Murder on the Farm: The start of a gripping, unputdownable cozy mystery series from Kate Wells (The Malvern Mysteries, 1) Paperback – 4 Sept. 2023

This is a brilliant and page-turning debut from Kate Wells that I struggled to put down. Jude is an intriguing and compelling character who finds herself caught up in a dark and sinister murder case after the unexpected early demise of her friend. While still coming to terms with her own grief, she tries to unravel the secrets her friend has been hiding. Kate cleverly leads the reader through complex twists and turns making you doubt everyone and everything. It's incredibly well plotted and I loved the addition of the logic puzzles scattered throughout. The characterisation is wonderful, she created characters you genuinely care about making the revelation at the end even more shocking. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I struggled to get into this book at first, with a flurry of names and relationships that I found it tricky to get my head round, but I am glad I stuck with it. I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in lambing, and the plot steady ramped up to the point where I couldn’t put the book down. My only criticism is a flaw of many mysteries in that towards the end the protagonist puts themselves in obvious danger for less than obvious reasons. You know, that ‘let’s go die’ moment. Even so, the author kept us guessing right to the end. I have already bought book two.

What a great debut adult murder mystery book! Kate manages to paint a beautiful picture of the setting in the Malvern Hills and you can really imagine this beautiful location as you’re reading. The characters are likeable and believable and the way their lives intertwine is well thought out!As my review title says, there’s plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked until the end of the book. I didn’t want to put it down!Looking forward to the next one in the series!

I loved this book, I do enjoy a 'cosy murder / mystery ' but this was so different from previous books I 've read ,mainly I think because the story was based round a farm.It's probably the best book I've read in over a year.Characters were very believeable and the whole book was great from start to finish.I've downloaded the second one which hopefully will be just as good.

The first book I have read by this author and it was absolutely brilliant. It kept me turning the pages, just couldn't put it down.Just when I thought I'd worked out who the murder was, I was proved wrong and didn't for one minute think it would be the character it was. Kept me hooked to the end and I have book 2 on my book shelf ready to read. Can't wait 🫶

Not what I expected from the reviews.

Great easy read and page turner. June is trying to run the farm after her husband passed away and she has several friends with lots of support until she finds a dead body.

Keep your friends close in this well paced, well written mystery. The star of the show was the farm itself, people's by strongly defined characters. The twists and turns we expect from a good mystery were all there and the unexpected bravery of the main protagonist, Jude, was not as unbelievable as it should have been. My one gripe is , what happened to Hate Sanchez, shop fizzled out of the story - but ultimately,who cares? A very satisfying read.If

The characters were well drawn, especially the heroine. the plot was well paced. The ending was a genuine surprise. Very enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the book, the characters were believable and interesting. I am looking forward to reading the next one.

Had a little bit of a slow start but then it kept me on my toes trying to figure out who was the actual killer (my initial guess ended up up right but there were many times I changed my prediction) I’d recommend this book for sure

A long time friendship is upended when one of the group is found dead. The story unfolds with further incidents causing the friends to be embroiled in puzzles and more deaths. An interesting and involved storyline that keeps the reader quite engrossed.

This mystery kept me reading! There are lots of interesting farm details and engaging, believable characters. Although it is being advertised as a "cozy," I think the strong emotions and realistic world-building place it on the more serious end of the cozy spectrum. I can't wait to read the next books in the series.