Crime and Cherry Pits by Amanda Flower is the fourth book in the Farm to Table Mysteries. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Crime and Cherry Pits did not feel like it was written by Amanda Flower. The main character, Shiloh was okay along with her friend and farm worker, Chesney. Hazel is a sweet girl who prefers to spend time with Shiloh versus her grandparents (who dislike Shiloh). There seemed to be a few people in the town who disliked Shiloh. Shiloh’s cousin, Stacey, is an unlikeable character. I wish the author had not included Stacey in the series. Stacey feels she is entitled to a portion of the treasure that Shiloh’s grandmother left for Shiloh to find. Since Stacey sold her part of the farm, I do not know why she feels deserves part of it or why Shiloh feels she should share it with her. I was not a fan of this particular storyline. We follow Shiloh while she is working at the festival as well as doing her chores on the farm. The mystery was simple. I did like the method of murder which was unique. Shiloh asked questions in between her other activities. It was an easy to solve whodunit despite the lack of clues. The pacing was off in the story and the same details were repeated (over and over). Crime and Cherry Pits lacked the humor that is normally present in Amanda Flower’s cozy mysteries. The characters have evolved little since the beginning of the series. My favorite character is Shiloh’s pug, Huckleberry. He is a cutie. While I enjoy the author's other cozy mysteries, I will eschew the Farm to Table Mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Crime and Cherry Pits by Amanda Flower was a cute, but unsatisfying, read, with a standout character in the little pug Huckleberry. No, he’s not a main character and we don’t hear his thoughts but I fell in love with the little furball. The other characters in the book, from our MC, Shiloh, her farm worker and friend, Chesney, her love interest(s), Quinn and Milan, and pseudo surrogate daughter, Hazel, were all fine but not memorable. On the side of characters I greatly disliked are Shiloh’s family, her cousin and her father (really, I hated them, without much provocation).

Taking place during the cherry fair in Michigan, I thought the writing was alright but the plot meandered a bit. Part of a series, you don’t need to read the previous books to get into this, but I did hope this would build up Shiloh and some of the other characters’ personalities further. The story was basic and I think adding more nuance to Shiloh and those around her would have helped. The bones to do that are definitely there, I hope this series takes the plunge in the next book. I also felt the ending and wrap up were too sudden and without any clues, which was unsatisfying.

If you want steady reading without any major curveballs or having to think too much, you’ll enjoy this. Huckleberry is absolutely adorable and parts of the story were cute, but this was very middle of the road otherwise and could easily be remedied, which is frustrating to this reader.

My first experience with this series and author. I found this to be a pretty typical cozy mystery. The Michigan setting is nice as is the cherry festival turned crime scene. Readers get what they expect: an amateur sleuth who is starting a new life back with her family roots. Overall a quick, enjoyable read.