Review

For fans of:  Paige Shelton’s Farmers’ Market Mysteries

Candy Holliday thought she had her hands full helping her father Doc run their blueberry farm and writing the community column for the Cape Crier. Then the paper’s managing editor skipped town, leaving Candy in charge and increasing her workload exponentially. The extra responsibility was taking its toll on Candy, but she was managing – until her father stumbled across the corpse of their neighbor, strawberry farmer Miles Crawford, and she was forced to add “solve murder” to the top of her to-do list. It seems Miles was bludgeoned to death by a shovel belonging to the Hollidays, making the pair prime suspects in the man's murder. Can Candy and Doc work together to prove their innocence and catch the real culprit, or will one of them be forced to do time for a crime that neither of them committed?

Town in a Strawberry Swirl is the fifth of B.B. Haywood’s Candy Holliday Murder Mysteries, and if you ask me, it’s her best to date. Haywood’s latest is a thoughtfully conceived, intelligently structured, wonderfully engaging whodunit that successfully captures the look, feel, and rhythm of small-town life. I can’t stress how impressed I am with the construction of this book’s mystery; there’s not a single missing piece, plot hole, or loose end to be found. Haywood shows her work every single step of the way, but somehow manages to work in plenty of shocking twists and convincing red herrings, the end result being a fair-play-mystery-lover’s dream. The denouement is satisfying and does a beautiful job setting up the next installment in the series. And while Town in a Strawberry Swirl stands just fine on its own (and in fact would make a great entry point to the series if you’re unfamiliar with Candy Holliday and company), it also does a wonderful job furthering the story arc that Haywood kicked off in her series debut.

While I haven’t always been a fan of Haywood’s character work, it shines here. Candy’s promotion from glorified gossip columnist to interim managing editor has made her a much more mature, interesting, and nuanced character (and much less of an annoying busybody), and the rest of Haywood’s cast feels less cartoonish and more substantial, as well.

I’m not saying Town in a Strawberry Swirl is perfect. For one, Haywood provides insanely elaborate descriptions of every person, place, and thing, regardless of its importance, occasionally slowing the pace and causing the reader to want to skim. And for two, some of Haywood’s names are so utterly ridiculous that they actually pull you out of the flow of the story. Sapphire Vine, Cotton Colby, and Judicious F. P. Bosworth all living in the same little community? If Haywood’s aiming for realism, she’s missing the mark. Those are minor quibbles, though, and should by no means dissuade you from buying this book. If you’re itching to spend a few hours in small-town Maine solving a small-town mystery (and vicariously enjoying some mouthwatering strawberry-studded baked goods, to boot), look no further than B.B. Haywood’s Town in a Strawberry Swirl.

Reviewed by Kat