I loved this first in a new series by Linda Lovely about Brie, a vegan chef who moves to help take care of her aunt's farm in South Carolina. The mystery was gripping, and full of suspense. There were delightful surrounding characters, romance interests (yes plural!) and lots of humor. All in all a perfect start to what I hope is a long running series!

Bones to Pick (Brie Hooker Mystery #1) by Linda Lovely
Ms Lovely weaves an engrossing cozy, creating a wide variety of characters from sweet and lovable to downright detestable.
Brie Hooker comes to live with her Aunt Eva after her Aunt Lily's deadly accident...but was it an accident.
While vegan chef Brie struggles with the changes in her life, life at the farm becomes anything but 'quiet in the country'. From two smokin' hot age appropriate males showing interest in her...to Tammy the pig showing interest in the body buried near the barn, life becomes one challenge after another.
Don't miss this tale of intrigue that contains more than a bit of humor. I can't wait to see where she goes next.
I requested and received an ARC from NetGalley, much to my delight.

Apparently, Linda Lovely writes a blend of mystery and humour. Well, you could have fooled me.

Brie Hooker returns to help out her aunt Eva when Eva’s twin sister dies unexpectedly. Brie is a vegan chef with a predilection to uttering food types instead of expletives. Her aunts run a goat farm and make cheese which is sold locally and by mail order. During the family get together to read the will the remains of a body are found which turns out to be those of Eva’s long lost, abusive husband Jed. The wicked sheriff points the finger at Eva and locks her up. So starts a run of murders and mystery. Laugh? I thought I’d never start.

The characters are two dimensional and the local lawmen are caricatures of the Deep South crooked constabulary. Think of a villainous J W Pepper from Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun and you get the idea. I am quite happy to suspend belief when reading a crime mystery novel but in this case, credulity was stretched to breaking point and beyond. I awarded 3 stars as the plot hung together and moved forward logically although I almost deducted a star for the whimsical tone.

The novel is promoted as Brie Hooker#1. I shall not be rushing out to purchase the second or subsequent releases. As Brie’s mother comment at the end of the book, “It would make one heck of a murder mystery. But who’d believe it really happened?” Quite! I couldn’t have put it better myself.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I am always up for starting a new series from Henery Press. This book was a great start to the series and had everything that I love about Henery Press' books.

Brie Hooker is a vegan chef who finds herself living on her Aunt's goat cheese farm after her aunt is accused of murder. She, with the help of some friends (even some hunky friends who vie for her attention), must clear her Aunt's name while helping to keep the farm afloat.

I liked that while Brie is vegan it doesn't really dominate the story. She does get a bit annoying about it when talking about all the cholesterol in cheese but it didn't make me like the story any less. What made me really love the story was her relationships with Andy and Paint. While they both vied for her attention they were both able to remain best friends.

I really look forward to reading more of this series (and seeing what happens between Brie, Andy, and Paint). Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

Cute and fun - just like the cover! This is a highly entertaining and relatable story!!! Keep em coming!

I really enjoyed this book. The title was interesting and the story was excellent.
I had a great time reading this book and I loved the way I connected with all the characters.
The story itself was interesting and I was pleasantly surprised with the story line.
I can't wait to read more in this series.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

Loved this not so cozy mystery. Lots of humor and lovable characters with enough suspense and twists to keep you reading late into the night1.

I was unable to connect with the main character and therefore unable to finish this one.

Loved the story, finding the skull was a great moment, and I loved how the mystery unfolded, and solving it was great!!!!

This a charming little cozy that I feel in love with from start to finish. The author has developed the protagonist and the secondary characters masterfully. The setting and the story-line were well executed form start to finish

I was interested as soon as I saw that this mystery would feature a vegan chef who was forced to work on her family's farm. However, it became readily apparent that the author isn't a vegan, There's no mention of what happens to male baby goats (they are slaughtered) or that milking goats is stealing the food that their babies need. And vegans can't drink champagne - unless it's certified vegan. Regular champagne uses cow products in processing.

I feel like veganism was used as a hook to get people interested instead of being a fundamental part of Brie's identity. The author didn't do enough research to make this character vegan and it's misleading to advertise her as such.

Brie Hooker (love that name) is a vegan chef who lives on a large goat farm with her aunt. Despite her vegan sensibilities, Brie helps her grandmother with her dairy farm, but then things start getting weird. A pet pig roots out a human skull that just happens to belong to the “long-lost” husband of Brie’s aunt Eva. The cops, of course, like Eva for the murder, but Brie knows that even though her aunt has quite a temper, there’s no way she would kill anyone. Brie sets out to prove her aunt’s innocence, but to do that, she’ll have to unmask the real killer. A fun. snarky, cozy mystery