Dead on the Vine, A Finn Family Farm Mystery, by Elle Brooke White is about a mysterious death. Charlotte Finn plans to sell the the family’s produce farm, until she finds a body in the tomato vines. The man was murdered by a pitchfork. Now Charlotte has to run the farm while the murder is being investigated in order to be able to sell the farm, but she knows she has to help solve the mystery. She gets a lot of help from her barnyard animals,, especially a baby pig. The animals don’t actually speak to her, but they are all able to communicate and understand each other so they can point the way. A cozy mystery animal lover, will adore this book. Interesting story, with friendly characters that appear very strong. I recommend this well-written cozy mystery. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced reader’s copy to review.

This author’s writing is both charming and engaging, which makes for enjoyable reading. I loved the characters.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Description

Reluctant farmer Charlotte Finn needs the help of the livestock to sleuth a mysterious death.

Charlotte Finn never wanted to inherit the family's produce farm--much less plow a heap of money into it. Her plan is to hammer a great big FOR SALE sign into the farm's fallow furrows--but Charlotte's sunny hopes of a quick sale succumb to a killing frost when she finds a dead body entwined supine in the tomato vines. The poor man, it seems, was run through...with a pitchfork?

Now, Charlotte is stuck with running the farm in the midst of a murder investigation. Charlotte's knowledge of farming is smaller than her bank balance, so she relies on caretakers Joe and Alice Wong and their farmhands. Can she trust them? She doesn't know them. There's also farmer Samuel Brown, who still carries a childhood grudge. But the case gets personal when Charlotte learns that the victim might have been her own kin--and seeds of suspicion grow into a fertile field of suspects.

Charlotte turns to the farm's pig to help root out the killer. Soon, the goats, geese, and horse join in, but will Charlotte harvest a murderer--or buy the farm?

My Review
Dead on the Vine is a Finn Family Farm Mystery.

I tend to read the first few paragraphs before i decide to continue reading. This one grabbed me from the start.

The novel begins with Charlotte flying off to a life that was the farthest possible from her advertising job in Chicago. Glad she pay off her debts and start over she figures inheriting the family farm from her great-uncle Tobias might just be what she needs to start over.

Of course things do not go as planned and before she can put the farm up for sale she needs to figure out who killed the man found in the tomato vine.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a must read.

Charlotte uproots her life from Chicago to Little Acorn when she inherits her uncle’s farm. She’s excited about her new life except there is a dead body on the farm the day she arrives. Between her friends, the others who work on the farm, Chief Goodacre, and her trusty pig named Horse, Charlotte learns how to run the farm and who the killer was. While the suspects were obvious, the story nicely ramped up and everyone got their happily ever after. A bit more mystery would have been nice but it didn’t take away from the book overall.

Great starter for a cozy mystery, with a pig (Horse) being Charlotte's assistant. Didn't stall as some first's tend to do while trying to explain basis of story. This will be added to my keep reading list.

Charlotte Finn inherited her great-uncle's farm - and has no idea what to do with it. She'd been in advertising, but after a bad ad, she retreated in disgrace. Things go from bad to worse when the real estate agent she asked to appraise the farm trips over the body of a young man with a pitchfork in his neck. Now Charlotte and her friends Diane and Beau are stuck there until the sheriff finds a killer. With plenty of suspects - including the town's bully brothers - Charlotte decides she needs to hurry things along if she wants to decide to keep the farm or not. But does the killer decide to hurry things along, too, by making sure they're not found out?...

As far as new series go, this is a pretty cute one, with a pig as Charlotte's main 'helper' in solving the murder. While I'm not big on pigs myself as pets, and I certainly wouldn't allow one to sleep in my bed with me, granted it's a farm so Horse the pig fits right in.

The mystery was done decently, and there were enough red herrings to keep people wondering who the killer was. I would have liked to have known more about Charlotte's past (if she was in advertising, why was she broke, considering she stated she had her own staff), or even the secondary characters, but there's plenty of time for that in other books.

When the killer was discovered it didn't really come as a surprise, since the clues were there all along, but I liked the plot and the inventive ways the characters came up with to keep the farm running while the murder investigation was being conducted. It was an enjoyable read that can be done in an afternoon and a nice start to a new cozy series.

I requested to read and review this book from publisher Crooked Lane. I wasn't to sure of this book at first. It was a little hard to picture the setting in the book. But as I continued to read a picture of the setting and characters came to my mind. You will love spirited Charlotte, loyal Diane and you never know what is going to happen Beau. Alice, Joe and Farmer Brown I am still trying to figure out. Can't wait for the second book in this series to come out and read. This book kind of reminded me of a modern day Charlotte's Web. You will want to read this book until the end!! Any type of reader can enjoy this and the characters.

