Put Out to Pasture

by Amanda Flower

The Mystery-Put Out to Pasture

On an October afternoon during the Fall Daze event, Minnie Devani, one of the most irritating women in Cherry Glen, Michigan, is found dead at Bellamy Farm.

The Characters

Shiloh Bellamy moved back home to Cherry Glen, Michigan, and Bellamy Farm to take care of her aging, cantankerous father. The farm is deep in debt and needs a lot of work. Fall Daze is a way for Shiloh to raise much-needed money. Shiloh’s dream is to make Bellamy Farm an organic farm-to-table establishment and Fall Daze is the first tiny step toward that dream.

Part of Fall Daze’s success is due to Shiloh’s best friend, Kristy Brown. Kristy is manager of the Cherry Glen farmer’s market. While speaking to a local television station about the Farmer’s Market, Kristy mentioned Bellamy Farm and the Fall Daze event. In the midst of all the activity, Minnie Devani confronts Kristy about a conversation the two had earlier in the day.

Minnie had rented a booth at the farmer’s market and had fallen six months behind on her rent. To help Minnie pay off the debt, Kristy let Minnie run the market while Kristy was on maternity leave. When Kristy returned to her job, not only was Minnie still six months behind on her booth rent, but she had also stolen six thousand dollars from the market. At Fall Daze, Minnie and Kristy get into a very public argument. Minnie threatens Kristy before leaving the event in a fury.

Minnie’s body is found underneath a scarecrow at the farm, and the scarf Kristy had been wearing is wrapped around Minnie’s neck. In the sheriff’s mind, Kristy is the prime suspect. But Shiloh is convinced her friend is innocent. Minnie was one of the most disliked women in town; plenty of people wanted to silence her.

Shiloh knows it is up to her to prove Kristy’s innocence. The killer doesn’t want Kristy cleared of murder. The killer will kill again to keep their secret and send an innocent woman away for a murder she didn’t commit.

My Thoughts

Put out to Pasture is the second book in the Farm to Table mysteries. I wasn’t sure about this series after the first book, Farm to Trouble, but book two is much better and the series is growing on me. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.