App developer Mabel knows nothing about garlic farming, yet when her aunt, Peggy, dies unexpectedly Mabel inherits her Stinkin' Stuff Farm in western Massachusetts. Mabel learns when she arrives at Peggy's that it's peak harvest time and she has to bring in the entire crop in the next three days or the forecast rain will destroy it all. Peggy has no employees but a few of Peggy's neighbors and friends are ready to pitch in and help, though it's going to take more people to get it done. Mabel needs to find additional people to hire fast, harvest the crop, stop the thief who keeps stealing the garlic, and do her regular job (...she has to create and email her boss a finished app by the end of the week). On top of working two full jobs, Mabel begins investigating Peggy's death because things just don't feel right. She quickly becomes convinced Peggy's supposedly accidental death was murder.

Learning about running a garlic farm was really interesting. Mabel describes herself as "a heartless misanthropist," which is basically the opposite of what a typical cozy mystery protagonist is, and makes her a fascinating and refreshingly different character. Mabel's an introvert who prefers to spend as much time alone as possible, and communicate via e-mail. Aunt Peggy's friends are determined to become her friends and help her, whether she wants that or not. Mabel knows who she is and is comfortable with herself which is great; she's not good at reading social situations but it's not depicted as something about her that needs to be "fixed". She enjoys statistics and computers. She also occasionally demonstrates some dry humor. When considering the possibility that a man she'd described as gorgeous might hug her Mabel stays in character, planning to knee him in the groin if he invaded her personal space bubble. Often books have the main woman character falling apart/all over a man, even when not rational, so it was nice Mabel didn't suddenly fling herself at him.

As much as I liked Mabel, I adored Pixie - her attitude and behavior were hilarious. I wish there had been more information about Scott; I'd have liked to have gotten to know him better, and I think that would have bolstered the story. We hear about him frequently from Bettina's perspective, but not much from anyone else.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

Six Cloves under is the debut of the A Garlic Farm Mystery series set in the small town of West Slocum and featuring Mabel Skinner, a computer app designer and coder. Mabel's Aunt Peggy has recently passed away and left Stinkin' Stuff Farm, a garlic farm, to her niece. Mabel lives as a bit of a recluse in Maine, sleeping during the day and working on her computer projects at night, and hasn't really had much contact with her aunt in many years. Not knowing anything about her aunt's farm, Mabel's intention in coming to West Slocum is simply to tie up any loose ends with the estate and return to Maine, but she arrives at the farm the week that the garlic crop is set to be harvested.

It only takes a day before Mabel quickly realizes that the entire town is relying on her to get the garlic crop, known as the best garlic on the East Coast, harvested. Her aunt has made promises to provide garlic to the local CSA, several restaurants and the local Farmer's Market, and the townsfolk aren't going to let Mabel go back on her aunt's commitments. They only have a week to get the massive fields of garlic in before the rains come and ruin the crop, so Mabel must rely on her aunt's friends to help with the harvesting.

In reading through her aunt's journal it seems as though someone has been stealing garlic for the past few years and the result has been a huge financial blow to her aunt, putting her on the brink of losing the farm. When Mabel sees someone stealing garlic in the middle of the night, she quickly comes to realize that maybe Peggy's death wasn't an accident and she vows to find out what really happened. A list of suspects including rival farm owners, a land developer and a jilted boyfriend leave Mabel digging for the truth.

It takes a little while to warm up to Mabel. Her parents unexpected death when she was a small girl seems to be the only explanation as to why she is so anti-social, but she doesn't take much of an opportunity to get to know or understand the people of West Slocum, instead just ruminates constantly about her lack of involvement in Peggy's life and wants to think everyone around her is a suspect in Peggy's death.

The final reveal is not too surprising, but hopefully Mabel will learn that not everyone is out to get her and she needs to open up a little more to those around her. It seems that Mabel may stick around Stinkin' Stuff and I look forward to her blending into the community and spending more time with her rescue cat, Pixie. If you don't know much about garlic the author does a great job in explaining what goes into growing and harvesting a successful crop.

I received an advanced copy of Six Cloves Under from NetGalley via Lyrical Underground. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Garlic Farming as the subject drew my curiosity and then kept my interest. Well written including the bits of daily life that make you feel a part of the story especially driving the tractor. Looking forward to spending more time with Mabel and friends.

Mabel Skinner has lost her parents, her grandparents and now her sole living relative, her Aunt Peggy. When Mabel inherits Peggy’s garlic farm in Massachusetts, she commits to finishing out the season by harvesting the garlic with friends of her aunt’s before packing up and heading back to Maine.

As Mabel learns more about the farm and the locals, she can’t help but wonder if her aunt’s death wasn’t an accident after all. The locals keep telling her she is just mourning and has to work through her grief before she can accept the facts. But when garlic keeps disappearing from the fields and the barn, Mabel thinks she may be right. But will Mabel be able to figure it out and prove it, or will she join Aunt Peggy and be the final branch on the Skinner family tree?

I love garlic, so it’s fun to have a new series set on a garlic farm! Can’t wait to see what’s next for Mabel, Pixie and the barn cats.

I LOVED IT! Gin Jones always delivers something special and Six Cloves Under, the first book in her A Garlic Farm Mystery, fits the bill. I loved Mabel, an app designer and major introvert who still has adequate social skills to be able to be kind, the most important social skill of all. I feel in love with the bit of the community that I met, and I can't wait to spend more time with Mabel and the crew of special people who worked to help her gather the garlic. That doesn't sound like a big deal but for her, and to some of the people helping her, that final harvest was a tribute to her late aunt. There are some relationships that are already in flux, mostly in a good way, and I look forward to seeing how those work out.
Mabel's analytical mind insists that her aunt almost had to be murdered even though no one else accepts that idea, but she can't figure out who. Even the few people who didn't seem to love her aunt Peggy, don't seem like killers and most of them have alibis. With little to go on and too much work to do, Mabel is severally handicapped in her search for a killer.
It is such a small thing, but I appreciate that Gin Jones lets us see bits of daily life to keep the flow moving forward comfortable without cluttering up the story. It makes me feel part of the story and makes the characters feel more real.
I was excited to get an ARC from NetGalley, but you would have heard from me even if I hadn't. I am a big Gin Jones fan!

I enjoyed this book. It's well-paced with only a few spots that lagged. I really liked the main character Mabel, her way of thinking and attitude. It's an interesting mystery, especially since most of the characters didn't believe that there was a murder. The reveal was good, with Mabel driving the tractor she most adamantly didn't want to drive. I hope that there are more books to come with Mabel and the cat Pixie. #SixClovesUnder #NetGalley