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Moo River : A Buttermilk Creek Mystery Novella
Fall is always busy in the village of Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, and this year is no exception. Brynn McAlister is juggling the grand opening of a new local business and preparations for the big Harvest Festival.
But when expensive koi fish vanish from Sally’s Pond Plants & Supplies, and Brynn’s mischievous bull calf, along with a close friend, are accused of the crime, she vows to find the real thief—no matter what the local police say. And if that one officer happens to have just asked her to the police ball? Well, that only complicates things.
In a village where gossip travels fast and everyone has a theory, Brynn will need all her wits—and maybe a bit of luck—to solve the case before the festival starts.
But when expensive koi fish vanish from Sally’s Pond Plants & Supplies, and Brynn’s mischievous bull calf, along with a close friend, are accused of the crime, she vows to find the real thief—no matter what the local police say. And if that one officer happens to have just asked her to the police ball? Well, that only complicates things.
In a village where gossip travels fast and everyone has a theory, Brynn will need all her wits—and maybe a bit of luck—to solve the case before the festival starts.
115 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 8, 2024
"Moo River" is book #2.5 (a novella) in "A Buttermilk Creek Mystery" series by Mollie Cox Bryan.
My thoughts:
I'd been looking forward to another book in this delightful series. The story - though short - was good but there seemed to be a lot of loose threads tossed in that were never really followed up on. Granted, it's hard to do that with a novella but maybe a few less scattering of ideas could have made it feel a bit more cohesive.
What really got to me though, was finding more than twenty typos, punctuation or grammar errors. A few places had the wrong word used in a sentence. Several places had awkward or very repetitive phrasing - sometimes in the same paragraph. At least a couple of places had the quotation marks in the wrong places. The owner of the B&B was apparently named Mary but was first referred to as Lottie and later as Jill. Whoever is doing the proofreading here really wasn't paying attention as they read.
Storywise, I'd give this a 3 1/2 of 5 stars.
Proofreading, I'd give this a 2 1/2 of 5 stars.
"Fall is always busy in the village of Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, and this year is no exception. Brynn McAlister is juggling the grand opening of a new local business and preparations for the big Harvest Festival.
But when expensive koi fish vanish from Sally’s Pond Plants & Supplies, and Brynn’s mischievous bull calf, along with a close friend, are accused of the crime, she vows to find the real thief—no matter what the local police say. And if that one officer happens to have just asked her to the police ball? Well, that only complicates things.
In a village where gossip travels fast and everyone has a theory, Brynn will need all her wits—and maybe a bit of luck—to solve the case before the festival starts."
My thoughts:
I'd been looking forward to another book in this delightful series. The story - though short - was good but there seemed to be a lot of loose threads tossed in that were never really followed up on. Granted, it's hard to do that with a novella but maybe a few less scattering of ideas could have made it feel a bit more cohesive.
What really got to me though, was finding more than twenty typos, punctuation or grammar errors. A few places had the wrong word used in a sentence. Several places had awkward or very repetitive phrasing - sometimes in the same paragraph. At least a couple of places had the quotation marks in the wrong places. The owner of the B&B was apparently named Mary but was first referred to as Lottie and later as Jill. Whoever is doing the proofreading here really wasn't paying attention as they read.
Storywise, I'd give this a 3 1/2 of 5 stars.
Proofreading, I'd give this a 2 1/2 of 5 stars.
"Fall is always busy in the village of Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, and this year is no exception. Brynn McAlister is juggling the grand opening of a new local business and preparations for the big Harvest Festival.
But when expensive koi fish vanish from Sally’s Pond Plants & Supplies, and Brynn’s mischievous bull calf, along with a close friend, are accused of the crime, she vows to find the real thief—no matter what the local police say. And if that one officer happens to have just asked her to the police ball? Well, that only complicates things.
In a village where gossip travels fast and everyone has a theory, Brynn will need all her wits—and maybe a bit of luck—to solve the case before the festival starts."
