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The Iowa Farmer's Wife Trilogy #1
The Iowa Farmer's Wife
The Iowa Farmer's Wife is a page-turning mystery about a murder that takes place in southwest Iowa. When a rural banker is brutally murdered, two DCI detectives travel to the scene of the crime to investigate. Little do these "city boys" know what their trip into the country will entail. The plot thickens as the investigation revolves around a young widow and her struggle to hold onto her farm.
- GenresMystery
Nook
First published August 7, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 7, 2019
This one started a little slow at first for me but quickly had me hooked and reading as fast as I could to uncover who the killer was.
August 5, 2013
Good murder mystery that catches the pastoral feel of rural Iowa. Bill Beaman does for small town Iowa what Tony Hillerman does for the southwest
November 6, 2019

Cid Herman
This is a fantastic book. I loved it!
October 22, 2019
Verified Purchase
Format: Kindle Edition
THE IOWA FARMERS WIFE was such a good book. The plot was fantastic, the description of the Iowa scenery actually makes me want to check Iowa out... Maybe visit there one day.....Now that is a thought that I 'm sure I've never had before!! This author makes Iowa sound beautiful. His characters think it's beautiful and that fascinating group of individuals are so realistic..... they convinced me!
So... Great plot, incredible character development , extremely well written and deserves every one of the five stars I gave it. This is such a great story, that I hope you take the opportunity to read it.
A little bit about the story: Two city slicker Detectives with the Iowa State Department, get sent to assist a local sheriff solve a horrific murder in a rural area of the state. The detectives are long time partners,with an excellent conviction history. The older one is nearing retirement and loved by everybody, except his boss, who is looking for a reason to terminate him, without a pension. The young detective is only 37, recently divorced and suffering from major depression. He has insomnia, a severe drinking problem, is tormented night and day by a past case, where two children were murdered. He is also suicidal, rarely speaks at all, any more, and doesn't care about his job , or anything else.
The course of the investigation will change EVERYTHING for these two detectives. It will also claim a few victims. The one thing about the story that bothered me, is some of those victims are beloved pets. Anything with animals getting hurt always bothers me. Humans...not so much (at least in the fictional realm).
There are NO sex scenes in this one, and if there are swear words, i didn't notice. There is a few gruesome murders and some violent scenes. Mostly though, this is just a really special story, with characters you can't help caring about.
i just looked, and discovered there are two more books, making this a series. Some of the characters are the same but the cases are different. Bill Beamen's series doesn't yet have a lot of reveiws, but the ones he does have are overwhelmingly FIVE STAR REVEIWS for ALL THREE BOOKS in the series. That means those of us lucky enough to have discovered him, are almost unanimously impressed.
Give THE IOWA FARMERS WIFE a try. It is worth your time.
Next →
Cid Herman
This is a fantastic book. I loved it!
October 22, 2019
Verified Purchase
Format: Kindle Edition
THE IOWA FARMERS WIFE was such a good book. The plot was fantastic, the description of the Iowa scenery actually makes me want to check Iowa out... Maybe visit there one day.....Now that is a thought that I 'm sure I've never had before!! This author makes Iowa sound beautiful. His characters think it's beautiful and that fascinating group of individuals are so realistic..... they convinced me!
So... Great plot, incredible character development , extremely well written and deserves every one of the five stars I gave it. This is such a great story, that I hope you take the opportunity to read it.
A little bit about the story: Two city slicker Detectives with the Iowa State Department, get sent to assist a local sheriff solve a horrific murder in a rural area of the state. The detectives are long time partners,with an excellent conviction history. The older one is nearing retirement and loved by everybody, except his boss, who is looking for a reason to terminate him, without a pension. The young detective is only 37, recently divorced and suffering from major depression. He has insomnia, a severe drinking problem, is tormented night and day by a past case, where two children were murdered. He is also suicidal, rarely speaks at all, any more, and doesn't care about his job , or anything else.
The course of the investigation will change EVERYTHING for these two detectives. It will also claim a few victims. The one thing about the story that bothered me, is some of those victims are beloved pets. Anything with animals getting hurt always bothers me. Humans...not so much (at least in the fictional realm).
There are NO sex scenes in this one, and if there are swear words, i didn't notice. There is a few gruesome murders and some violent scenes. Mostly though, this is just a really special story, with characters you can't help caring about.
i just looked, and discovered there are two more books, making this a series. Some of the characters are the same but the cases are different. Bill Beamen's series doesn't yet have a lot of reveiws, but the ones he does have are overwhelmingly FIVE STAR REVEIWS for ALL THREE BOOKS in the series. That means those of us lucky enough to have discovered him, are almost unanimously impressed.
Give THE IOWA FARMERS WIFE a try. It is worth your time.
Next →
August 10, 2026
Plot
When a rural banker is brutally murdered, two DCI detectives travel to the scene of the crime to investigate. Little do these “city boys” know what their trip into the country will entail. The plot thickens as the investigation revolves around a young widow and her struggle to hold onto her farm.
My Analysis
I don’t mind a good story set in Iowa. A murder mystery set in southwest Iowa is pretty good. A burned out, alcoholic DCI agent; an overweight, close to retirement agent; a couple of elderly biddies; a dorky mailman; a thirties widow running her own farm; and a few other notable characters make a story pretty interesting.
One knew where this was headed from the time the DCI agents arrived on the scene and especially Jamie’s farm. One even might figure out who the killer is by the time the clues start to coalesce.
