When Brenda Sheffield inherits a bed and breakfast from her uncle, she packs up her life as an assistant to a private investigator in Michigan and relocates to the charming small town of Sweetfern Harbor. As is the way, the residents there know everyone and everyone's business but, for the most part, all get along very well. There is an exception though, and in this case, it is the local grande dame and largest property owner, Priscilla Pendleton. Soon after Brenda arrives, the town is thrown into an uproar because "Lady" Pendleton has announced another rent increase and is really putting the squeeze on the small, local business owners. When Lady Pendleton suddenly ends up dead and everyone in town has a motive to get rid of her, the local police detective asks Brenda to help him work through the long list of suspects.

Posies and Poisons is a short and quick introduction to the Sweetfern Harbor cozy mystery series by Wendy Meadows. The author has created a quaint setting in the small seaside town, one every reader will want to visit, if it were possible, with a variety of interesting characters to populate it. The main character, Brenda Sheffield, is calm and canny and very observant of her fellow residents. This amateur sleuth did not do anything out of the ordinary or put herself in harm's way as most do, and that was a nice change. She was smart, sensible, capable, and likable. The police detective on the case, Mac Rivers, seemed less so. Likable, yes, and definitely a candidate as a romantic interest for Brenda but he seemed to jump from suspect to suspect too quickly.

I recommend this book for cozy mystery readers especially those that like those small-town stories.

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