Charlotte Finn had settled into life on the Finn Family Farm and was happy in her surroundings, until blight started attacking the strawberries. Only one farm in the area didn’t seem to be affected, and when the cantankerous old farmer was found hanging in his barn, Charlotte and Boyd thought it was suicide. But it didn’t take long before it was proven to be a murder. The Chief of Police was doing her best under trying circumstances, while Charlotte was investigating on the side.

I was initially attracted to the cover of this book, and although I haven’t read the first in the series, I found Strawberries and Crime by Elle Brooke White easy enough to get into. But in my opinion, the story and writing were mediocre at best. I found myself annoyed with Charlotte and her followers – they seemed childish and immature. And a comment by one of the characters – “This isn’t a farm, it’s a zoo without cages” – seemed spot on to me. A pig called Horse; a ladybeetle called Mrs Robinson; it was more along the lines of a children’s book in my opinion. Not for me I’m afraid.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte Finn is finding her footing as a farmer, growing strawberries and tomatoes on the Finn Family Farm. With her career in big city advertising in the rear view mirror she is settled down and shares the farm with BFF Diane, her brother Beau, farmer Sam, Alice and her husband, Joe. As a team they work hard to keep the farm running smoothly since Charlotte inherited it from her uncle. They have high hopes for the upcoming strawberry season since Charlotte introduced her You Pick'em method of selling the crop to help them save money. It's not long before there are storm clouds on their horizon. While making a stop at the town garden center she and Beau stumble into a heated argument in the parking lot. Farmers are agitated and throwing around opinions about a strange blight that is affecting their strawberry crops. If it can't be stopped the season will be wiped out. One man is the loudest and gets in Beau's face before he leaves. When he later turns up dead suspicion turns to Beau. Knowing Beau wouldn't hurt a fly, Charlotte and her friends set out to unmask the killer.
The setting of Acorn, California is a true cozy small town. The mystery was a complex enough puzzle to keep me engaged to the end but the real draw of this series is Horse. He is the sweetest and the smartest little pink pig in the mystery genre. Where most main characters have a dog or cat as their "sidekick" Charlotte has Horse and they are an outstanding team. (He's named Horse because he eats like one)
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Blight has struck all the strawberry farms in Little Acorn except one- Linc's. He's a grouchy man and obnoxious- so much so that he enrages the usually calm Beau, Charlotte's BFF. She's new to the area (she inherited the farm) but luckily not to sleuthing because Beau becomes the prime suspect when Linc is murdered. And it's lucky as well that Chief Teresa Goodacre is a patient woman because Charlotte, and her pig Horse, are mucking around in the case. It's a classic cozy that at times is a bit too cute but it's also fun. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I missed the first book but this was fine as a standalone.

I love a good cozy mystery and the pig sleuth was entertaining and so different! I hadn’t read the first installment of the series and didn’t feel like I was missing anything from the story but I will go back and read it just because the story was so cute! I will definitely be looking for more from this author!

Firstly I must point out that I had some difficulties reading this book which probably affected my enjoyment of it a little. The ARC I received for my Kindle had letters missing from the text - everywhere and all through the book. I could work out what words should have been but it did throw me out of the story a bit. I struggled with 'ba fled' for ages until the context suggested it should have read 'baffled.'

I guessed baffled was what I was but I persevered. There was a good story in there, set in the countryside, on and around the Finn Family strawberry farm. Charlotte Finn is the main character and owner of the farm and there are a number of friends and locals who feature too. Plus I must not forget the baby pig who aids in the investigation work and is called Horse because he eats like one.

The mystery is solid, the characters are all okay, the pig is a little over the top and the book turns out to be a satisfactory read.

I liked the first book in this series but couldn't get myself to finish this second book. My favorite character is the pig who I love. I didn't like any of the human characters unfortunately.

A great and fun book that I read in a day (which is not like me!).

This is an easy to read Cosy Mystery which I have only just been getting into and there are plenty of twists and turns, But it is also fun with farm animals and loveable characters, good guys and bad guys and of course a dead body.

I like it because it is fun, easy to read and a great type of book for holidays or just relaxing as I normally read more indepth books and not a lot of mystery. This was a great change from my normal and I will be reading more of this style in the future.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Decided to pick this up because it reminds me of Charlotte's Web. It's more of a cozy mystery that I've indulged over the weekend. And the lil piggy was so cute hehe, i love the atmosphere and the characters. I'll be looking forward toward the next book by White.

A sleuth pig...now that is different! I like the setting and the cleaver ideas of making money on a one product farm. It certainly allows for a good mystery when strawberries start to be damaged and a dead body is found. it cutesy cozy mystery for sure. I liked the story tho I found the pig unbelievable. A good ending too.

