This was a very easy to read book. I enjoyed the characters and the story. There was a real small town feel to the story which made it fun to read. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Amanda Flower has authored over fifty mysteries since her debut in 2010. Ranging from the Amish Candy Shop series to the Magic Garden series, Flower has hatched up countless quirky characters and life-threatening scenarios for her amateur sleuth heroines. So when I picked up the first book in her Farm to Table Mysteries series, Farm to Trouble, I wondered: will she be able to continue her string of great cozy mysteries?

Answer: yes. Yes. One thousand times yes.

Here, Shiloh Bellamy has recently returned to her family farm in Michigan. Leaving a successful career as a producer in LA is risky, but she’ll do anything to convert Bellamy Farms into a successful organic enterprise. However, when her new investor is suddenly found dead and her father’s name shoots to the top of the suspect list, Shiloh must find the real murderer before her farm dreams quite literally die on the vine.

Often when reading cozy mysteries, I can become passive, even when enjoying what I’m reading. But an organic farm? That’s a fresh location for me, so the first few pages already had me perking up. And when the mystery kicked in? That’s when I really started playing armchair sleuth, trying to predict how Flower was going to tie everything together. Plus, I’ll admit to hoping a character or two I really didn’t enjoy would ultimately be the killer. Flower is so good at crafting well-rounded characters, she actually had me rooting against people. It helps that she offers up plenty of suspects, and the solution isn’t overly easy.

The dressing holding everything together in this organic salad, though, is Shiloh herself. She reenters her childhood community after years away and it’s interesting seeing a generally confident person deal with the discomfort that comes with confronting her roots. She struggles not just with a family who seems hesitant to trust her, but also a community that doesn’t seem to accept her. Yet she still approaches situations with a lot of humor and it’s impossible not to be charmed by her or her pug, Huckleberry, who’s always at her side. In a town filled with Shakespeare-performing denizens, dueling windfarm advocates and protestors, and a gossipy diner that knows more about her than even she does, Shiloh comes across as the complex ‘straight man’ in this cozy.

With a winning detective, compelling mystery, and skilled writing, Farm to Trouble is Amanda Flower at her best.

I enjoy Amanda Flowers books and this book is no acceptation!!

When her fiancée died years ago, Shiloh Bellamy left her family farm and moved to LA to make a name for herself as a producer. Now, with her farm failing and her father ill, she returns to Michigan after cashing in her 401K to return home and save her family farm. Her idea is to make Bellamy Farms into a sustainable, organic operation - complete with a farm-to-table café.

But when Shiloh finds her main investor, who is unliked in town, dead at the farmer's market, she and her father become the main suspects. Shiloh has to get to the bottom of things to keep herself, and her father, out of jail.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really wanted to like this book bc i love the author... unfortunately this "fictional town" is not realistic enough for me bc i live very near to the area and its just not how ppl are around here lol also no one says "traverse city" THAT much. Everyone just says "traverse", i get why the book didn't do that but i did find it annoying lol

I have read other mysteries set in the same area that i connected with a lot better but in all fairness i later found out they also lived right around the bend from me so made sense!

overall not a bad cozy mystery by any means, the vibe was just... off for both what ppl are actually like up here and the "3k small town vibe".

Here is a first in series for this author. Next is Put Out to Pasture.

This is a book that is very much within the cozy tradition. Protagonist and mystery solver Shiloh Bellamy has left a high flying job to return to her Michigan community. She hopes to save the family farm by running it organically and starting a cafe. Of course, someone known to the family is murdered. Who did it? Why? Readers know that all will be solved by the end so they can relax and turn the pages..

This book will be enjoyed by those who like their mysteries light.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Great start to a new series by a cozy queen. I always enjoy stories when the protagonists come home again.

This was a redemption story as much as a murder with a cliff hanger at the end.

I look forward to more books in this series

This new series is set on a farm in a small town Shiloh Bellamy moved away 15 years ago after some tragedies in her life. She has come back to small town Cherry Grove to try to revive her family farm. Her dreams of turning it into an organic farm come to a screeching halt when she sees the condition of the farm and then the investor that she lined up is murdered. Most people see her as an outsider since she has been gone so long and she will have to work to rebuild those relationships. I see a lot of potential in this series and liked the character development that happened in the first book.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Very easy fast cozy murder mystery.

I enjoy all of Amanda Flowers ssries and was excited for a new series. When I read the description I was worried that the main character was going to be similiar to Bailey in the Amish Candy Shop series. Both left there small home town for bigger and better things. Yet I was pleaseantly surprised they were different and I really enjoyed the book. I look forward to the next book in the series

The main character Shiloh Bellamy has returned to her family's farm after being away for 15 years. Her father is no longer able to run the farm on his own due to his health. Shiloh has decided to turn the farm into an Organic farm and create a café on the farm to help drive business. The current debt is too much for her small bank account so Shiloh turns to the only investor who is willing to help. She signs a deal with the most hated man in town (unbeknownst to her) and the day after she returns to town, this investor is murdered at the farmer’s market, and Shiloh happens to be the first person to find him. With everyone pointing the finger at her, Shiloh is determined to prove her innocence by solving the mystery of who actually committed the murder.

This cozy mystery is entertaining and I enjoyed it! I loved the backdrop of the farm and wished that it had taken more of a center-stage in the overall story. The town characters are interesting and I’m looking forward to future books in the series. Since I'm from Michigan I can picture where this town is situated since I'm familiar with the other surrounding towns and I can picture this fictional town right in the middle of the area.

