Fatal Frost by Karen MacInerney
Narrated by Teri Clark Linden
Series: Dewberry Farm Mysteries #2
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Date Read: August 27, 2018
Length: 8 hours 55 minutes
Source: Kindle Unlimited
★★★★☆
Lucy Resnick’s nerves are as tight as a tea cozy. Her new goats, Hot Lips and Gidget, keep making a break for the town square, her truck is dying, and her boyfriend’s gorgeous ex-wife is in town for the holidays. Worse, someone’s digging holes on her land…and uprooting her peach orchard and dewberry patch in the process. Lucy needs additional holiday stress like she needs a blow to the head – which she receives one night, courtesy of the mystery digger.
When the dim-witted sheriff arrests one of Lucy’s best friends, the former reporter puts her own problems on the back burner and starts investigating. What she finds is a patchwork of clues – an injured puppy, a sapphire necklace gone missing, and a string of poison-pen letters – that draws her deep into a web of small-town secrets.
Word travels fast in Buttercup. When the killer learns Lucy’s on the trail, Lucy finds she needs more than her reporting skills to save her friend – she needs a Christmas miracle.
My Review
This was a fun listen. I listened to the first book in this series a little over a year ago and I have been wanting to get back to it ever since. Since I am currently in the middle of a three month Kindle Unlimited membership, I grabbed this just as soon as I saw that it was available in the program. This is the second book in the Dewberry Farm Mysteries series but I think that it would work perfectly fine. It was really nice to spend a bit of time with Lucy and the other characters from Buttercup.
I didn’t even realize that this was a Christmas story until I got started listening. My eyes are not great anymore so I did not notice the Christmas lights on the cover and I rarely read blurbs very closely so I was pretty clueless. If you are not a fan of Christmas stories, this really only had a touch of the holiday worked into the story.
There were quite a few things going on in this book and it was great watching Lucy try to figure everything out. She happens to be around when a body is pulled from a fire and quickly notices that there might be something strange about the situation. Her best friend’s teenage daughter has runaway to get married causing quite a bit of drama. Her best friend ends up in jail but Lucy knows she is innocent so she works to find the information that lead to the real criminal. To top everything off, someone is busy looking for treasure in town and is even digging around on Lucy’s farm.
I liked the characters quite a bit. Lucy is great and has a lot of spunk. She really is happy in the little town of Buttercup and can handle difficult situations very well. Her boyfriend wasn’t around a whole lot in this book and I did miss him a little but their relationship did have some progress which I was happy with. Lucy’s friends played an important role and the goats she adopts at the beginning of the story added a few interesting moments.
I thought that the mystery was really well done. I liked how some things connected to other things going on in the book while others were really unrelated. I had a few suspicions but I couldn’t get everything figured out until it was revealed in most cases which added to the fun. There were some pretty exciting moments where I wasn’t really sure how things would work out. This was one of those books that I kept wanting to listen to just a bit more because I had to know what was going to happen next.
Teri Clark Linden does a great job with the narration. I really felt like I was right there with Lucy as she was making her way through the story. I think she handled all of the character voices very well and really brought the story to life. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to more of her work in the future.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this story had a great cast of characters and a compelling mystery. I really have enjoyed the audiobooks for the first two books and must admit that I was disappointed to find that no audiobook is currently available for the remainder of the series but I would still like to finish the series soon.
Dewberry Farm Mysteries Series
Book #2 – Fatal Frost
Book #3 – Deadly Brew
Book #4 – Mistletoe Murder
About the Author
Critically acclaimed author Karen MacInerney also teaches writers’ workshops and drives a mean carpool. Her book Murder on the Rocks was selected as an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel. When she’s not writing or chauffeuring children, she loves to read, drink coffee, attempt unusual recipes, and hit the local hike-and-bike trail. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, two children, and a rabbit named Bunny, and escapes to Maine as often as possible.
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Fatal Frost by Karen MacInerney 
This reminds me that I still need to finish her fun werewolf trilogy. Erk, more to get to!
A werewolf trilogy?! I must check that out right away!
This sounds like a good cozy series and I'm loving the covers. Glad you enjoyed it!
It has been a well done series so far, Barb!
did the butler do it? Looks kinda like a killer treasure hunt
I think that Lucy would love to have a butler 🙂
Another cozy series to add to my list. 🙂
It is definitely worthwhile, Stormi!
It sounds like a fun little Christmas story. Great review and I am glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Thanks, Jenea!
I haven't read this author but I like the premise for the story. It sounds like something I might like.
It was a really great listen!
You and Anna have me wanting to give this series a go. It does sound like one I'd like. And, I'm doing the 3 month KU trial, too. 🙂
I think you would like this one, Sophia Rose!
One day cozy m genre, one day!
Cozies are fun every once in a while 🙂
It is almost time to dive into those Christmas themed books. 🙂 This sounds really good, and I am glad you liked it. Carole. I haven't tried Kindle Unlimited. How do you like it?
This one had just a touch of Christmas which is how I like it.
I was able to get a 3 month membership to Kindle Unlimited for $0.99 at the end of July. I think I will have enough to keep me busy for those 3 months and definitely will get my money's worth. I will not be continuing with the program at $9.99 per month though. I might consider signing up for a couple of months every year though just to focus on those books.
I like cozy mystery. This one does sound like it has fun and quirky characters. I'm glad to hear it was well done and not just silly. I'll have to check out the KU audio options. I'm doing the 3 month also Anne – Books of My Heart
I am completely focused on KU audios right now during my membership. You should give this series a try while you have the KU.
I do like a Christmas story, but only in November and December!
I didn't even realize that this one was a Christmas story until I had started listening. It wasn't too Christmasy so it worked.