loribonesscaswell

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Abigail Mackenzie has left the police force for life on a farm. Her new life includes chickens, bees and growing veggies and fruits. She also does a little investigating on her own to help pay the bills. While delivering a new batch of honey to a local restaurant she finds chef Jean-Louis Bonheur dead in his kitchen. The police quickly rule his death as a suicide and close the case. When the chef’s brother comes to town he finds the ruling unacceptable and get a bee in his bonnet to hire Abby to investigate. She would just as soon make a beeline in the other direction but she has a hard time bee-lieving the chef would take his own life too. Together they try to find out if he was really murdered but they could both get stung before they get all the answers they need.

I liked Abigail Mackenzie from the very first page. She left the police force due to an injury but she still helps out when she can. Shocked to find a man she knows dead her training kicks right in. She checks the body and the scene and gives a thorough report when the officers reach the scene and she continues to theorize what may have happened. She even jumps in to help the medical examiner’s assistant, new and on his first call, get the body on the gurney and in the body bag. All the while searching for more clues. She is respected in the community and that helps as she takes on the investigation herself. She is patient and wise and sees things other people miss. She is my kind of amateur sleuth.

Ms. Lester’s writes with a very even flow. She introduces us to all the characters and their relationships. Some are more fluid and some are just developing. I found all of the characters very interesting and want to get to know them even better in future stories. Her pacing is perfect. The mystery has a few red herrings to divert us from detecting the true killer. I was kept guessing right to the end.

I also enjoyed the recipes and tips following each chapter.

This is a fine start for this series. I am looking forward to the next installment.