Reviews

Bushel Full of Murder by Paige Shelton

kimdavishb's review against another edition

5.0

Bushel Full of Murder is the story about Becca Robbins who makes and sells her jams and preserves at the local farmer's market. The owners of the market decide to invite food trucks from other states as a promotion for the summer and Becca is happy when her younger cousin, Peyton, is one of the food truck vendors. However, trouble seems to have followed Peyton and her hot dog truck from Arizona to South Carolina. Becca learns that her cousin is suspected of stealing both a secret recipe and money from the restaurant she worked at and using them to start her food truck business. When the town's business manager is found dead with the stolen recipe clutched in his hand, Peyton becomes the number one suspect. Becca's boyfriend, Sam, is the local police officer and in charge of the investigation. Becca knows Sam is only doing his job by implicating her cousin, but decides that even though Peyton appears to be hiding something she must find the real killer and clear Peyton's name.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bushel Full of Murder. It's the sixth book in the Farmer's Market Mysteries and although I have only read the first book (I have full intentions of reading ALL the books in the series!) Bushel Full of Murder is a stand alone book. You don't have to start with the first book to know what's going on. I was very happy to see that Paige has allowed Becca to grow as a person and make choices that reflect that growth. It adds reality to her continuing stories. And of course her delicious recipes included with the book add to my reading pleasure!

The author provided me with a free copy of her book in exchange for my honest opinion.

horthhill's review against another edition

2.0

'Bushel Full of Murder' by Paige Shelton was an OK cozy mystery. However, revealing and catching the suspect all seemed to happen in one chapter which was too rushed for me. There were really no clues at all regarding the solution. It sort of just happened. Too much farmers' market and food trucks and too little sleuthing.

lakecake's review

3.0

This was a pretty good mystery, and my quibbles with it are really minor. I know it's a small town, but people are really trusting, almost unbelievably so, and the fact that Becca is able to do so much snooping without anyone getting mad at her is pretty astonishing. The suspension of disbelief makes this one pretty good anyway.

daybreak1012's review

4.0

Another fun cozy mystery series I look forward to reading each time I pick up the next installment. There was really only one twist, and that was the motive. I had zoomed in on the correct culprit almost from the first introduction, with one brief consideration on another character. The "why they dunnit" was, at least for me, unexpected but made total sense. The characters and setting were enjoyable, as always, and what an ending! Can't wait for the next one!

dollycas's review against another edition

5.0

Dollycas’s Thoughts

I love my trips to Bailey’s Farm Market. This time we meet Peyton, Becca and Allison’s cousin, when she brings her hot dog food truck to town. She joins 4 other food trucks from around the country that are visiting the Farm Market as part of marketing campaign. Plus Harry (Talking Trees) is in town from Arizona. Becca met him there when she visited the General Buffalo’s Trading Post the previous summer when he was investigating a murder. Peyton had come from Arizona too….

The food truck vendors also bring a local banker and the town’s business manager to Bailey’s. When the business manager is murdered the police tie it together with Harry’s investigation. Becca can’t help but get involved as her friends and her cousins become suspects in his murder.

HOT DOG! Paige Shelton has topped herself this time. She has both Becca and Allison trying to prove their cousin is innocent so technically they are not investigating the murder. This was a great twist. Sam and Harry even share some information with them.

This has become one of my favorite series because of these characters. Becca has a curious nature that plays well as she sticks her nose into the investigations. Allison is more pragmatic when any trouble comes to town. Sam, a fine police officer, loves Becca but knows she can’t help herself when anyone close to her is threatened or hurt and he does everything he can to keep her safe. Add to that the girl’s parents and all the vendors at the Market with all their unique personalities and you have an awesome cast of characters.

With A Bushel Full of Murder she has given us a fabulous mystery with many twists and turns. Once I started reading I couldn’t stop. The plotting is top notch.

This is a perfect summer read. My only compliant was that I was craving hot dogs and other food truck fare throughout the entire story. :) I have already copied all the recipes from the back of the book and now have a new gourmet way to grill hot dogs.