Murdered in Craven

This book did start slow but picked up and I did enjoy it. I loved the pecan plantation setting. There were a lot of characters in this story

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

This was such an intriguing read for me it was a little slow going but sped up fast and I enjoyed it.

I have never read a C . Hope Clark book before but now I am HOOKED!. This author can really, REALLY paint a landscape., an atmosphere... a STORY.

Quinn Sterling' resides over a 3,000 acre pecan farm. She is part of the royalty of the area of South Carolina's low country, the heir apparent. Unfortunately, she is heir as her father was murdered, Craven County sheriff, who happens to also be her uncle made countless mistakes on the investigation and no one was arrested. Quinn leaves her career at the FBI to run the pecan farm and solve her father's murder.

To pass the time (apparently she is not too busy overseeing the farm!), Quinn is also a private investigator. Her newest client has asked her to look into a missing P.I case - a private investigator who had been hired to find a suspect in Quinn's father's death. Is this case too good to be true? When the P.I turns up dead, Quinn know that she is on to something, she just doesn't know what or how dangerous.

I loved this character, loved the backstory, loved the setting and everything else. Although the above sound a little too good to be true, C Hope Clark can really turn a phrase and you believe in all of it as you read a spellbinding murder mystery. If you like a strong heroine, country stories, escapist fiction or just a thrilling mystery, this book is for you!

Loved this new series by C Hope Clark. In Murdered in Craven the characters of Quinn, Jonah & Ty blended together perfectly and the location of Sterling Banks made me want to visit! Engaging, fast paced mystery that I couldn’t put down - definitely looking forward to more!!

This book was sent to me by Netgalley electronically for review…I love South Carolina…I taught there for five years…earlier, my daughter and her husband spent their honeymoon on Edisto…I returned there with them the next year…live it…this book is intriguing but somewhat confusing…I al ost had to write down the characters and what was happening…I want to read the previous series by this author…so glad to know someone is writing about the area…good story line…

Quinn Sterling inherited the family pecan business when her father was murdered. Seeing as her uncle the sheriff royally flubbed the investigation, she decides to leave her job at the FBI and return home to lead the family business and look into her father’s murder. To keep herself in the game, she also works as a private investigator.

Hired to investigate a missing PI, Quinn finds the missing PI was looking into her father’s murder. When she finds the PI is dead, she soon realizes she’s walked into the lion’s den. Everything she cares about is threatened, included her own life. Can she solve the case or will she lose everything?

Some of my favorite books are the ones that transport me with the writing. In this case, I could smell the pecans, feel the Low Country humidity, hear the dialect and accent of locals, and feel the fear that comes from putting everything you value in danger. That’s quite the accomplishment and will be looking for more from this author in the future.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Bell Bridge Books and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

C. Hope Clark takes you with them on their journey. You can feel the humidity in South Carolina. You can hear the crack of a pecan. This cozy mystery series draws you in with intriguing writing fit for fans of the genre.

I have never read this author so I though I would give it a try as I am a big fan of books set in the low country of South Carolina. A former FBI agent has returned to her childhood home after the murder of her father. What follows is an another murder and the series of events that connect this to her father's. The author's description of the low country is spot on, I can see and smell the areas that she describes as I read the book. I will plan to read her other books.

Murdered in Craven is the first book in a new series from C. Hope Clark.

"After her father is murdered, Quinn Sterling returns home home to run the family pecan grove. She resigns from the FBI but still takes the occasional case as a Private Investigator. She is approached about finding someone's boyfriend, Mickey, who happened to be the one who found her father's body. Quinn has questions for him - questions that her Uncle Larry, the local sheriff, never got answers for. Quinn wants to know who killed her father and why. But someone wants something from Quinn and they're willing to go to extreme lengths to get it."

This story is a little grittier than the previous books I've read from Clark. There are multiple people killed in this one but it's not gratuitous. I like that the setting is a place that used to be a county in SC (but has now been absorbed into several counties)

I like the characters, especially Quinn. Her uncle, Larry, is a bit of a stereotype but it still works.
The story takes a bit to build but with brand new characters, it's okay. It hits a point about halfway where you don't want to put it down.

This is a great story if you're looking for some crime fiction with a southern setting. Great beginning to this new series

Thank you to Net Galley and Bell Bridge Books for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
I like stories based in South Carolina, and I thought the pecan farm setting was interesting. The characters were well-developed with a lot of personality. At times, I did find the mystery a little confusing, and I wasn't sure where it was going. The author did a good job of bringing everything together in the end, and I enjoyed this story.

This is the beginning of a new series and I can't wait to see how it continues!

Former FBI - turned PI, Quinn, inherits the generational family pecan plantation after her father is murdered. She has moved back home to run the business and sidelines some private investigative work. She is contacted by a Charleston heiress about her missing boyfriend, but something seems fishy...and ends up tied to her father's death.

