A Sprinkling Of 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.
Series: A Fairy Garden Mystery – Book #1
Author: Daryl Wood Gerber
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Garden/Fantasy
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The latest new series, “A Fairy Garden Mystery” from Daryl Wood Gerber, published by Kensington Books, is out now. A Sprinkling Of Murder. This is a fun, offbeat, and enticing read that will have readers wanting more.
Courtney is a bit on the odd side; she is a fully grown adult who believes in fairies. Not just believes but talks to them daily and encourages others to do the same. Other characters are enjoyable and likable. Fiona, the wonderfully mischievous fairy, and Joss, Courtney’s excellent bookkeeper, and friend, are both fantastic characters that take the reader to imaginative places. The location of a garden shop dedicated to fairies is very unusual but makes readers want to start a garden or shop, maybe both. It is distinctly original and easy to picture.
The murder of a fellow shop owner is well written, with plenty of plot twists and suspects. Even though the victim wasn’t unlikeable, it was easy to see that some might have had a problem with him and wanted him out of the way. Courtney and her fairy friend help track down the evidence and find the killer. The culprit is not necessarily what readers would expect but once revealed allows them to see the killing and the clues from a new perspective.
To be honest, I had a slight issue with the entire fairy theme until I got into the book. After all, if we can believe in vampires, goblins, gargoyles, and werewolves, why not fairies? I place this book squarely in the fantasy realm of the cozy genre. I have not read many fantasy mysteries, but this one had me curious about others of this type. I am happy to recommend A Sprinkling Of Murder; I can’t wait to read the next one.
Some compelling paranormal/fantasy cozy books without fairies are Esme Addison’s fun series “An Enchanted Bay Mystery” or perhaps Zoe Arden’s interesting “Sweetland Witch Series.”
About the Author:
Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author. Under the pen name Avery Aames, Daryl writes another series. As a girl, Daryl considered becoming a writer, but she was dissuaded by a seventh-grade teacher. It wasn’t until she was in her twenties that she had the audacity to try her hand at writing again . . . for TV and screen. Why? Because she was an actress in Hollywood. A fun tidbit for mystery buffs: Daryl co-starred on Murder, She Wrote as well as other TV shows. As a writer, she created the format for the popular sitcom Out of This World. When she moved across the country with her husband, she returned to writing what she loved to read: mysteries and thrillers.
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. Here are a few of Daryl’s lifelong mottos: perseverance will out; believe you can; never give up. She hopes they will become yours, as well.
Represented by: John Talbot at The Talbot Fortune Inc.
Contact Daryl: daryl@darylwoodgerber.com
Find Daryl on Social Media:
Contact The Cozy Review
Leave a Reply