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Book Review of Dead on the Vine (Finn Family Farm, Bk 1)

Dead on the Vine (Finn Family Farm, Bk 1)
reviewed on + 1528 more book reviews


Dead on the Vine by Elle Brooke White has Charlotte Finn heading to Little Acorn, California after inheriting Finn Family Farm from her great-uncle Tobias. Charlotte has fond memories of a magical summer she spent there as a child. While touring the property with a realtor, they find a man dead with a pitchfork in his neck. Charlotte also learns that someone has been sabotaging the farm and two local yokels claim the farm should belong to them. Charlotte works with her two best friends plus a pig named Horse and a ladybug named Mrs. Robinson to catch the culprit and save Finn Family Farm. Dead on the Vine is the debut of A Finn Family Farm Mystery series. I enjoyed this engaging cozy mystery with an interesting cast of characters. Charlotte Finn has been living in Chicago working in advertising. She has thoughts of putting the farm up for sale, but Charlotte quickly falls under the farms spell. Her two best friends, Diane and Beau (brother and sister) are joining her at the farm. Diane is a chef who loves all the fresh produce available and Beau is a flamboyant event planner (imagine Beau picking produce in a blue speedo with the score to Oklahoma blaring in the background). Alice and Ben Wong are the farm's caretakers and Samuel Brown is the hunky farmer. My favorite character is Horse, the adorable and intelligent pig who follows Charlotte around the farm. Horse is an smart little fellow who has Mrs. Robinson, the ladybug, traveling on his head. There are other animals on the farm who add humor to the story. There is a barn scene with goat yoga that had me laughing out loud. Dead on the Vine is well-written and moves along at a steady pace. I dived into the story and stayed up very late to finish it. The mystery is interesting with a variety of suspects. The whodunit suited the story and the characters. Dead on the Vine is a cute cozy mystery that made me laugh and smile (a rarity). I look forward to the next A Finn Family Farm Mystery. Dead on the Vine is a witty whodunit with a precious pig, a little ladybug, sneaky sabotage, a pointy pitchfork, fun friends, and a family farm.