Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    A Muddied Murder
    Unavailable
    A Muddied Murder
    Unavailable
    A Muddied Murder
    Ebook338 pages4 hours

    A Muddied Murder

    By Wendy Tyson

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead

    About this ebook

    When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family's organic farm and café, she expects to find peace and tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, Pennsylvania.

    Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family's Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings.

    Just when she thinks she’s reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town’s hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner’s battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation—and she’s the chief suspect.

    Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances in time to find a killer before that killer strikes again?

    - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    A MUDDIED MURDER by Wendy Tyson - A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHenery Press
    Release dateMar 29, 2016
    ISBN9781635110067
    Author

    Wendy Tyson

    Wendy Tyson is a lawyer and former therapist whose background inspires her mysteries and thrillers. She lives in the Philadelphia area on a micro-farm with her husband, three sons, and three dogs. Her short fiction has appeared in literary journals, and she's a contributing editor and columnist for The Big Thrill and The Thrill Begins, International Thriller Writers' online magazines. Her series include the Allison Campbell Mystery Series and the Greenhouse Mystery Series.

    Related to A Muddied Murder

    Related ebooks

    Cozy Mysteries For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      When I Say Goodbye

      May 31, 2018

      When I Say Goodbye
      16 min read

    • Article

      Earth Mail

      Feb 28, 2022

      Earth Mail
      4 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Guide

      Jan 2, 2022

      Summer Reading Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Earth Mail

      Nov 30, 2020

      Earth Mail
      4 min read

    • Article

      Join The Weekly Conversation

      Sep 25, 2023

      Join The Weekly Conversation
      3 min read

    • Article

      Mail Call

      Feb 22, 2019

      Mail Call
      5 min read

    • Article

      Mail Call

      Oct 12, 2018

      Mail Call
      5 min read

    • Article

      Dear MOTHER

      Nov 18, 2022

      EDITORS’ PICK I loved reading “Mossin’ Annie” (October/November 2022). After spending most of my life in Phoenix, Arizona — where we were always amused by newcomers’ fascination with cacti — I found myself being the one to entertain the locals when I

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Garden of Miracles

      May 26, 2023

      A Garden of Miracles
      2 min read

    • Article

      Cooking with Shirley Jackson

      Oct 31, 2019

      Cooking with Shirley Jackson
      10 min read

    • Article

      Readers Share Tales Of Treasured Family Plants.

      Mar 1, 2019

      After moving into my home more than a decade ago, I befriended an elderly couple a few houses down. The man had Alzheimer’s disease, so I often heard the same stories from him when I stopped in. He had many interesting adventures to tell me about, bu

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Garden In The Desert

      Sep 20, 2021

      A Garden In The Desert
      10 min read

    • Article

      Dear MOTHER

      Jan 15, 2021

      Dear MOTHER
      9 min read

    • Article

      Dear MOTHER

      Jan 15, 2021

      Dear MOTHER
      9 min read

    • Article

      Wolf Peach

      May 12, 2021

      Wolf Peach
      8 min read

    • Article

      “Go Make Pies!”

      Oct 27, 2020

      “Go Make Pies!”
      4 min read

    • Article

      “Hello, My Bok!”

      Jan 23, 2023

      Some or other magnetic force made me abandon my shift on the show stand of a lifestyle magazine I was working for at the time. It was at a garden show in Somerset West at the end of 2006. Why I instinctively headed straight for The Gardener magazine’

      4 min read

    • Article

      Mail Call

      Apr 12, 2019

      Mail Call
      5 min read

    • Article

      Your Page

      Aug 16, 2023

      It takes a great deal of courage to uproot one’s city life and start over in the country. For those courageous families in the July story Moving to the Country who’ve taken the plunge and made a new life for themselves, they’ve done so by moving thei

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Summer We Lost Her

      Apr 4, 2019

      The Summer We Lost Her
      8 min read

    • Article

      Sweet Memories

      Jun 24, 2022

      Sweet Memories
      5 min read

    • Article

      Join The Weekly CONVERSATION

      Mar 12, 2023

      I loved the excerpt from “What Your Chickens Want You to Know” (NZWW, Feb 27). It brought back so many memories. My hens were the most coddled, best looked-after hens in the world. Our hen house was called Buck Palace after a neighbour said, “What ar

