After reading two more of the Mrs. Jeffries Mysteries I thought it was time to move on to a new series before this one becomes stale from over-reading. My choice was Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood. I found on the internet that B. B. Haywood is a pseudonym of Beth and Robert Feeman, both of whom I don’t know.

This is one more series set somewhere in Maine, in a small seaside town near Augusta. The main character is Candy Holliday, 36, who has moved in with her Dad after her divorce. Together they run a blueberry farm. I liked the fact that there was no major drama going on in Candy’s life right then. The divorce had been over two years previously and except for a few thoughts about her past she’s never harping on the theme like so many other cozys’ heroines do. She isn’t overly happy that her father is trying to push her in the arms of Ray, the local handyman, but again this is more of a side-story.

The book begins with the death of one Jock Larson who is apparently something like the local celebrity, if not playboy. He fell off some cliffs but there’s a big questionmark whether it was an accident, suicide or murder. Candy, her best friend Maggie and her father are as shocked as the town but that’s about all. Candy is busy getting ready for the Blueberry Festival, baking like mad and having to assemble their booth while her father seems to be bent on finding somewhere else to be rather than help her. Candy is stuck in the booth all day during the festival, too, as her father prefers to hang out with his friends. Maggie’s daughter Amanda is helping out until around lunchtime but after that she is on her own and by the time the booth closes for the day she still has to sit through the pageant that takes place in the evening where the blueberry queen is chosen and crowned. This competition is usually only open to high school girls but somehow a 37-year-old woman has managed to be one of the candidates – and she wins the competition. Two days later she is found dead in her house and Ray, the local handyman, is arrested. B.B. Haywood: Town in a Blueberry Jam weiterlesen →