The characters are great - I'm intrigued to learn more about Quinn and Jonah, Jule, Ty and his mother and the restaurant. and the Uncle.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

An entertaining and compelling start of a new series. I liked the characters and the plot kept me reading.
The descriptions of the places are well done and you can visualize places.
I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Quinn Sterling's father was murdered, and the Craven County sheriff—her uncle—botched the investigation. Now too many troubling questions remain for Quinn to walk away. Instead, she leaves her career at the FBI to take on her inheritance—a 3,000-acre pecan dynasty in the South Carolina Lowcountry. As the only heir she assumes the reins of the family business—while keeping an eye on her father's cold case, and her toe in the old game as a private investigator.
Interesting new series in an even more interesting location. I knew nothing about this part of the country or about growing pecans so this added another layer of interest for me. The book did start out a wee bit slowly but it picked up quickly and held my interest to the end. I am looking forward to a second book in what I hope becomes a long series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, and a good who done it! I enjoyed reading this book but it wasn't A heart pounding mystery type book, the story flowed nicely but it just was a good decent read! Not one of my top favorites but worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I read this in one night. Can't wait for more in the series. Plot and characters are really well done and the authors descriptions of people and places gave a real feel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read.

Already a huge fan of C. Hope Clark previous series, I was excited when read the description of this new series. Captivated from the first few pages, I tore through the book in one night. Quinn Sterling, pecan heiress and ex-FBI agent, returned manage the grove after the unsolved murder of her father. Keeping her investigative skills alive by a side gig as a PI, her potential new client wants her to check up on a missing boyfriend and the PI she hired to find him. When the PI is found shot in a motel room, bad things start happening...and it all harks back to her why her father died.

I didn’t know what to expect of the characters in this book after loving so much the heroines in C. Hope Clark’s previous series. Quinn Sterling is an exceptional character and drew me into her right away. Having grown up on her family pecan plantation in South Carolina, she lost her mother at a young age. She was an only child being raised by her father and she deeply loved being on the plantation after the unexpected murder of her father. Before her father is death, Quinn graduates high school and immediately went to work at the Craven Count Sheriff’s department where her father’s only sibling was th Sheriff. At her father is urging, she went to college and still having law enforcement in her blood, entered Quantico becoming an FBI agent. She was so devastated at the death of her father that she returned to the pecan plantation and eventually relinquished her position with the FBI. She became a Private Investigator to stay involved somewhat in law enforcement. She recalls many reminiscences of her childhood and remains close to two of her childhood friends who have assisted her when things have gotten out of hand. The book is full of believable characters and I found myself feeling as I knew each one personally. I highly recommend Murder in Craven!

I’ve been meaning to read this author’s books for a couple of years now and I’m glad I got the opportunity. This is a pretty serious murder mystery and very enjoyable. The characters were well developed and realistic. Having lived in the nearby area for a few years, I enjoyed the authors descriptions of Charleston and Edisto. I recommend Murdered in Craven to anyone who enjoys this genre or southern fiction. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you netgalley and the publisher.

Murdered In Craven by C. Hope Clark

Murder,corruption, and page-turning was Very intriguing in this book..

Excellent book. Many characters were involved. Many twists and turns. Who Is the murderer? Who is behind the many dangerous pranks? Well-written. I recommend this book.

This book does not disappoint. It started a bit slow but it picked up soon enough to keep my attention. I always ALWAYS appreciate strong characters. I can’t quite explain but this setting has a different vibe, in a great way. I love her writing style. I’m looking forward to book 2.

I like author C. Hope Clark and her previous works. This new series doesn't disappoint as this is book 1 in the Craven County Mysteries series. Quinn has resigned from her job with the FBI to return to the family Pecan farm and continue the family tradition. Her father was murdered and the killer was never caught. Now someone isn't happy that Quinn isn't selling the valuable property and keeping it as a farm. To make a little extra money she works ad a private investigator and decides to find out who is threatening her and if it ties to her Dad's murder. A great start with a mystery that is involved and holds your interest. Can't wait for book 2, Buried in Craven. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a quick read and I really enjoyed it! Quinn is a super likeable character and I found her story very interesting. She definitely draws you in. Absolutely love reading about life with southern charm. Makes me want to move down to SC! I enjoyed the twists in turns that keep you guessing through the entire book! Would definitely like to read more of Clark's work!

Murdered in Craven is a capably written series starter by C. Hope Clark. Released 30th Nov 2021 by Bell Bridge Books, it's 278 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This combines the feel of a modern PI procedural with thriller aspects. The main protagonist is a former FBI investigator and heiress who moves back to her family's pecan groves following the unsolved murder of her father. She's soon embroiled in more investigations which might shed light on her father's death.

The characterizations are very well rendered and the characters are three dimensional and believable. There are numerous dysfunctional family relationships described in the book and some of the background was uncomfortable to read. There were a few places in the narrative where I found myself kicked out of my suspension of disbelief because of presumably out of character behavior on the part of the MC. There was some dysfunctional and, frankly, squicky behavior between Quinn and the boys (non-biologically related sort-of siblings) with whom she was raised. There were also a few places where one would expect more meticulous investigation from an FBI agent and Quinn was sloppy/lazy. There were also side references to the author's other series, so readers who are already invested in the author's oeuvre will be better oriented than readers who are unfamiliar.

Aside from those small issues, this is an engaging mystery with a strong protagonist and written by an experienced and gifted author.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

southern, South Carolina, small-town, low-country, friendship, law-enforcement, ex-FBI, private-investigators, relationships, relatives, cold-case, murder, murder-investigation, suspense, new-series, thriller, action*****

Great characters in this fast paced, riveting thriller! There's a lot of family history behind everything that both drives and complicates all of the investigations. The plot is tight and has some diabolical twists and truly maddening red herrings. The publisher's blurb has enough of a recap and is a good hook, so no need to go over that again. Loved it and finished it in one day.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Bell Bridge Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Thanks be that this one really is TTS enabled!

A clever plot with some memorable characters.
Many thanks to Bell Bridge Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.