      3 min read

    • Article

      Dirt Is Our Friend

      Jun 14, 2019

      Dirt Is Our Friend
      5 min read

    • Article

      Feedback

      Feb 20, 2022

      Feedback
      3 min read

    Reviews for A Muddied Murder

    4/5

    20 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. I received this as a gift and I voluntarily chose to review it. I've given it a 5* rating. This story pulled me in and kept tugging me on just to find out what next. Lots of characters to suspect. This had me guessing till the end.
    • 4/5
      Megan Sawyer left her job as a lawyer in the city to go back to her family home to help her grandmother, Bibi. Her plan was to get the farm going again and open a store and café where she'd use things grown on her family's organic farm. The Zoning Commissioner, Simon Duvall kept failing every inspection and holding up her permits preventing her from opening. Lots of other things went wrong for her like too much rain and her goats getting out. Those things she could handle but the permits she couldn't. When Simon was found dead in her barn she's the prime suspect. Megan took on the job of finding out who really killed him.This cozy mystery was easy to read and a very enjoyable story to get lost in. Even with the detailed descriptions of Megan's farm and business slowing it down a bit, I liked this story. The characters in this small town were very likeable and several had unusual backgrounds. Then there were the dogs and pygmy goats keeping things lively. Megan had a big but welcome change in both her profession and accommodation but she handled everything well. Even when she was suspected of murder she kept going. The only time I found her annoying was when she went out - to the barn or check something outside - when there was a murderer on the loose. That seemed pretty foolish to me. And she was wonderful to her grandmother. I loved Bibi!It did have a pretty exciting ending and I was surprised when I found out who the bad guys were.I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      I've felt lately like I've burned out on cozy mysteries, but I think what I'm fed up with is the 'niche' trend that has swallowed up the sub-genre: single, heartbroken woman, builds a business around a craft, or cooking, baking, dog walking, scrapbooking. Then the author tries to create mystery after mystery tangentially tied to that niche. How many dead bodies can you reasonably connect to scrapbooking?! The other trend wearing on my loyalty is the need to turn all cozies puritanical. Authors would like to make their readers believe that nobody ever swears or shares more than a chaste kiss. Codswallop. Cozies shouldn't be dark or violent but come on, a swear word, a bit of sexual tension? No wonder there are so many dead bodies: nobody gets laid and they can't even swear about it. But Henery Press has been my saving grace. They've been putting out cozy mysteries that remind me why I like cozies. Yes, they still use single-women, and sometimes their worlds are specialised, but mostly they publish very well-written, edited, cozy mysteries with a realistic bite of romance and never are the protagonists reduced to gosh or fudge. A Muddied Murder is a good example. A smart, strong female lead comes home to turn the family farm into a profitable business. Not because she's running away from anything, or because she needs a 'fresh start' - because she wants to. She's open to romance and there are a lot of good looking men around her but there's no love triangle. Most of all, the mystery was almost perfect. It started off rocky: she and her grandmother should have been perfect suspects, but after a secret conversation between the sheriff and grandma, they're both instantly off the hook and it's never explained why. We know they didn't do it, but how doest the Sheriff? Past that though, the mystery gets interesting and the facts build to reveal a very cool plot that has nothing to do with organic farming. So while this started slow and rocky (I didn't like grandma at the start either), it picked up pace and by the end I was ready to read the second book.
    • 5/5
      This is a solid beginning to the Greenhouse Mystery series. There was a mystery, some quirky characters, a love interest, healthy eating and animals, what more could you want. I really enjoyed the realistic storyline and how it meshed with history.Megan Sawyer was a successful lawyer in Chicago who had recently lost her husband in Afghanistan. Her grandmother, Bonnie Birch to everyone but Megan who calls her Bibi, is in her mid-eighties and when her son leaves to go to Paris with his new love she either has to sell the farm or find someone to move in to help her. As it turns out that was just what Megan needed. She returns to her roots in Winsome Pennsylvania to turn the family farm, Washington Acres, into a successful organic business. With the organic farm and the empty family store being converted into a cafe and grocery she should be able to make a go of it, but someone in town is sabotaging her everytime she turns around. Her help at both the cafe and farm are a wonderful brother/sister team who used to live in a commune. Megan was expecting to sell her organic vegetables at a local farmer's market and open her restaurant in a few days until she is told by the local zoning commissioner that neither her barn renovations or the cafe is up to code. Unfortunately, this resulted in a heated discussion with him. When he is found murdered in