I always love to read a new series and I was not disappointed. Everything about this story was so engaging and perfectly set, the plot, setting, characters. It was executed wonderfully and there was no bouncing around from point to point. If you enjoy a good mystery, look no further.

fun, friendship, farm-animals, greed, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement

The Finn Family Farm is fantastic fun! Even though there are villains and nasties and even a murder, it was good fun having a mini pig and a lady bug as part of the investigation team. The whodunit is a good one and the characters certainly are. No need for spoilers or plot summary, just enjoy some time away from reality with this one! Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Charlotte Finn inherited her great uncle's farm and moves from Chicago to Little Acorn, California to decide whether she should sell or keep it. While touring the property with a realtor, the body of a young man is discovered in the tomato vines. To make matters worse, someone has been intentionally sabotaging the farm and breaking into the cellar at night. With the help of her childhood friends, her staff, and a pig named Horse, she becomes determined to catch the culprit and save the farm.

Death on the Vine is a promising start to a new series. It is an enjoyable, easy read, with an intriguing murder mystery and an interesting cast of characters. I thought it was really well-written and the descriptions made it very easy for me to picture the rural town of Little Acorn. Charlotte is a likable main character who is not afraid to stand up for herself. I enjoyed getting to know her and look forward to seeing what's in store for her and the farm. I will definitely be reading the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun and charming cosy mystery. I loved several of the characters and their friendships. As an animal lover, of course I loved the animals too, especially Horse, Mrs. Robinson and Pele. There were quite a few red herrings and suspects, as well as twists and turns in this book to make it engaging, even if I had a suspicion on the culprit.

You know the books where you slow down reading at the end of the book because you just want the story to keep going? This is one of those books! I truly enjoyed it start to finish! I love a cozy mystery with a good side love story. The added farm element of the animals, the crops and the small town gossip tree make it wonderful. Horse is my favorite character because clearly nothing can be done without him. I can’t wait for the next installment in this series to find out more about these characters and their lives. Everyone seems to have secrets and I can’t wait to see how they play out!

Dead on the Vine: A Finn Family Farm Mystery is a GREAT start to what I feel is going to be a promising new cozy mystery series. Being one of my favorite genres I am always on the lookout for new authors to try and I think Elle Brooke White will be a new favorite! Readers will agree, this is one of those series to watch out for!

Actual Rating: 4 stars
Full review will be posted come release!

Dead on the Vine by Elle Brooke White is a light hearted cozy mystery with lots of fun characters, human and animal. We will be eagerly awaiting a sequel.

Elle Brooke White.
Oh I do love the first book to a new series.
A good plot, loveable characters and friendships.
I enjoyed this storyline very much.
Plenty of suspects and twists to keep you entertained.
My thanks to Crooked Lane books and NetGalley for my advance copy.
Looking forward for the next instalment.

As a guest in a new series, this book shows a lot of promise to become an ongoing series.
I can’t say much about the characters as I haven’t really connected with them yet, which is typical in a new series.
I’m going to keep my eye on this author and hope to see another book soon.

This new cosy mystery series is about Charlotte, who inherits her great-uncle's farm in central California. After she moves in thinking she will fix it up and sell out, murders start happening in her new little hometown. Of course, Charlotte falls in love with her new home (and maybe with an attractive farmhand named Sam, too). While this story treads no new ground, I liked the characters enough that I stayed invested and am likely to pick up the next book in the series. I'm not sure how I feel about Horse, the little pig Charlotte takes as a pet and who seems to have the ability to communicate with a ladybug. The ladybug was really dumb, to be honest. Cosy series often have some hint of the supernatural or a whimsical animal-human relationship, so I will let it slide, but it was a bit silly and I hope it doesn't continue or is a very small part of forthcoming stories. Small town settings for mysteries can get really stale fast, so I hope there are more intrigues outside the business of running a produce farm. This initial story was good to get Charlotte established in the community, as the first body shows up on her farm and the central mystery is tied to her family going back a few generations and shows how she's connected to other locals. A fun, quick read!

Dead on the Vine by Elle Brooke White was an entertaining beginning to this new cozy mystery series.

Charlotte Finn is a savvy marketing professional but totally ignorant about farming as she moves to her Uncle Tobias' produce farm that she has inherited in Little Acorn, CA. She's not sure if she should sell the farm or try to revive the failing business until she finds a young man murdered on the property. With her best friends, Diane and Beau, the current staff and a teacup pig named Horse she becomes determined to solve the murder and save the farm. Ms. White's narrative is quickly paced and very descriptive so that I felt like I was actually with Charlotte throughout the story. I'm hooked on this new series and look forward to more adventures in Little Acorn, California with Charlotte and Horse.

What a great read. Charlotte inherits her great uncles farm. Charlotte moves to the farm and the next evening she is there a murder happens.. Charlotte and her now pet pig she named horse helps in the investigation to find the killer. Cant wait for the next book in the series.

A fun and cozy mystery, I enjoyed the setting and the character a lot. Will definitely recommend to my fellow cozy mystery lovers.