Elle Brooke White, "Strawberries and Crime: A Finn Family Farm Mystery"

×

Elle Brooke White, "Strawberries and Crime: A Finn Family Farm Mystery"

Close

In Elle B. White's delightful second Finn Family Farm mystery, farmer Charlotte Finn and her sleuthing baby pig are neck-deep in strawberries and crime.

Things are finally growing smoothly on the Finn Family Farm. With the help of caretakers Joe and Alice Wong and farmer Samuel Brown, Charlotte Finn is starting to feel at home at the Santa Barbara County produce farm she inherited. But all is not strawberries and cream: A blight is destroying young berry plants. Worse, another mysterious death is shaking Little Acorn.

The victim is grizzled, cantankerous Linc Pierce, the only farmer in Little Acorn whose strawberry crop was fruitful. Charlotte and her old friend Beau Mason find him hanging from the rafter, an apparent suicide. But a cursory search turns up a half-eaten sandwich. Who eats before he kills himself?

Chief Goodacre suspects foul play. Her prime suspect is Beau, who exchanged words–and worse–with Linc earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Little Acorn's farmers point accusing fingers at one another, recalling Linc's suggestion that someone sabotaged their strawberries. As Charlotte searches for clues to exonerate Beau, she finds something on Linc's workbench not buried in dust. Could this be why Linc's strawberry plants are alive? And, perhaps, why Linc is dead?

Now, if Charlotte and Horse–the farm's baby pig with a bottomless stomach and an insatiable hunger for sleuthing–can't root out the murderer, they, too, may end up dead and berried.

Reviews
Praise for Dead on the Vine:
"[A] lighthearted series launch…Animal lovers won't want to miss this playful cozy."
—Publishers Weekly

"The human-porcine-insect trio attacks the case with a gusto and expertise that would make mere cat sleuths blush with envy."
—Kirkus Reviews

“The beautifully described rural setting, the nicely fleshed-out characters, and a sense of whimsy distinguish this charming cozy debut, the first in a series.”
—Booklist

“A deftly crafted and simply pitch-perfect mystery novel by an author with an impressively effective and narrative driving storytelling style…very highly recommended.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Like a modern day Charlotte’s Web.”
—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

“This stunning debut has it all…Elle Brooke White breathes new life into cozy mysteries.”
—Manhattan Book Review

"Dead on the Vine has it all—characters and a setting you will fall in love with and a plot that will keep you turning the pages!"
—Peg Cochran, USA Today bestselling author of the Farmer's Daughter mysteries

"A country-flavored read with a fresh farm-to-table rural setting and a suspenseful fast-paced plot. Mix in a few additional ingredients, like a charming cast, a crime-solving pig, and a loyal lady bug, and you have the perfect recipe for a fun and lively cozy."
—B. B. Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of the Candy Holliday mysteries

"A debut cozy mystery with a delightful and winning combination: a feisty heroine, a pig named Horse, an enchanting farm—and a mystery that will keep you guessing. Dead on the Vine checks all the boxes!"
—Sally Goldenbaum, USA Today bestselling author of the Seaside Knitters mysteries

"A funny, warm-hearted mystery sure to please."
—Mollie Cox Bryan, author of the Buttermilk Creek mysteries

“Buckle up for a crazy ride when Charlotte Finn inherits the family farm—and her family’s darkest secrets. Did these secrets spawn a murder? Author Elle Brook White kept me in my seat around every curve to the very last page.”
—Barbara Ross, author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries

Elle Brooke White is the author of the Finn Family Farm Mystery series. She once had hopes of becoming a renowned actress but ended up taking a job in advertising instead…until writing returned her to "a world of pure imagination." Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, she grew up in Paris, Brussels, and London before returning to the US to attend Vassar College. She now lives with her famous diving dog, Bardot, in Southern California.