Marlee Jacob, owner of the Berry Basket, while helping to set up a road rally, was the unfortunate witness to a dog digging up a skeleton.
The only identifier was a bracelet, but her determined snooping, allowed her to find out who the skeleton belonged to and when the burial was.
As to killer...so many possibles.....motive, however was unclear.
The killer is also determined to stay an unknown and frightens those who know into silence..and when it looks as though he may be outed, is not above killing again
Ms. Farrow weaves a fast moving, humorous tale. It's an enjoyable read.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC.

Blackberry Burial is the second book in the Berry Basket Mystery series! I was lucky enough to be able to read the first book early last year and I absolutely loved it so I've been dying to get my hands on the second book, and I have to say that it was beyond amazing!!! Perfection!

We meet up with Marlee Jacob again as she's planning the annual Blackberry Road Rally with Piper, the mayor's wife, but they quickly find out that they have to find a new starting location for the event. When they find a new location—a farm, they travel there to look at it, and while they are there, Marlee stumbles upon a skeleton buried in the forest—thanks to Piper's dog. We find out the skeleton belongs to a girl, Sienna, who supposedly drowned twenty years earlier.

The actual mystery itself was brilliant. Very creative and carefully plotted. There were so many twists and suspects that it was hard to pinpoint the actual bad guy. It was definitely unpredictable, and the ending was thrilling and action-packed. I loved it.

My favorite thing about this book though was the budding relationship between Theo—Marlee’s baker and Marlee. We didn’t really get to know much about Theo in book one, but that completely changes in book two. We get his full history and personality and I really liked him, but what I loved about him was his connection with Marlee. It’s truly authentic and beautiful. The last couple pages of the story, when they talk, brought tears to my eyes. A definite ‘awww’ moment.

Overall, this was a great book! Everything about it was awesome! From the captivating mystery to the fun and exciting characters to the action-packed ending. I'm anxiously awaiting the third installment. I need it now! Please?

Intriguing Cold Case
Blackberry Burial is the second installment in Sharon Farrow’s Berry Basket Mystery series and is a well thought out and interesting mystery, with a good story line and character development. This is an entertaining and easy to read, with a strong emphasis placed on the value of friendship. The author provides plenty of clues and adds some twists and turns to engage the reader as they try to solve the mystery. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Marlee Jacob is the owner of the Berry Basket in the small lakeside village of Oriole Point, Michigan. She’s known as the berry expert, owns a beautiful and talkative African grey parrot, and is engaged to Ryan Zellar. Residents and business owners are preparing for their annual Fourth of July celebration and Blackberry Art School’s week long centenary celebration. Marlee agreed to help Piper Lyall-Pierce with the promotion of the annual road rally, but the owners of the property where the race is to begin back out and Marlee and Piper are visiting Sanderling farm to determine if it will be an acceptable starting point for the race. When Piper’s newly acquired Great Dane puppy dashes away from them, it’s up to Marlee to chase after him because Piper isn’t dressed or shoed for running after her dog. As Marlee’s luck would have it, when she finally locates the dog in the forest, he’s in the process of digging up a skeleton. Marlee’s talented baker, Theo Foster, helps identify the body as Sienna Katsaros, who was a young art student in Blackberry Art School’s summer program twenty years ago because he made the gold bracelet, with ceramic charms painted to look like crayons for her. Detective Greg Trejo of the Michigan State Police and Atticus ‘Kit’ Holt, who is the head of the Sheriff Department’s investigative branch, work together to resolve this cold case. Because of the connection between Theo and the victim, Marlee wants to help solve what happened to Sienna twenty years ago. Even though she’s engaged to Ryan, Marlee and Kit seem to have a mutual attraction to each other and she has to keep reminding herself of her upcoming nuptials.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

BlackBerry Burial by Sharon Farrow is a great second book in the Berry Basket series.

It's the height of tourist season in Oriole Point and Marlee Jacob is looking forward to the BlackBerry Art School centenary celebration.
To kick things off, Marlee's sister Piper is organizing the annual road race, which sounds like a lot of fun.
When Marlee and Piper have to change start off location, neither of them expect to find a dead body. Technically, it's Piper's new dog, a huge great dane, that finds the body.
When the victim turns out to be a BAS former student, all fingers are quick to point at Marlee's baker, Theo.
Due to Theo's unique personality, it makes him an easy target for the BAS alumni.
Marlee refuses to believe her baker killed Sienna, he truly cared about her and would never hurt her. Unfortunately, a piece of evidence targets Theo and it's up to Marlee to prove his innocence.
I really enjoyed this book, and since I love blackberries, it was fun to read all the interesting facts about them.
I had a hard time liking Marlee's boyfriend. He was portrayed in a rather harsh way and I couldn't find anything I liked about him. At the end, I was hoping for a break up, I still am :)

I definitely recommend this book to other cozy mystery fans.

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

Blackberry Burial is book two in the Berry Basket Mystery Series. Tourist season is starting to get in full swing, and Marlee is busy as usual. She has offered to be part of the annual road rally which is in honor of the local art school she attended. When she is out scouting a starting location, she stumbles across a body long buried which throws the entire array of festivities for the celebration of the school out of whack. Marlee is also thrown head first into the investigation when her baker becomes one of the prime suspects.
This story was just as engaging as the first in the series. We get to see deeper into the characters and are introduced to new ones. The plot was wonderful, solving a years old murder in the middle of celebrating the local arts school.
This book is definitely one you can read again and again. The recipes at the end are a delicious bonus!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

I'm always on the look out for new Cozy mysteries to read, and since discovering Netgalley and their wealth of titles, I haven't been let down in a cozy mystery book. Kensington Publishing seems to hold some fantastic titles and authors in this genre, including this berry themed series.

At first I was a little hesitant with this theme; I mean, Berries? What is there to know about them? Offhand I could think of like four different kinds. But just like any good themed cozy, I found myself learning more and more as the book progressed. I loved the idea of the Berry Basket shop, and it made me both hungry and curious to try products like theirs. Who knew so many berry themed products existed?

The really strong point of this book is the friendships. Marlee feels strongly about her connections with people, and I adored her interactions with Piper, Theo and the Cabot brothers. What I didn't like was her romance with Ryan- but I think I was meant to not like it. Hopefully the author is setting Kit up as the new romantic interest, because Zeller farms sounds like hell to me. I don't want Marlee to give up her identity or break things she believes in for a bloke (he thinks she'll take up hunting because 'that's what Zeller women do'. Uh, how about no?)

I loved the fun ending, despite the fact that the characters probably thought it anything but. My very favorite part? the actual mystery, and who killed Sienna, both how and why. It really builds up well, and avid mystery fans will be as satisfied as I am. Looking forward to a new installment, and I'll have to go back and read book one. Four stars!

'Blackberry Burial' is all that is good in a book. The characters are well drawn and engaging, the mystery is sharp, there is even humor and a little romance. Only-child Marlee is delightful in her relationships with her friends and employees, with the added complication of a new man who interests her even though she is engaged to Ryan. I know what team I am on. I look forward to the next in the series.

I did not read the previous book in the series, but it did not hinder my ability to enjoy this book.
I really enjoyed the characters and want to read the next one to see what happens to them next.
The whodunit was actually not a knock out to me, but I still enjoyed it.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Have not read the first in the series, but was able to enjoy this second book featuring the Berry Basket. Great characters, beautiful descriptions of the scenery.

This is a thoroughly entertaining cozy mystery featuring Marlee Jacob who owns the Berry Basket, a shop featuring all things berry in beautiful Oriole Point, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Marlee is helping promote a local road race and helping Piper, the town matriarch, find a place for the road race to start. They go out to the Sanderling farm with Charlie, Piper's new Great Dane and when they get there Charlie races off into the woods. when Marlee goes after him she finds him digging up a skeleton that had been buried there and Marlee gets involved in another murder investigation. Along with a compelling plot and great characters, this series has special charms ranging from the beautiful scenery where Marlee does her beach yoga to the literary allusions which link characters in the story to ones from past literary works. I completely loved this book and can't wait to Marlee's next adventures.

Please see review on blog