I enjoyed the scenery. The farm. The animals. The farming. The town. All of it presented as a traditional small town.
The plot was pretty good, and just when I thought they weren’t going to get back to the murder—messing around on the farm for a while—Benjamin kept his mind on business.
So, all well and good and a decent read.
However, I had a few issues.
The author decided on an omniscient point of view. While that can be done, it was a little disconcerting to jump from one head to the next even in the same paragraph and even one sentence. A few times, the POV was from some of the farm animals. While I could maybe see it work with the people, adding the animals’ POVs was a little much.
Some misspelled words. Tag lines that were not tag lines. Punctuation problems, mostly commas added where they didn’t belong. Some tighter writing was needed in places.
This is the first in a trilogy.
As I said, the plot and characters were fine. Editing and writing could have been stronger.
My rank:
Green Belt
When a rural banker is brutally murdered, two DCI detectives travel to the scene of the crime to investigate. Little do these “city boys” know what their trip into the country will entail. The plot thickens as the investigation revolves around a young widow and her struggle to hold onto her farm.
My Analysis
I don’t mind a good story set in Iowa. A murder mystery set in southwest Iowa is pretty good. A burned out, alcoholic DCI agent; an overweight, close to retirement agent; a couple of elderly biddies; a dorky mailman; a thirties widow running her own farm; and a few other notable characters make a story pretty interesting.
One knew where this was headed from the time the DCI agents arrived on the scene and especially Jamie’s farm. One even might figure out who the killer is by the time the clues start to coalesce.
I enjoyed the scenery. The farm. The animals. The farming. The town. All of it presented as a traditional small town.
The plot was pretty good, and just when I thought they weren’t going to get back to the murder—messing around on the farm for a while—Benjamin kept his mind on business.
So, all well and good and a decent read.
However, I had a few issues.
The author decided on an omniscient point of view. While that can be done, it was a little disconcerting to jump from one head to the next even in the same paragraph and even one sentence. A few times, the POV was from some of the farm animals. While I could maybe see it work with the people, adding the animals’ POVs was a little much.
Some misspelled words. Tag lines that were not tag lines. Punctuation problems, mostly commas added where they didn’t belong. Some tighter writing was needed in places.
This is the first in a trilogy.
As I said, the plot and characters were fine. Editing and writing could have been stronger.
My rank:
Green Belt
December 17, 2019
Thank you Mr beaman
What an intriguing and heart warning story. Mr barman has found away to write an enticing mystery with wonderful, interesting characters. I will be looking for more of his work.
What an intriguing and heart warning story. Mr barman has found away to write an enticing mystery with wonderful, interesting characters. I will be looking for more of his work.
October 30, 2021
A Book Set in A Countryside. A page turning mystery. Could not but the book down very captivating story. The setting for the story sounds wonderful.
Hard to believe this is author's first book. The characters in the story you can't help care about.
Hard to believe this is author's first book. The characters in the story you can't help care about.
June 7, 2024
The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
Really good storyline with interesting characters. From the start you will never guess the turn of events that happens till the end. It will definitely keep you guessing.
Really good storyline with interesting characters. From the start you will never guess the turn of events that happens till the end. It will definitely keep you guessing.
March 8, 2019
Loved it !!!
What a wonderful heartwarming mystery ! With characters you feel like you know . Bill Beaman you hit one right out of the park .
What a wonderful heartwarming mystery ! With characters you feel like you know . Bill Beaman you hit one right out of the park .
March 24, 2021
One top-shelf story! It has everything... I highly recommend this one by Bill Beaman. See my full review on Amazon. Keep smilin'...
September 16, 2022
Worth the time and full of funny moments
You will enjoy this book. The story is full of laughs and the characters are very enjoyable. Great small town !
You will enjoy this book. The story is full of laughs and the characters are very enjoyable. Great small town !
June 26, 2017
What fun! A murder mystery near the tongue-in-cheek town of Pygmy, Iowa, which a couple of lawmen from the DCI in Des Moines are to solve. The victim is a credit loan officer at the local bank, who had made some foreclosures. Death was by pitchfork. The possible suspects of the mayhem are the neighbors: two old women (one rough-talking and cantankerous), a young widow (whom they DCI guys help stack bales of hay one day), another neighbor angry about the auction of farming equipment forced by the loan officer, even the banker's mysterious son. All this is juxtaposed by the beauty of rural southwest Iowa, with interesting characters, and enough twists and turns to keep a non-mystery-reader.
November 20, 2011
I really enjoyed this book, the way it's told and characters and the setting. I downgraded the star setting because the identity of the killer was obvious to me early in the story. However, I did enjoy a peek into life on a rural farm, the redemption of Hawkwell, the budding romance with the farmer's wife, and the collection of interesting characters. I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series.
December 27, 2011
The author of this book is from my small Iowa hometown! It is set in rural Iowa, in a farming community. The town's banker was brutally murdered, and two detectives from the city are sent to investigate. Through twists and turns, you question who the killer really is! This is a very quick and good read!
September 29, 2015
A very nice read, held my interest and got me inside (a little bit) what it is like to be a farmer. After meeting the author I enjoyed the book even more, he and his family are delightful and I can't wait to read the next book
August 10, 2012
Love to read books set in Iowa. I particularly enjoyed this one although it's a little preachy about sustainable farming but otherwise a nice cozy mystery with local flavor.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews