The Pickled Piper
A Pickled and Preserved Mystery, Book #1
By Mary Ellen Hughes
ISBN# 9780425262450
Author’s Website: www.maryellenhughes.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele
Beware of mild spoilers
Synopsis:
After her dreams of romance are crushed, Piper Lamb decides to pursue her dream of opening her own shop of pickles and preserves, called Piper’s Picklings, in the idyllic small town of Cloverdale. But she isn’t in town long before she encounters a barrelful of trouble…
The Cloverdale fair offers Piper a sweet opportunity to promote her business. With her new assistant, Amy, she sets up a booth centered around an eye-catching display of the ever-popular dills in an old-fashioned barrel of brine.
But things soon turn sour when fairgoers witness a fight between Amy’s boyfriend, Nate, and town council blowhard—and bagpipe player—Alan Rosemont. When Rosemont is found floating in Piper’s barrel, Nate becomes the prime murder suspect. With Amy’s boyfriend in a pretty pickle, there’s no time to dillydally. But as Piper searches for the real killer, she needs to be careful to preserve her own life…or she may end up a pickled Piper herself.
Review:
When Piper Lamb’s fiancé, Scott, tells her he wants to take a break and find himself, she takes it as a cue to start over in life. She spent summers on her aunt and uncle’s farm in Cloverdale, NY, as a child and figures it is the perfect place to open a retail store that is all about pickles and the supplies needed to make them at home. The annual fair provides a good opportunity to get the word out about her arrival to town and new business…until one of the town council members is found head down in the old fashioned pickle barrel. The prime suspect is Nate, a town newbie and Piper’s shop assistant, Amy’s, boyfriend. To complicate matters, Amy’s father is the sheriff, and Ben, the department’s auxiliary officer (volunteer), would just as soon have Nate out of the picture so he can pursue Amy himself. When it appears that the authorities are not looking at any other possibilities, Amy implores Piper to look into things to help clear Nate. Piper enlists her new friends in town to assist in finding other suspects.
Alan Rosemont, the victim, did not fail to rub many people the wrong way. Lyella Pfiefle, the librarian, is livid that Alan ordered the library painted Pepto-Bismal pink. Gordon Pfiefle, Lyella’s husband, seems to be willing to do anything to protect his wife. Alan took advantage of Dorothy Taylor by underpaying for the items he bought from her attic, and Dorothy’s son, Robby, happened to be in town at the time of the murder. Ralph Farber, the local plumber, lived next door to Alan and would have done anything to stop the noise Alan made when he played his bagpipes. Dennis Isley, handyman, did jobs for Alan but was repeatedly underpaid by him. And Piper wonders about her shop neighbor, Charlotte’s, motivations just because she is a nasty person.
Soon Piper finds herself a target…her trash is scattered across the ally, paint is splattered on her store front, someone lets the air out of all of her tires, and fire breaks out at her store, which also houses her apartment. When two more people die, she begins to wonder if she is being set up to take the fall.
I liked this first installment in a new series and feel it has a great deal of potential to grow into something quite enjoyable. Hughes has created characters that I want to get to know and a fictional location that seems lovely. I look forward to seeing what happens between Piper and her love interest, Will, a Christmas tree farmer. However, I fear there is a love triangle brewing with her former fiancé and do not look forward to that. Why do so many otherwise intelligent cozy mysteries feel compelled to include a love triangle? There are plenty of bits about pickling included if you feel inspired to can your own fruits and vegetables after reading.
