Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Digging Up Daisy by Sherry Lynn

Posted April 6, 2023 by meezcarrie in contemporary, cozy mystery, giveaway, Holly Quinn, mystery/suspense / 10 Comments

DIGGING UP DAISY by Sherry Lynn
SERIES: Mainely Murder Mysteries #1
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Berkley
RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023
PAGES: 302

In a fresh new Maine-set cozy from author Sherry Lynn, Kinsley Clark must root out a killer before the killer roots out her.
At twenty-nine, Kinsley Clark is living the dream life she always envisioned for herself. She’s the proud owner of SeaScapes, a thriving landscaping company in wealthy Harborside, set on the rugged coast of southern Maine. Kinsley’s veins are filled with salty air, a myriad of colors, and the fragrance of fresh blooms. But one afternoon, while working at her aunt Tilly’s bed-and-breakfast, the Salty Breeze Inn, Kinsley digs up more than she bargained for—a high-heeled shoe. The once sparkly shoe, now caked in mud, is linked to a case the police had appropriately dubbed the “Cinderella Murder.”
Kinsley panics. Does this mean that her aunt and the inn are somehow connected to this murder? Will it scare away potential guests? Will it subject the inn to a rush of bad press? With Aunt Tilly’s reputation, and possibly her safety, on the line, Kinsley digs deeper into the crime to find out what the shoe was doing on her aunt’s property and who murdered Cinderella, whose real name is Daisy. As she investigates, more suspects rise to the surface, and eventually, Kinsley has to weed out a killer.

Other Books In This Series

I’ve read and enjoyed other books by this author under different pen names, and I fell in love with the cover so of course I had to read it! Kinsley is a landscape artist, something that I myself wish I were talented at but alas, I have yet to meet a plant I couldn’t kill. Kinsley, however, is a pro at transforming yards into beautiful masterpieces, though someone seems set on sabotaging her work around Harborside. Not gonna lie, this totally stressed me out for Kinsley – never mind the murder investigation, let’s catch the saboteur in the act lol

I adored her Aunt Tillie, and I hope I’m still as close to my nieces as she and Kinsley are when they’re grown up & I’m elderly. Aunts don’t get a lot of pagetime in fiction, so when I meet a good one in a book I perk up and take notice. Tillie is the kind of character you just want to reach in and hug, and then sit down with a beverage and a sweet treat for a nice long chat – if she has time in between tending to the B&B’s guests, of course. Her relationship with Kinsley is a lovely, positive, and affectionate one, and it’s always uplifting to have characters like that. Speaking of uplifting relationships, Kinsley’s friends Becca & Rachel are also delightful supporting players in this story and actually have fairly significant roles, too. I really enjoyed getting to know all the (hopefully) recurring characters in this series starter, and I’m particularly looking forward to seeing where the low-key romantic possibility vibes lead in the next books.

The murder mystery in Digging Up Daisy is an intriguing one with many different elements in play. Where was the victim actually murdered? WHY was the victim murdered? Why did her shoe end up buried in Kelsey’s yard? Where is the neighbor’s missing dog? Is the murderer one of the guests at the B&B or someone from town? Will they solve it – and the plant sabotaging crimes – in time to avoid bad press for SeaScapes and the Salty Breeze Inn? I figured out the whodunit pretty quickly, but that doesn’t mean it was a slam-dunk. I just happened to have an inkling and guessed correctly. There were a couple of other very plausible suspects, and it wouldn’t have surprised me in the least if one of them ended up being the killer(s) instead. Lots of layers to piece together, making it fun for armchair sleuths to play along at home while reading this book.

Bottom Line: Digging Up Daisy by Sherry Lynn kicks off what promises to be a fun new series! The coastal Maine, small town setting wraps around cozy mystery fans like a familiar & beloved quilt, though the residents of Harborside are considerably more well-to-do than most of Cabot Cove’s. The aunt in me loved Aunt Tilly, of course, but I also enjoyed Kinsley and her bestie Becca & their interactions. There were some things that could have been a bit tighter, to better advance the story & keep it from dragging a bit in the middle, but overall I enjoyed this first installment in the Mainely Murder Mystery series and look forward to more!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / enjoyed it!

Content: completely clean

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Sherry Lynn spent countless summers on the coast of Maine, knowing she’d one day return to write about the magical location from her youth. Curious by nature, sleuthing became the perfect fit for her, and she has written multiple cozy mystery series under several pseudonyms. Currently, Sherry lives in the Midwest with her husband, but she dreams about one day retiring oceanside with a good book in her hand.

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