Reluctant farmer Charlotte Finn needs the help of the livestock to sleuth a mysterious death.
Charlotte Finn never wanted to inherit the family's produce farm--much less plow a heap of money into it. Her plan is to hammer a great big FOR SALE sign into the farm's fallow furrows--but Charlotte's sunny hopes of a quick sale succumb to a killing frost when she finds a dead body entwined supine in the tomato vines. The poor man, it seems, was run through...with a pitchfork?
Now, Charlotte is stuck with running the farm in the midst of a murder investigation. Charlotte's knowledge of farming is smaller than her bank balance, so she relies on caretakers Joe and Alice Wong and their farmhands. Can she trust them? She doesn't know them. There's also farmer Samuel Brown, who still carries a childhood grudge. But the case gets personal when Charlotte learns that the victim might have been her own kin--and seeds of suspicion grow into a fertile field of suspects.
Charlotte turns to the farm's baby pig to help root out the killer. Soon, the goats, geese, and horse join in, but will Charlotte harvest a murderer--or buy the farm? (Summary via Goodreads)
Elle Brooke White has a hit with Dead on the Vine !! Dead on the Vine is the first book in her Finn Family Farm Mystery series and boy are you in for a TREAT !!!
Charlotte Finn inherited her great-uncle's farm after he died. Along with her two best friends, Diane and Beau (who are brother and sister), Charlotte heads to the farm to see whether she should sell it or try to make a go of it. The farm is in Little Acorn, California and besides having farm animals, it had fields and fields of fruit and vegetables.
Before they can meet the employees and take a grand tour of the land, they stumble across a dead body in the fields.....and there is no question.....it was murder !! Sadly Charlotte becomes so friendly with the local police Chief that she calls her by her first name.
Charlotte and friends decide to work together to get the farm in tip top shape.....and it's all hands on deck, including some very smart animals led by a very cute little pig named Horse. It seems that Charlotte has decided to keep the farm and work at making it profitable but someone in town doesn't want her to stay and they are sabotaging things around the farm.
Charlotte and Horse will do whatever it takes to save the farm..... even if it means doing something beyond dangerous !!!
Dead on the Vine is such a fun book to read....even with murder on the menu !! You cannot help but love the relationships in the story, especially with the animals. It's like a modern day Charlotte's Web with different characters. And the human relationships are a treat as well. You cannot help but fall in love with Little Acorn and the way that White writes the story you can see everything so clearly in your head.......and that is what a GREAT book is all about !!! I highly recommend and encourage you to become a fan of this author and book !!!!
Review by Missi M.
Sounds good!
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