Christmas Cow Bells (Buttermilk Creek Mystery, Book 1)

MOLLIE COX BRYAN

Stats for my copy: Paperback, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 9/24/19.

How acquired: Cozy Mystery Review Crew

First line: Sometimes a place reaches deep inside of you, flows through you with light and warmth, and fills you with a sense of belonging, a sense of home.

My thoughts: This was a slow read for me, though it shouldn't have been. I think I might have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been entirely told from Brynn's point of view. She's likable enough, but I never really connected with her, and didn't really get to know any of the other characters. I had trouble sometimes just keeping up with the other characters. Brynn's friends, Willow and Schuyler, seemed quite similar and I mixed them up several times, and I did the same with the police chief and the fire chief. Brynn's investigation into the fire that killed her neighbor was a bit perfunctory. She spent more time thinking and agonizing over it than actually doing anything. I was actually more interested in the cows and the cheese-making process, which I knew nothing about. And the dog of course! Although it was annoying that Freckles was alternately referred to as “he” and “she”. Overall, the story was a pleasant enough way to while away some time, if not especially memorable.

Goodreads synopsis: Christmas is a time for new beginnings, so after her big breakup, Brynn MacAlister takes the gouda with the bad. With her three Red Devon cows, she settles in bucolic Shenandoah Springs, eager for a new life as an organic micro-dairy farmer and cheese-maker. Then her dear cow Petunia's bellows set the whole town on edge. But it isn't until Brynn's neighbor, Nancy, dies in a mysterious fire that her feelings about small town life begin to curdle . . .

It seems some folks were not happy with Nancy's plan to renovate the Old Glebe Church. But is a fear of change a motivation for murder? As a newcomer, Brynn can't ignore the strange events happening just on the other side of her frosty pasture--and soon on her very own farm. Suddenly Christmas doesn't feel so festive as everyone demands she muzzle sweet Petunia, and Brynn is wondering if someone wants to silence her--for good . . .