Lambing season always brings the unexpected… But no one expected murder Jude Gray never thought she’d find herself widowed and running a working farm full-time, but here she is, living in the small Malvern village her husband Adam spent most of his life in. After a particularly gruelling lambing season, she is looking forward to some time off, but there’s no rest for the wicked, especially when she finds the body of one of Adam’s oldest friends on her farm. Jude refuses to believe the official line, that Sarah’s death was a suicide, and starts an investigation of her own. But as the body count rises, danger creeps ever closer to Malvern Farm. A killer is on the prowl. And all that stands in their way is one woman – and her dog.
Murder on the Farm by Kate Wells Review
A Strong and Suspenseful Debut
There is nothing I love more than diving into a debut that I know is about to kick off a new series of books for me, so when I was asked to take part in this blog tour, I was desperate to get stuck in.
In my personal life, I have spent the last few years desperately searching for that ‘perfect farm’ to move my family to, to start a new way of life and start embracing the fresh air and nature, so to know that this book centred around a farm during lambing seasons really appealed. Although, it has made me think twice about life on the farm. I’m not sure I would make a very good murder sleuth. However, marrying my current obsession with farming with my life long passion for good writing and my secret obsession with crime novels seemed like the perfect combination.
My only worry… my expectations were set high from the start, would this book live up to the hype?
About the Author:
Kate grew up in Malvern on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border and still spends much of her time there. It is her heart’s home and the muse for a lot of her writing.She began her adult life training as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital and then moved to Reading where she took a teaching degree.When she took a break to have her two daughters she began creating stories and hasn’t stopped writing since!
Having spent time living and working on farms she developed a love of the rural life and often dreamt of running a sheep farm, especially when she married the son of a farmer. It wasn’t to be though, so instead, she lives out her farming dreams through researching and writing her books.These days she’s often found in a field talking to the sheep, or out on the Malvern Hills walking her border collie cross.
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Well, this fabulous first-in-series did NOT disappoint!
Kate is so very talented when it comes to crafting characters that feel authentic, so it’s easy to get sucked into the world she is creating on the page. Jude is a well rounded character, one that knits herself into your heart as you walk with her investigating the death of her friend. Your heart breaks for her as you watch her so determined to solve the mystery whilst dealing with such grief.
Although many reviews describe this as a ‘cosy crime’, do not let those words distract you from the fact that this novel is so well written that as you are lead from twist or twist; nothing is ever as simple as it first seems. Puzzles scattered delicately throughout the novel keep the reader constantly on their toes, and beautiful characters keep you begging for more. (I may now have a desperate need to invite a cute little ‘pancake’ into my life…)
This is a strong start to what I can already see being an addictive series and I can’t wait to dive back in and meet up with the characters again.
Murder on the Farm is published by: Boldwood Books
ISBN: 978-178513-421-0
Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto this Blog Tour.
