My review can be seen at RT Book Reviews - 4.5 stars/ TOP PICK

Shelby McDonald has her hands full running the Love Blossom Farm but she’s excited about the annual county fair. She’s entering some of her homemade jams and jellies into the county fair’s contest while her son, Billy, is in a riding competition. Unfortunately, not all of the events at the county fair go smoothly as a dead body is found during a Jaws of Life demonstration and Shelby’s neighbor, Jake, is the prime suspect. Can Shelby uncover who the murderer is or will Jake end up in jail?

SOWED TO DEATH is the second book in the <i>Farmer’s Daughter Mystery</i> series but can easily be read on its own merits. Peg Cochran does a marvelous job at displaying the coziness of Lovett County and its residents. I love the way the farmers barter and exchange produces with one another and the various recipes created by Shelby and her friend, Bert Parker, sound absolutely scrumptious! I would love to visit the Lovett County Fair and witness the various competitions, even considering the drama surrounding the pie contest.

However, it is the character of Shelby herself who makes SOWED TO DEATH so much fun. Shelby’s inquisitive nature puts her in some precarious situations but her loyalty and love for her family and friends is unconditional. The fact that her teenage daughter, Amelia, can still turn to her in situations many other teens would avoid their parents is a refreshing change and says a lot about the strength of their relationship even during the challenging teenage years. I especially love the “Dear Reader” blog entries that are interspersed throughout the storyline as they are both entertaining and give great insight into Shelby’s thought processes.
SOWED TO DEATH continues the warm, cozy environment we first saw in NO FARM, NO FOUL and has me hooked! I look forward to further adventures with Shelby, Bert, and the rest of the town’s residents. If you love cozy mysteries with a small town atmosphere and plenty of yummy sounding recipes, then look no further than SOWED TO DEATH.

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

Somehow I missed out on the first book in Peg Cochran’s Farmer’s Daughter mystery series, but am thankful that her second book, SOWED TO DEATH, found its way onto my Kindle! This delightful cozy features protagonist, Shelby McDonald, a blog writing farmer who is also a widow, trying to raise her two children. I enjoyed that Shelby is a bit older with a unique family situation different than the typical heroine. She has a lot of stressful responsibilities that the author weaves in to the murder mystery surrounding a neighboring farmer. Shelby’s blog, The Farmer’s Daughter, effectively gives the reader an entertaining peek into what it takes to run a farm along with growing and preserving their own food. Shelby also struggles to raise her children, one of whom is a young teenage girl. Peg’s description of the drama involving the mother and her daughter struck home, and left me chuckling at times, as my family is entering that stage with my own granddaughter.

The character development in SOWED TO DEATH draws the reader in and made me want to spend time with Shelby, her family, and friends. But it is the carefully crafted mysteries that kept me turning pages wanting to see what happens next and how the various threads of plot were going to weave together. There are several believable suspects and I found it a unique twist with Shelby’s brother-in-law being both the investigating detective and a potential suitor. Now having missed the first book (and I’ll be remedying that) I found book two easy to jump in to and didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much information. The story flows with a good pace and kept me entertained!

Peg Cochran includes a few delicious recipes at the back of the book along with mentions of several things that Shelby prepares that I’d love recipes for as well. I tried the recipe for Apple Crisp. Sometimes simplicity is best and in this case it holds true. The fresh flavors of apples are allowed to shine with a simple light crust topping of flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter. With a dollop of vanilla ice cream along side the warm crisp, dessert doesn’t get any better!

If there were more authors of Peg Cochran’s caliber, Amazon’s site would crash from people ordering books, and bookstores would be restocking their shelves every day!

As you can tell by my above statement, I am a mega fan of author Peg Cochran. I literally cried when I found out her Sweet Nothings mystery series written under the pen name of Meg London had been cancelled. It honestly felt like I had lost good friends. However, in life we do lose friends, and we make new ones. And I adore the friends I am making in the Farmer’s Daughter Mysteries!

