Merry Merry Merry Murder (Cuddle Farm Mysteries) 

 by Paty Jager

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Merry Merry Merry Murder (Cuddle Farm Mysteries)  

Cozy Mystery--  1st in SeriesSetting - Oregon 

Publisher: Windtree Press   

Publication Date: October 10, 2025  

Print length: ‎ 194 pages -- ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1940064093

In the close-knit town of Auburn, Oregon, Andi Clark's therapy animals bring comfort to the community, especially during the holiday season. As the annual Christmas Craft Bazaar draws near, Andi agrees to set up a Petting Zoo with her beloved animals, bringing smiles to the faces of children and adults alike.

But when a young girl seeks solace from Athena, Andi's therapy dog, after witnessing an unsettling scene behind the sleigh, it marks the beginning of a much darker holiday. As the town gathers for the Tree Lighting Ceremony, a scream shatters the festive atmosphere. Cocoa, Andi's loyal Border Collie, pulls her toward a chilling sight: a woman standing over the lifeless body of the girl's mother, strangled with Christmas lights.

Determined to help the grieving girl and her town recover from the shock, Andi, her therapy animals, and her niece, a county deputy, take it upon themselves to investigate. As they uncover secrets and untangle clues, they stay one step ahead of the new sheriff and worry that the killer lurking in their midst could be someone they know.

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This new mystery series, CuddleFarm Mysteries, came about when I was at a flea market selling my books. Ihad my chiweenie (chihuahua/dachshund cross dog) with me, and she was greetingthe people who passed by my book trailer. One woman sat down on the step withNia, petting and talking to her for about fifteen minutes. Then she stood upand said I should use Nia as a therapy dog. I thanked her for thinking my sweetpup would make a therapy dog. When she left, I told my friend, an author whosells her books with me, that I didn’t have the time to take Nia around as atherapy dog, but that was a great idea for a book series.

And that’s what happened.

I couldn’t let the idea go. The different animals came to me. First thedogs: Lulu, a dapple black and white Chiweenie; Cocoa, a brown and white BorderCollie; Athena, a Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever cross. Then the farm animals:Sparky, a mini donkey, and Cupcake, a pygmy goat. I decided there should be acouple of small animals, so I came up with Flopsie, a dwarf Holland Lop rabbit,and Chicklet, a silky hen.

Those are the animals that make up my main character, Andi Clark’s,Cuddle Farm. She takes the animals around to schools, hospitals, and retirementhomes. The animals give unconditional love to the people. As they move aboutthe community, they come across all types of characters and stumble over a bodyor two.

The animals help Andi get people to talk to her and move her about toask the questions that need to be asked to find the killers.

Andi is a 43-year-old widow. She recently lost her husband and ispicking up the pieces back in the town where she grew up, working as thebookkeeper for her family’s wool business. When she attends the Christmas treelighting at the park and a body is discovered, she is pulled into theinvestigation because of what she overheard a child say to Athena earlier inthe day.

No one knows what Andi and her husband did while traveling around theworld. The only people who know are the diplomats in the countries who hiredthem. Using her skills from helping her husband find hidden money and killers,she begins investigating the murder victim and digging up secrets some of thecommunity would like to leave buried.

There happens to be a new sheriff in town and he’s a widower with ateenage son. Sparks fly when he discovers she is investigating the crime. Hedoesn’t want her getting in the way or becoming another homicide. After shefinds information that he hasn’t been able to get from people, the sheriffdecides she might be an asset. While they have agreed to be friendly, Andi’sniece, a deputy who works for the sheriff, is trying to strike a romancebetween them.

Having lived in small communities my whole life, I know the layers thatare there to conceal pasts and keep the locals feeling smug. That’s why Andi isa good amateur sleuth. She grew up in the community and left for twenty years.Now she’s back, knows everyone, and also knows there are secrets and rivalriesthat go back for decades. Including her family. She relies on her mom’sremembrances of the local families and those that had moved in since Andigraduated from high school.

This new series is set in a small town in NE Oregon. I grew up in thatcorner of the state and know the area well. I’ve made a fictional town, butpeople who live in the one that it represents will figure out what town it is.I incorporate the surrounding mountains and lakes in my story. I like usingfictional towns.It’s easier to put my own businesses in them and populate themwith my fictional characters. It makes getting my characters around town easierby having my own map than trying to stay to a real town layout. 

Andi drives a van that is outfitted to hold her three dogs in themiddle seat, then Sparky and Cupcake in a pen with metal panels, and there isroom for Chicklet and Flopsie’s pensallt he way to the back. I thought out howmy character would transport her animals and I explained her barn and pens forthe outdoor animals in this first book. Her house and farm were built with hertherapy animals in mind.

This story not only solves a murder, but also brings up the volatilerelationship between Andi and her sister, which is exacerbated by her sister’sfriend. This wariness on Andi’s part and the animosity between her and hersister was built on something that happened years ago. Andi doesn’t remember theevent, but it will come back to her in the second book, where a lot isrevealed. 

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Paty Jager is an award-winning author of murder mysteries, western romance, and action-adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes in eastern Oregon, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

Prize- A Copy of 'Merry Merry Merry Murder' (Cuddle Farm Mysteries) by Paty Jager, Cuddle Farm Sticker, & Swag.

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