3 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Kensington Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this book via Netgalley.
An interesting cosy crime filled with snow, intrigue and organic foods.
This was the third book in a series and, unfortunately, I’d not read the first two books before I read this one. From seeing it at Netgalley I didn’t notice it was part of a series. Totally my fault.
However, if I had read the other books first, I might not have found the array of characters as confusing as I did. I kept getting the list of who’s who mixed up and therefore didn’t enjoy the story as much as I could have. They all came across as rather two dimensional too and only ever described in brief sentences. But this could simply be because I’d not read the first two books. Someone who had made the effort to read the whole series would know who they were and therefore only need these brief reminders.
I also didn’t like the way “locavore” seemed to be often used as a demeaning term by Cam. She seemed fine to sell them her organic wares, but thought they were a little crazy? Maybe that, again, was just me… but it made me dislike her a bit as she seemed blind to her own imperfections and if it wasn’t an opinion she shared/ understood, it was wrong. Then again, maybe I am just being over sensitive as I’m a bit of a locavore and eat as local and with the seasons as I can. Maybe she’d see me as weird too? But that feeling just didn’t gel with me as someone who truly cared about all that stuff would be so dismissive of clients. Ah well, maybe I just picked up the wrong vibe and it stuck with me?
As a nice little cosy crime, it was an okay story. I enjoyed it for that, despite the above. And I’m pretty sure, as said, if I’d read the series from the beginning, maybe the above flaws wouldn’t be there for me.
Would I recommend this book to others? Not by itself. I would possibly suggest people check out the series if they’re into cosy crime set in that area of the world.
Would I consider reading the series from the beginning to catch up on it all? Not really. It was an okay book but it didn’t light that fire of curiosity in me that some series do, where I then spend all my time hunting out the first lot of books. There wasn’t even a spark with this for me.
Big thumbs up to the passion for organic farming and locavorism(even if the latter seemed to be seen as silly at times) as it was good to see this stuff appearing in books. It’s good to know even the fictional characters are realising the importance of supporting local farms with no spray policies. 😉
In summary – it was a good read to while away the time, but not the best I’ve read recently. It had its moments, but they were few and far between for me. Sorry.
Until next time,
Janis. XXOO
Janis's Journal 