NO FARM, NO FOUL, the first book in this wonderful series was so good, I not only read it in one setting, I went back and read my favorite parts! To say I had very high hopes for book two, SOWED TO DEATH would be an understatement. Well, Ms. Cochran, I just have to say . . . you did not let me down!!!

From the opening page, which starts off with an entry in protagonist, Shelby McDonald’s blog (each chapter starts off with a blog post. Love it!), until the last word on page 298 (which was part of a recipe), I never put this book down. Seriously. Not even once. Each and every chapter had my attention so focused, everything around me disappeared.

When you read, SOWED TO DEATH, you will find yourself engrossed in a fascinating tale presented with the same skill and precision that made Agatha Christie a household name. Now, I’m not saying this book reminded me of a Christie novel. The two are very different. With that being said, SOWED TO DEATH was written with the same dedication to exceptional story telling. A first class murder mystery that had me stumped and biting my nails until author Cochran was ready for all to be revealed, this was also a story with a fabulous cast of characters, a cozy town that has me ready to pack my bags and move there, fun and helpful tips, and recipes that made my mouth water!

You have got to add SOWED TO DEATH to your reading list. And if you haven’t read book one, NO FARM, NO FOUL, treat yourself to both!

I loved Sowed to Death, it was a perfect read for this time of year. I fell in love with Love Blossom Farm in the first book and fell more in love in this book. I love all the details about farm life and Shelby is such an endearing character. The mystery was weaved so nicely and the killer was kept a mystery until the very end. I liked how the relationship between Shelby and Jake is forming and this series has such a relaxed and inviting feel that draws the reader in. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery or dreams of living on a farm and wants to live vicariously through an amazing book.

Sowed to Death by Peg Cochran is the second book in A Farmer’s Daughter Mystery series. Shelby McDonald lives in Lovett, Michigan where she manages Love Blossom Farm, the family farm. Shelby and the kids (Billy and Amelia) are heading to Lovett County Fair for the day. There is some excitement when one of the judges has a reaction to Jenny Hubbard’s award-winning lemon meringue pie. For the first time in five years, Jenny does not win. Billy and Shelby are watching the Jaws of Life demonstration. Jake Taylor gets the car open and extricates the dummy from the driver’s seat. Shelby notices that there is blood on the head of the dummy and realizes that it is a real person. The body belongs to Zeke Barnstable. Unfortunately, Jake had a contentious relationship with Zeke which puts him at the top of the suspect list. In between taking care of the kids, canning and doing farm chores, Shelby digs into Zeke’s life. One night Amelia goes to a bonfire and ends up finding a skeleton in Zeke’s yard (Amelia lied about a few particulars regarding the bonfire). Could the skeleton be Zeke’s missing wife? Shelby is happy to have suspicion removed from Jake (since she is attracted to him and he is their neighbor). Shelby wonders if Zeke’s murder had anything to do with his wife’s death. Shelby weeds through the clues to find the killer. What happens, though, when the murderer finds Shelby first?

Sowed to Death is well-written, has relatable characters, a lovely setting, light humor and a good pace. I like the writer’s descriptive writing style and the way she draws the reader into the story. The book has a good flow (for a smooth reading experience). I would get involved in the book and not realize how much time had passed. The characters in Sowed to Death are nicely developed and feel real (they could easily be my neighbors). I appreciate that the author has given us a mature main character (instead of a woman in her 20s or early 30s). It will be entertaining to watch Shelby as she begins dating (she has three men interested in her). I like how Peg Cochran mixed the mystery in with Shelby’s life. In Sowed to Death there is two women are fighting over the widowed Reverend Mather, Shelby has her first date since her husband’s death, Amelia with her teenage angst and antics, Billy and his riding lessons, Bert helping Shelby with canning, the county fair and so much more. I especially delighted in Shelby’s blog posts. They contain some interesting information and are fun to read. I give Sowed to Death 5 out of 5 stars. The mystery is complex and most readers will be surprised by the killer’s identity. Shelby’s style of investigating is pleasant and very welcome. She asks subtle questions, listens to conversation, catches up on local gossip, and, sometimes, Shelby happens to be in the right place at the right time. Sowed to Death is the second book in the series, but it is easily a stand-alone novel (No Farm, No Foul is just as delightful as Sowed to Death). There are a couple of recipes at the end of the book. My only negative is I now must wait months for another A Farmer’s Daughter Mystery.

