Berry the Hatchet (Cranberry Cove #2)
by Peg Cochran
narrated by Romy Nordlinger
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f
Blurb:
The entire town of Cranberry Cove is popping with excitement. Monica Albertson is baking cranberry goodies by the dozen, and shopkeepers are decking out their storefronts for the first annual Winter Walk – an event dreamed up by the mayor to bring visitors to the town during a normally dead time of year. But it’s the mayor who turns up dead during the grand opening ceremony, his lifeless body making its entrance in a horse-drawn sleigh.Monica’s mother and stepmother quickly become the prime suspects when it’s discovered that the mayor was dating both of them, and, to make things worse, Monica’s half brother, Jeff, uncovers a clue buried near one of the bogs on Sassamanash Farm. Now it’s up to Monica to find out who really put the mayor on ice.
My Review
I received an audio copy from Tantor Audio and voluntarily reviewed it.
Berry the Hatchet is the second book in the Cranberry Cove Mysteries series. I enjoyed the first book and was excited to continue the series and listen to the second book. Berry the Hatchet takes place a few months later than book 1. There is a winter walk event taking place and the mayor is found dead during the event. Monica’s mother Nancy is stopping by in town and it turns out Nancy and Gina were both dating the mayor and become suspects. Then Monica’s friend Tempest is a suspect as well and Monica tries to solve the mystery.
I enjoyed this one and enjoyed being back in Cranberry Cove again. It’s fun to read more about these characters. I like Monica and her brother Jeff who runs the farm. I liked learning a bit about the Cranberry farm and what they do during winter, although it wasn’t as interesting as everything about the harvest in book 1. I wasn’t a fan of Monica’s mother Nancy suddenly showing up and how Gina and Nancy are still angry with each other, but I actually liked how that progressed throughout the book. I also liked seeing Monica’s relationship progress with Greg, the bookstore owner progress, and how they have some talks about the mystery.
This one has some clear winter vibes, which will be fun if you’re looking for a winter-y read. I’ve grown to realize I actually prefer to read about different seasons during winter while I am struggling with seasonal affective disorder, so I’ll keep that in mind in the future. I liked the Dutch influences in the town and some mentions of that, although there was less of those as in book 1.
The mystery was a solid one, but for some reason very early on I figured out who did it. And it wasn’t a hunch, I just knew with absolute clarity who the murderer was. And it just kinda ruined the mystery a bit for me as it was less fun knowing the murderer with such clarity early on. It turns out I was correct too, I hadn’t figured out the motive, so I enjoyed seeing that come to light. And I did feel the mystery really picked up in the second half and even more so toward the end with some big clues coming to light. I also appreciate Monica’s good relationship with detective Stevens and how she passes the clues along.
To summarize: I enjoyed returning to Cranberry Cove for another mystery. I liked reading more about the cranberry farm as well as the characters. I liked reading more about Monica, her romance with Greg as well as her family and friends. This one has strong winter vibes with the book taking place in that season, I think with my winter depression I will avoid winter books set during winter in the future. The mystery felt like a solid one, but for some reason I knew with absolute clarity who the murderer was very early on, which made the mystery a bit less interesting. I hadn’t figured out the motive, so that was interesting to see come to light. The mystery felt a bit slower at the start, but really picks up in the second half and especially toward the end with some big clues coming to light. All in all a solid sequel and I look forward to continuing the series.
A cranberry farm would be an interesting backdrop for a story. Glad you still enjoyed it even though you figured out who the murderer was.
The cranberry farm is such an interesting setting for this series. I learned a lot more about how cranberries are farmed. It was so strange I figured out who the murdered was so early on, but still a fun read despite that.