Farm to Trouble

by Amanda Flower

Amanda Flower has written several series that I enjoy very much. Her new series, the Farm to Table Mysteries, has some room for growth. Farm to Trouble is only the first book in the series. So far, there are very few characters that I like. The memories of Shiloh’s (Shi’s) deceased grandmother depict her as a woman of strength and character and a great role model for Shi. The protagonist, Shi, is well-meaning, but as she returns to her childhood town she struggles to find her place as most of the residents view her as an outsider. Her father and her cousin are not nice to her, and her deceased fiancé’s best friend Quinn is still struggling with emotions he should have dealt with fifteen years ago. There are a few old friends who truly welcome her back, and some new residents who are quite hateful. Quinn’s daughter Hazel finds a kindred spirit in Shi because they both lost their mothers as children, and they both love animals. My favorite character is an empathetic pug, Huckleberry. The author has great descriptions of him and of Shi’s interpretation of what he is thinking. This is a cute approach to having Huck as an active participant throughout the story.

Shi’s father has let the family farm go to ruins and resists her plans to transform it into an organic farm. She has naively signed a contract with a businessman who is buying up property in Cherry Grove so that he can inundate the area with wind turbines. The terms of the contract are not favorable to Shi, but she is desperate. When she signs the agreement, she has not yet seen the extent of deterioration on the farm. Her pushing forward with this bad deal, after throwing lots of money into the farm over the years to cover her father’s debts, does not seem to be in line with the persona of Shi, a successful Hollywood television producer.

The book deals with murder and identifying the killer, the survival of the Bellemy Farm and of the town of Cherry Grove, lots of liars, the restoration of the local theater, and unresolved feelings of guilt and resentment. There are plenty of plot threads in this book. I’m hoping for more positive character development in the next book in the series, Put Out to Pasture, which is scheduled to be published on February 22, 2022.

I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #1 in the Farm to Table Mystery Series

Publication: February 23, 2021—Poisoned Pen Press

Memorable Lines:

Now I realized the effort I’d have to put in to care for my ailing father, save the farm, and face the memories that I had buried in my tinsel town life for the last fifteen years. It would be no small feat.

“I haven’t read a book since college. It’s a complete waste of time when everything you need to know is on the internet.” That’s when I knew Laurel and I could never be friends.

I set the pug on the grass. He looked up at me and cocked his head one way and then the other. Even when I was in the worst spots, Huckleberry had the power to cheer me up.

This was was another fun and well written novel penned by my favorite cozy author.
Ms. Flower crafts wonderful characters and places them in the most fun, creative situations.

Overall, I though this is such a good and interesting read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm a Flower fan, but this story was disappointing, the characters weren't compelling and Shiloh was too wimpish. The fact that a 38 year old woman just throws herself back into a physically demanding job like farming after being in her previous job for 16 years and working the property by herself is pretty hard to accept. Even if she does mention she's going to be sore. The killer also outs themself which I dislike in a book.

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

This is a cozy mystery, and this is the first book in the Farm to Table Mystery. I have to say I really loved the mystery in this book. The characters where developed, and I loved getting to know them. I did not want to put this book down. I also love the farm parts of this book, but I love in the country and gardening a lot. There was twists and turns, and I did not see all of them coming. I cannot wait for book 2 in this series. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Poisoned Pen Press) or author (Amanda Flower) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

First in a new series! Shiloh Bellamy has been away from home for fifteen years. She comes home to see her family’s farm needs more help than she thought. She makes a deal to get an organic farm up and going. Her soon to be business partner winds up dead and there is no end to the suspects. Shiloh is a likable main character along with her ever present pug, Huckleberry. Looking forward to seeing if Shiloh can find the money her grandmother left her.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A fun start to a new cozy mystery series. I loved the mystery and thought the characters were well developed. I loved that Shiloh came home to help save the family farm. I can't wait for the next book.

Farm to Trouble is the the new cozy mystery by Amanda Flower. It is everything you want in a cozy and includes a dog named Huckleberry. I enjoyed this book and hope to see more in the series.

Overall I enjoyed reading this first book in a new cozy mystery series. Shiloh has returned home to help her father save the family farm. To help she signed an agreement with an outside investor. When he is found dead and her father and her are the prime suspects she sets out to solve the mystery. There is a lot of backstory in this book. I enjoyed the small town setting. The mystery was good and the solution made sense. The book does end with a small cliff hanger and unsolved mystery. I look for word to reading the next book in the series. Enjoy

A fun first a new series by Amanda Flower. This one checks all the cozy mystery boxes! As a pug lover I was thrilled meet Huckleberry the pug and hope he continues to play a big roll in future books in this series.

When her fiancée died years ago, Shiloh Bellamy left her family farm and moved to LA to make a name for herself as a producer. Now, with her farm failing and her father ill, she returns to Michigan after cashing in her 401K to return home and save her family farm. Her idea is to make Bellamy Farms into a sustainable, organic operation - complete with a farm-to-table café.

But when Shiloh finds her main investor, who is unliked in town, dead at the farmer's market, she and her father become the main suspects. Shiloh has to get to the bottom of things to keep herself, and her father, out of jail.

There is a format for most cozies, that that is the main character flees to her home after a break-up, or losing her job. In this case, the main character gives up a successful career to come back home and help her father. That made me like Shiloh. She is a well drawn character, and carries the book perfectly. I loved getting to know her, and watching her adjust to life in the town where she grew up. I enjoyed meeting the people she grew up with and learning about both their pasts, and their present time.

The mystery is well crafted. I thought I'd figured it out, but it turned out that I only had half of it. I look forward to the next book in this series, and can see myself reading the first one again.

I read a digital copy of this book provided to me by the publisher by NetGalley, but I also bought a copy to add to my collection.