It was okay not one of my favorite reads. I favor stronger female protagonist yes they even have whining moments but still this book lacked any sort of appeal at least for me. We have patrons that love it.

I really enjoyed this wonderful cozy mystery. It is #2 in the Farmer's Daughter Mystery series and is easily read without book 1. This book brought back many happy memories of attending the county 4H fairs with the food and quilt contests with the rides and hot summer temperatures. Shelby is a widow running her family farm with the help of her two children. Hoping for blue ribbons in the jams and produce from the Love Blossom Farm she and the children are shocked when a dead body is found by the firemen giving a jaws of life demonstration. Her friend Jake becomes the prime suspect and Shelby works hard to prove he's not the killer almost getting herself killed in the process. This book is interspersed with Shelby's blog entries on farm living and they are all fun to read. Looking forward to more books in this series. Peg Cochran has several cozy series available , her Lucille series is one of my favorites.

Sowed To Death
Farmer’s Daughter Mystery, Book #2
Peg Cochran
5 Stars


Synopsis:

In the latest Farmer s Daughter Mystery from the national bestselling author of No Farm, No Foul, farm owner and blogger Shelby McDonald must field another murder mystery....
The county fair is the highlight of the year for the small town of Lovett, Michigan especially for food-and-lifestyle blogger Shelby McDonald, who writes as the Farmer s Daughter. She s submitting jams and jellies she s created from the produce she grows at Love Blossom Farm in hopes of harvesting a blue ribbon.
But the townspeople get more than just the excitement of hayrides, tractor pulls, and cotton candy when Shelby s neighbor and volunteer fireman, Jake Taylor, extricates the body of Zeke Barnstable instead of a dummy during a demonstration of the Jaws of Life. The fact that Jake and Zeke were known to be at odds plants suspicion in the minds of the police. As evidence against Jake grows, Shelby knows she has to plow through the clues to weed out the true killer and save her friend." (Goodreads)


Review:


Sometimes when you read a book, something just clicks. I do not know why it happens, I just know that it does. That is what happened when I read this book. I enjoyed it a lot.

The characters are well developed, well rounded and three dimensional. Shelby is a hardworking smart woman. She runs a farm, writes a blog and is raising two children by herself, since her husband died. I really like the fact that Shelby is an older woman with two children (who are not perfect) to raise, I think it made the book more believable. So many cozies have a protagonist who is young and has friends that help her solve the mysteries. With her being a mom and older, I felt like she was easy to relate to. She has three possible love interests and it will be interesting which one she chooses.

The mystery is carried on well throughout the book. There were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through that it was difficult to figure out the culprit. Throw in a couple of red herrings and even the most experienced armchair detective will be stumped.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the book I felt like I was right there watching all the action taking place. I enjoyed the blog entries that appeared every so often in the book. Not only did the blog offer some useful advice, it also allowed the reader to know some of Shelby’s thoughts and feelings. I thought this a good way to help everyone connect with her even more.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. With the characters, the storyline, the mystery and the setting, this is a near perfect cozy read.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The second book in this cozy series features a local fair gone deadly. Curmudgeonly Zeke Barnstable's body was switched out with a dummy's in a car for a demonstration, and once again Shelby, the blogger and farmer protagonist, starts investigating. It turns out that Zeke has made his share of enemies, and they all have secrets they'd rather not be made public, leaving Shelby with a long list of suspects and the knowledge that someone in her small community is a killer.
In the saturated field of cozy mysteries (especially those with a food theme), it takes talent to stand out, and this series continues to prove that Peg Cochran has that special skill. Shelby is creative and resourceful. An overall well plotted and crafty mystery with good characters and setting. Looking forward to watching this series grow!