her barn that night, Megan is the main suspect.The story has many wonderful characters. Even though Megan is the main character in the story, there are many intriguing secondary characters. Their stories were very entertaining and enlightening (PTSD, veteranarian who lived with an abusive father, members of the now defunct commune and more)I must mention the budding romance with the local veterinarian. Dr. Denver Finn was born in Scotland but had travelled the world before settling in Winsome. He and Megan had many encounters due to the miniature goats, dogs, chickens etc. I really enjoyed their storyline as well. And I loved reading about the baby goats, chickens, horses and dogs.I must say that I did not figure out who the murderer was until the end of the story and the mystery of why the Historical Society wanted her farm so badly was also interesting right up until the end. I definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves cozies, animals and a little romance.I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Although A Muddied Murder starts out slow, it picks up speed rather quickly. Megan Sawyer, recent widow who misses her military husband terribly but ho is ready to move on as well as she can, has left her law career to help her grandmother, Bonnie "Bibi" Birch, manage and run the family farm, Washington Acres, as well as start up the Washington Acres Farm Café and Larder. Things do not seem to be going well, however, as Megan encounters problem after problem with the man who runs the town zoning approval process, Simon Duvall. Then, the story only get murkier, when Duvall’s bludgeoned body is discovered on her farm, and Megan and her grandmother become prime suspects in the murder. Megan begins searching for clues about the murder and what really happened. The story provides a wide array of other characters, each of whom is interesting in his/her own way, and lends to the tale. Follow Megan as she delves into the small town history and gossip to figure out just what has happened to Duval, and why she has met such obstruction with everything she has tried to accomplish. To add to the story, the town vet, Dr. Daniel "Denver" Finn, becomes a key figure in the search as well as in Megan’s personal life. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The setting lent to the story perfectly. The cast of characters, each with his or her own quirks, were very real and could easily fit into any small rural town. In particular, I found Megan and Denver Finn a fascinating duo, searching relentlessly for answers, uncovering clues about what exactly happened, while their relationship, teeming with the chemistry between them, flourished. This is a story that any good cozy mystery lover will thoroughly enjoy. There are enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested and continually looking for more. I highly recommend it to readers. This is a nice part of a new series, which I will be looking for and reading in the future. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.
    • 4/5
      A Muddied Murder by Wendy Tyson is the first book in A Greenhouse Mystery series. Megan Sawyer has returned to Winsome, Pennsylvania to stay with her grandmother, Bibi. Megan did live in Chicago and worked as a lawyer but came home when Bibi needed her. Megan is helping with the family farm, Washington Acres, and is opening a combination store and café in town. Megan is also turning the Washington Acres into an organic farm. But Megan has been encountering difficulties in opening the store/café. She keeps getting denied the appropriate permits (methinks someone is against her new venture). Simon Duvall is the person behind it (and he is one nasty man). Then Simon Duvall ends up dead in her barn. When Bibi ends up being a suspect, Megan sets out to clear her with help from the local vet, Dr. Daniel Finn (there is a romantic spark between them). Then the sabotage starts. Will Megan be able to find the culprit and open her new store/cafe? I enjoyed A Muddied Murder. It has good characters, a lovely setting (sounds like a beautiful town and farm), and a good mystery. The mystery was complicated (just the way I like them), but there are few clues provided (you can solve the mystery without them). One thing I did not like was Megan’s impatience. She wanted answers NOW (became frustrating). The romance in the book was a little rushed. It was too much for the first book. I give A Muddied Murder 4.25 out of 5 stars (since I was able to solve it). I think this is the beginning of a good series. I look forward to reading the next book in the series next spring.I received a complimentary copy of A Muddied Murder from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
    • 3/5
      A new mystery series set in rural Pennsylvania, and very enjoyable. Megan Sawyer, a corporate lawyer, has left Chicago, to grow organic vegetables on her family's farm. Megan, a widow, lives on the historic farm with her grandmother, Bibi, and a motley group of animals. Simon Duvall, a disagreeable zoning commissioner, is found murdered on the farm and all fingers point to Megan and Bibi as the most likely to kill Simon. Megan does not let murder slow her down as she races to open an organic café and jump start her organic grocery. In spite of the grueling hours of hard labor on the farm, Megan has time for a little romance with the local veterinarian. The novel displays interesting and real characters, and the story moves briskly to the conclusion.