It’s been a very long time since I did a review post and I need to catch up!
Let us start with the first three books in the Berry Basket series by Sharon Farrow.
Dying for Strawberries kicks this series off, and the town of Oriole Point is in the midst of a big celebration revolving around the strawberry. These books take place on the west side of Michigan, or the fruit belt as it were, so all of these books are berry based which was pretty fun, even though it made me crave berries and I can’t eat them right now due to the whole you know what going on. Anyway, the town is a typical Michigan tourist town, making the most of what its got during the summer, and Marlee Jacobs is at the center of the mix, as she runs The Berry Basket. The Berry Basket sells basically everything berry based, kind of like the Cherry Republic is cherry focused, if you have ever been there. She has a fiancee who is from a family of fruit growers, one of the biggest in the state, and his devotion to his family is…extreme. However Marlee seems to deal with it.
There is of course, a murder, and Marlee becomes an amateur sleuth to clear her name. I enjoyed this introduction to the series, as you can see by the fact that I have read two more!
Blackberry Burial, the second book, finds Marlee yet again in a celebration centered around berries. This one was my favorite celebration (all three of these books have some sort of berry party theme) as it was a reunion for students of the Blackberry Art School there or something like that. (I can’t quite remember the name) It is based off the old art school that used to be in Saugatuck, which began in 1908 as a summer retreat for artists. I love this idea so much, I can’t even tell you. The fictional school in the book has a summer camp, and sounds very elite and the students become very close to the other students in their group. They even give each other berry nicknames. Anyway, right before the kick-off, which coincides with a road rally thrown by the town, Marlee yet again stumbles onto something mysterious, a skeleton in the woods. This time her baker Theo, who is very shy, is the one being blamed and Marlee steps in to find the real killer in this old cold case.
Finally, Killed on Blueberry Hill, the third (but not final) book in the series. This one was my favorite because it was had very messy, sloppy relationship plotlines and I was there for it. And that is all I will say on that aspect! It was also maybe the most complex murder mystery of the three so far, and just another enjoyable summer read, with summer festival and carnival feels.
There are two more in this series, but they are fall and winter themed so I am saving them.
Moving on!
Sad Cypress was a very fast, quick little mystery. Elinor Carlisle, who is known for being very reserved, is accused of murdering both her aunt and a young woman named Mary Gerrard, and it looks like a pretty open and shut case. Until Poirot is called in, that is.
I don’t want to say too much about this one. It was a good quick summer read, a proper mystery. I thought some things seemed hinky as I was reading but I didn’t quite put it all together.
I was feeling like I needed something scary, and I had been meaning to give Coates another try. I have read some of her books are hit or miss, and The Haunting of Ashburn House was a hit. It gave me the creeps big time! It was sort of a slow read, and I thought Adrienne was kind of weird honestly, but she was redeemed by the fact that she really loved her cat, Wolfgang. This is more of a jump scare sort of creepy, and the tragic event that occurred in the house was gross, but it also invited questions that made me keep reading to find out the truth of that night.
Spoiler Alert:
Wolfgang is ok. No trigger warnings there.
And that wraps up a big chunk of my reading in July! I have one more book that I could review but I am saving it for the next round.
The training wheels are off now and while it feels kind of scary, I have faith. 
