This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Brooke Blogs!
I received this book for free from a book tour, NetGalley. This review is voluntary. My opinion is not influenced in any way.
A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber Series: A Fairy Garden Mystery #1
Also in this series: A Hint of Mischief
Published by Kensington on June 30, 2020
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: a book tour, NetGalley
Buy on Amazon • Buy on Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Also by this author: A Deadly Éclair, A Hint of MischiefFairy garden store owner Courtney Kelly believes in inviting magic into your life. But when uninvited trouble enters her shop, she'll need more than a sprinkling of her imagination to solve a murder...
Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies. After her mother died when Courtney was ten, she lost touch with that feeling of magic. A year ago, at age twenty-nine, she rediscovered it when she left her father's landscaping business to spread her wings and start a fairy garden business and teashop in beautiful Carmel, California. At Open Your Imagination, she teaches garden design and sells everything from fairy figurines to tinkling wind chimes. Now she's starting a book club tea.
But the light of the magical world she's created inside her shop is darkened one night when she discovers neighboring dog-grooming business owner Mick Watkins dead beside her patio fountain. To make matters worse, the police suspect Courtney of the crime. To clear her name and find the real killer, Courtney will have to wing it. But she's about to get a little help from an unexpected source...
My Thoughts
A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber is everything I hoped it would be and more! From the moment I saw the cover of this magical read, I knew I was going to love it. Courtney is the owner of Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden store. She has lots of fun events, from book clubs with tea (and live harp music!) out on the patio to learning activities where participants can make their own fairy garden. One minor detail: Courtney can see fairies. Or, at least, her fairy Fiona. 🙂
Courtney is loving her life – she adores her home and is enjoying every aspect of owning her business. That is, until the night she finds a fellow shop owner dead in her courtyard. With the help of her trusty fairy, Fiona, Courtney works to clear her name from the suspect list. I was riveted with this story. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. I adored all of the details about fairies and the fairy gardens. Ms. Wood Gerber has outdone herself with this first installment in this cozy series. I wasn’t sure how the story was going to play out – there were plenty of red herrings for mystery lovers like me. The magical paranormal details of the story added a fun element that made the book extra enjoyable. I cannot wait for more in this series. It will be an auto-buy for me!
About Daryl Wood Gerber
Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author of of The Fairy Garden Mysteries, featuring a fairy garden shop owner in charming Carmel, California, The French Bistro Mysteries, featuring a former chef who is now an up-and-coming bistro owner in Napa Valley, and The Cookbook Nook Mysteries, featuring an admitted foodie and owner of a cookbook store in picturesque coastal California. Under the pen name Avery Aames, Daryl writes the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling The Cheese Shop Mysteries set in fictional Providence, Ohio. Daryl also writes suspense novels, including the Aspen Adams books and standalones, which have garnered terrific reviews.
Prior to her career as a novelist, Daryl wrote screenplays and created the format for the popular TV sitcom Out of this World. A fun tidbit for mystery buffs, Daryl was also an actress and co-starred on Murder, She Wrote, as well as other TV shows. Daryl is originally from the Bay Area and graduated from Stanford University. She loves to cook, read, golf, swim, and garden. She also likes adventure and has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
| Rating Report | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
 |
| Characters |
|
| Writing |
|
| Pacing |
|
| Cover |
|
| Overall: | |
15,113 total views, 2 views today
Kay Garrett
Thank you for your review on “A Sprinkling of Murder” by Daryl Wood Gerber and for being part of the book tour.
Love this author’s books and have been so looking forward to this one. Needless to say on my TBR list and can’t wait for the opportunity to read it.
darylwoodgerber
Kay, I’m so glad to see you stopped by. Brooke, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the story. Thank you for a lovely review. I’ll be sharing snippets as well as the link. 🙂 ~ Daryl
anna budziak
Looks like fun!
Connie Hendryx
Thanks for participating in this giveaway!
Sandy Klocinski
Thank you for the opportunity to win!
Hesper Fry
This book sounds wonderful! I would love to read this one.
Betty Curran
Thanks for the chance to win. This is definitely on my reading list.