will involved (I guessed where it was hidden). The author said she thought the climax was when Harriet and Will claimed their love for each other? I thought it was more exciting that Polly and Van admitted still having feelings for each other.
September 5, 2025
I really like this series. Lots of twists and lots of family bonding in the small town.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews