I really enjoyed this book. The author packed a lot if information which seemed innocuous, but pertinent to the setting, but played an important role later in the story. She did a great job developing and fleshing out the Blackberry Art Studio which plays a big role in this story. I found it lightly amusing that the school had brambles as grouping units and that there were so many berries that the attendees all had berry based nicknames.

The Blackberry Road Rally was another fun element and I could relate to the excitement Marlee's employees had (and the crazy preparation they did being a wee bit competitive myself). The ultimate ending of the book was very sweet and left me with a positive impression.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Marlee and the Berry Basket are surviving the summer tourist season. When the annual road rally uncovers a decades old body, Marlee investigates. I liked the idea of the cold case and how it helps mold the history of the town. It was fun and intriguing.

I really enjoyed this 'new-to-me' series set in Oriole Point, Michigan. I found the writing easy to read and the story flowed nicely. The local characters seemed very likable, although I can't say the same for the visitors. The book had me captivated from the first few pages. Good mystery with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.

How cool- find a start location for the upcoming Blackberry Car Rally and find remains that are over 20 years old. That’s how this story begins. It only gets better. Set in the summer in Oriole Point, Michigan during 4th of July preparations and tourist season.
This is the first of the series that I have read. It is a standalone book.
I enjoyed it beyond compare. Will be picking up book one in the series.

Marlee and friends are back in the 2nd Berry Basket Mystery, and I enjoyed this one even more than the first. While surveying a possible starting location for the annual road rally, Marlee finds the body of a girl missing for 20 years hidden in the overgrowth. Can she catch a killer when the murder happened so long ago?

I enjoy reading about Marlee and her friends, and I would love to visit Oriole Point. With such a great combination of characters, setting, and suspense, I’m already looking forward to book #3.

Berry recipes included at the end of the book!

Blackberry Burial was a good follow up to the first book in A Berry Basket Mystery Series. I enjoyed Marlee's adventures in solving the murder that is discovered when she stumbles over a long dead body. Marlee is a likable character, and this was a quick and easy to read book with an interesting storyline. I'm looking forward to more of Marlee! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Although Berry Basket owner Marlee Jacob is busy with the summer tourist season in Oriole Point, Michigan. she agrees to help run the annual road rally. This year, the Blackberry Road Rally will take place and at the same time as the local Blackberry Art School’s 100th-anniversary celebration. Marlee hopes the abandoned Sanderling farm will be a good starting point for the rally, despite rumors that the land is cursed. But Marlee and Piper's Great Dane puppy stumble upon a buried body hidden in the bramble. Marlee's baker Theo recognizes a distinctive bracelet found with the victim. The skeletal remains as belonging to Sierra, a talented former Blackberry Arts student who had gone missing 20 years ago. As the Fourth of July and centenary activities start up and alumni start returning to town, Marlee is determined to help Theo and find his friend's killer. But Sierra's former classmates are all hiding something and Marlee has a large suspect pool.

This was a fun read, and the book is also filled with berry lore and some recipes.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

<http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=64351>

 A tangled tale of blackberries and murder

This is the 2nd in Series of The Berry Basket Mystery series.
This series is always enjoyable with a well crafted sleuth, great characters and wonderful location descriptions. Returning to this series is a delight as the author has a fast paced writing style that makes her books fun as well as very descriptive. The author infuses a great sense of humor with a excellent story line centered around the wonderful Berry Basket Bakery. The characters all add to the story with depth and humor. The sleuth kept this reader guessing and I enjoyed the intricate puzzle of twist and turns.
I do recommend the entire series for your reading enjoyment.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review. I look forward to the next in series.

The second book in the Berry Basket Mystery series by Sharon Farrow is Blackberry Burial. Marlee, owner of the Berry Basket, is excited for the summer tourist season and the celebration of the Blackberry Arts School. While out planning one of the activities, Marlee finds a long dead body with the help of a great dane. When it turns out to be a woman who disappeared from the school 20 years ago, the reunion takes a sad turn. Marlee finds herself in the middle of another mystery. I liked the first book. My only problem with this one is Marlee's fiance. He is not exactly husband material so I am curious to see where this goes as the series develops.

What a fun book. The action was non-stop and I love Marlee and her friends. The story grabbed my attention right away. As always, there are some characters I didn't like, and so they were suspects for me. The murder is 20 years old but all the main players are back. Marlee doesn't mean to get in the middle of things, but she wants to protect her baker who was a at the BAS art school when the murder took place. It's fun to see all the berry related things in the book as well. I want to read the next book in this series.

Blackberry Burial is such a good mystery. It is well written with a plot that has many twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing and will be enjoying more of her books in the future. I highly recommend to readers who enjoy a good whodunit.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars, I really liked it.

Book 2 in the series.

The first book was good, but I really enjoyed Marlee this time around, and I thought Theo was absolutely a sweetheart. Watching their friendship develop was lovely. And the Rally was flat out fun, haha.

This story moved at a pretty fast pace once the long buried body turned up and all the people who knew the victim ended up back in town for a reunion.

The one thing I do not like about this series is Marlee's fiancé (I didn't like him in the first book and he certainly hasn't gotten any better.) and the fact that we're heading for a love triangle. Dump the guy and date the cop. But please don't waffle between the two!

I'm looking forward to the next book.

This is a great book; this is the second book in the Berry Basket Mystery Series written by Sharon Farrow. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Charlemagne, the Great Dane, was on a mission racing through the woods looking for treasures. When Marlee Jacob finally caught up to him he was frantically digging up a bone. Unfortunately, it was a human one complete with the rest of the skeleton. Marlee soon finds out that this cold case isn't so cold after all and finds herself literally racing to save her own life as well as her best friends.

I really liked that a prominent part of this story featured Theo Foster, a baker, who had developmental problems due to a closed head injury. The author raises awareness in the prejudices people with an impairment face and how they are a valuable part of society.

This entertaining story is the second in A Berry Basket Mystery series and comes complete with recipes. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the second in this series and I liked it so much I now have to get the first one. The small town setting, the friendship between Marlee, the berry expert and her friend Piper is well developed and so much to learn about berries. Add a 20 year old cold case that heats up during the annual road rally when a skull is unearthed by a wayward Great Dane puppy and you have the makings of an excellent mystery with enough twists and turns and clues to keep the reader guessing until the satisfying conclusion. I'm glad there are so many kinds of berries, enough to keep this series going for a long time.

In this second book of the series Marlee is helping with the Blackberry Art Schools Centenary Celebration. While looking for a location to start the annual Blackberry Road Race Marlee comes across some bones her friends dog, Charlie, has dug up. When it comes to light that it's the body of a girl who went missing twenty years earlier she wonders if a killer can be found after all this time. Theo, the baker for The Berry Basket, knew and cared for the girl and wants Marlee to help figure out just what happened all those years ago. With her business to run, the rally, and visiting friends will she be able to find a conclusion to this mystery? Follow along as she works her way through the suspects who have returned for the Art Schools Centenary Celebration. Could it have been a lover, a friend, or maybe a stranger passing through? I love how much the characters have developed and look forward to reading and seeing their ever growing personalities.

Blackberry Burial is the second installment in the A Berry Basket Mystery series set in Oriole Point, Michigan featuring Berry Basket owner, Marlee Jacobs. Folks in Oriole Point are gearing up for the Blackberry Art School centenary which will be bringing alumni in from all over the world, some of its former students have become world famous talents.

Marlee has been recruited by Piper Lyall-Pierce the mayor's wife and director of the Oriole Point Tourist and Visitor center to help organize the annual Road Rally. This year the rally is being dubbed the Blackberry Road Rally in honor of the BAS reunion. When the Grunkemeyer Farm which was supposed to be the starting point for the rally is deemed unsafe, Marlee and Piper set out along with Piper's new Great Dane puppy Charlemagne "Charlie" to visit the Sanderling Farm.

Upon his release from the car, Charlie immediately takes off into the woods and Marlee must go looking for him. Much to her dismay, she finally locates Charlie who has happily dug up a human skeleton. The skeleton is identified as belonging to a former BAS student and classmate of the Berry Basket baker Theo Foster. Marlee has a very soft spot in her heart for the baker, and when he begs her to find his friend's killer, she can't say no.

With the help of best friend Tess, employees Dean and Andrew Cabot and Captain Atticus Holt, Marlee discovers that the relationship among the former BAS students was very prickly. This is a fast paced storyline with characters and animals that will pull at your heartstrings, have you both laughing and crying. A delightful mystery is woven in amongst the evolvement of friendships and hopefully a new and more suitable relationship for Marlee.

I received an advanced copy of Blackberry Burial from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

That was...wow. I don't know how else to describe it. The mystery was intriguing, yet a bit darker and more twisted than I expected. This series is one I like because it is a bit nostalgic for me. It always makes me smile reading it because it really does make me remember Michigan. The orchards, the berry farms, it really brings back memories (even though it isn't set in the area I lived in).

This is very entertaining! The nicest thing about this cozy is that it's about a cold case and the team investigating, which includes Marlee, Kit, Greg, and Theo, is a mix of amateurs and law enforcement. Marlee, a berry expert (this is a new one on me!) is engaged to Ryan but it's not clear that the wedding will occur. Farrow has nicely balanced the mystery with the romance with the friendship, which upped this a star for me. I had not read the first book but that wasn't a problem. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this if you enjoy clean, not too complex, fun reads.