This second entry in the Finn Family Farm Mystery series from Elle Brooke White is a cute cozy mystery perfect for a casual summertime read.

An unusual strawberry blight leaves the farmers of Little Acorn reeling, and when one of their own turns up dead, it is up to Charlotte Finn and Horse, her sidekick sleuth of a pet pig, to save the day.

But while the addition of a hyper-intelligent porcine companion added a whimsical Babe-like quality to the otherwise traditional whodunnit, I would have liked to see this conceit more consistently throughout.

Otherwise, I would definitely recommend this nibble of a novel to fans of the genre.

This is the second book in this series and it is even better then the first. This series has great characters and is set in a wonderful location. I cannot wait for the next book.

Great series and author. Looking forward to the next book in the series. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend reading them in order

This is the second book in the Finn Family Farm series. Charlotte inherited her uncle's farm after he passed and decide to try and make a go of it. Everything is going well until a strawberry blight that no one knows how to handle suddenly appears. As tempers and accusations fly Charlotte's friend Beau ends up in the middle. When another farmer dies after an altercation with Beau he ends up being the prime suspect. Charlotte and her amazing crime solving pig Horse now have two mysteries to solve. I had not read the first book when I started this book, but as there were quite a few things in the beginning that I felt lost on I decided to read book 1 first. It was a fairly decent book so I came back to this one. I started out good. I have to say the pig Horse just makes these books. Unfortunately for that is where the good ended. I found the characters to be one dimensional. There was not enough character development or interaction. I also found the flow to be slow going and wishing it would get somewhere already. All in all an ok book. I don't think I will read the next one though.

Fun cozy mystery revolving around an inherited farm and Charlotte Finn learning how to maintain it.
A suspicious death is connected to the strawberry blight the farmers are facing and Charlotte sets out to solve the crime.
While this is an entertaining story, there wasn't anything about it that makes it stand out from some of my favorites.
I am looking forward to reading the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Charlotte Finn is building a beautiful life for herself on the farm she inherited from her Great Uncle. She is surrounded by a great support system of people that work and live on her farm, along with her best friend Diane. Diane is close to realizing her dream of opening her own restaurant, life seems to be perfect until Charlotte and Diane’s brother Beau make a trip into the town of Little Acorn where they learn of a mysterious plight affecting the strawberry crops of Little Acorn. Charlotte puts on her detective hat and is ready to get to the bottom of this. Charlotte and Beau pay a visit to a neighbouring farm and find the occupant Ling Pierce dead of apparent suicide. But, when the death is ruled a homicide Charlotte can’t seem (or try) to keep out of the investigation. With the help of her pet pig ‘Horse’ Charlotte is on the case!
This book was just what you want from a cosy mystery. The author painted a lovely life for Charlotte and I was rooting for her and her friends from start to finish. The addition of Horse the pig was the ‘strawberry’ on top of the sundae. I hadn’t read the first book in the series and the story was still very clear and now I want to read the first one, and the next one and many more books just like it!

Enjoyed reading this cozy mystery that let me escape to a farm for a bit. It was a fairly quick read. I look forward to the next book in the series.

I live strawberries and the book made me love them more. This was a very well written book. The plot was very enticing and I couldn't put the book down. This was a new to me author and I will definitely try another book by this author.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. A cute cozy mystery that I couldn't put down until I was finished.

I liked everything about this cute cozy mystery, from the cover to the characters. Easy reading with an engaging story line.

Awesome farm-theme cozy mystery. I SO enjoy the little pink pig who’s as smart as Einstein, in my opinion! And, how cute is it that his bestie is an itty-bitty ladybug named Mrs. Robinson?! They live on the Finn Family Farm with Charlotte Finn who is struggling to bring the farm out of debt with a healthy crop of strawberries. Sadly, the local farmers are in an uproar reporting blight and damage to their strawberry patches. Fights break out as they begin to suspect and accuse each other. Charlotte and the rest of the Finn farm tribe set out to gather information to see if they can find a common denominator between all the problems with the crops.

Fun story filled with interesting facts, cute farm animals (and owls), great descriptions and dialogue, excellent supporting characters, and the latest criminal technology that is amazing! This is such an excellent cozy series (don’t miss book one!). I also really like Chief Teresa Goodacre, who’s an honest law official and a practical woman. The bad guys are really mean doublecrossers. Charlotte’s best friends, Beau (who’s a hoot!), and Diane (who’s cooking keeps everyone fed), stick by her as staunch supporters. Diane’s new farm-to-table restaurant is ready to open. The ending may surprise some readers. I highly recommend this story.

I honestly reviewed an unedited, digital arc provided by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. All opinions are my own. Thank you.