October 7, 2024
I was so excited to see that there was a new novella in the Buttermilk Creek series! I loved Christmas Cow Bells and Goodnight Moo and this series was a favorite. I was so sad when it looked like the series was over in 2020 and I wouldn't get to see how things went for Brynn and Wes and Schuler and all the residents of Shenandoah Springs and we wouldn't get to meet Marigold's calf. This novella picks right up and we do get to meet Ferdinand (even if he is a bit scampy, I still love that bull). This is a quick novella that deals with stolen koi fish and sinister notes left for residents of the town. I enjoyed it, but I mostly liked getting back to the characters and I wasn't super invested in the mysterious aspects of this one. The mystery was fine, and I did not see the resolution coming for who was stealing the fish! But, I did think it was pretty obvious who the note writer was. I also liked seeing the relationship between Brynn and Mike pick up. I really hope we get another full-length book in this series so we can watch these two evolve. The writing in this one was a little clunky, almost like it was a first draft submitted without any editing. That did not stop me at all from enjoying it though. Can we please get another novel in this series, please!? 4/5 stars!
November 2, 2024
It's time for the Harvest Festival in Shenandoah Springs, Virginia. Brynn McAlister, a local cheese maker, is busy working with local businesses to help make the Festival a success. However, there's a new business, Sally's Pond Plants and Supplies, that causing tension in the area. They're new and not everyone is thrilled that they bought the property. Brynn tries to make the new owners feel welcome.
Unfortunately, her frisky bull calf gets into the center one night and destroys a gate. All the expensive Koi fish are also gone. Did the bull eat the fish? Do bulls even eat fish? Luckily insurance pays for the replacement, but when the fish disappear again, everyone knows that something is amiss. Brynn starts receiving threats because of her investigation. Who's responsible for the Big Fish Theft and the threats? The results will surprise you.
I have to say I wasn't thrilled with Mike the Sheriff in this one. He's pretty bossy and controlling of Brynn once he finds out she's trying to find the culprit.
However, I do love Brynn's relationship with her cows and other animals as well as with her partner in the cheese business, Wes.
Unfortunately, her frisky bull calf gets into the center one night and destroys a gate. All the expensive Koi fish are also gone. Did the bull eat the fish? Do bulls even eat fish? Luckily insurance pays for the replacement, but when the fish disappear again, everyone knows that something is amiss. Brynn starts receiving threats because of her investigation. Who's responsible for the Big Fish Theft and the threats? The results will surprise you.
I have to say I wasn't thrilled with Mike the Sheriff in this one. He's pretty bossy and controlling of Brynn once he finds out she's trying to find the culprit.
However, I do love Brynn's relationship with her cows and other animals as well as with her partner in the cheese business, Wes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2025
Short and sweet! It takes a lot of skill to pack a big mystery in a small package, and Ms. Bryan has done just that! What caused expensive koi fish to disappear from a new store? Could it have been Brynn’s mischievous young bull? Brynn doesn’t think so and sets out to find the real culprit. Believable characters, fun plot & great writing. Recommended! I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.
September 16, 2024
I was given an advance copy of Moo River to review and this is my opinion of the book.
I thought Moo River was a great mystery and I enjoyed it! I'm going to go back and read books 1 & 2 in the series. I did think it was funny that koi fish were the target of a land fight but it was not the culprit that I thought it was, in the end, stealing the fish! I found it fascinating to consider the idea of micro-farming and having a cheese-making business. Moo River is a book you'll want to read!
I thought Moo River was a great mystery and I enjoyed it! I'm going to go back and read books 1 & 2 in the series. I did think it was funny that koi fish were the target of a land fight but it was not the culprit that I thought it was, in the end, stealing the fish! I found it fascinating to consider the idea of micro-farming and having a cheese-making business. Moo River is a book you'll want to read!
September 24, 2024
What an interesting thief we have in this story. Thank goodness for cameras! Every time I read a book with Brynn and Wes, I need to go eat some cheese. Go figure. So many yummy cheese dishes in these books. Shenandoah Springs certainly has some talented folks in it. I would love to attend their harvest festival. This is a great story with wonderful characters. I received an ARC of this book, but my opinion is my own.
September 27, 2024
‘Fish? All this fuss over fish?’
In this long awaited return to Shenandoah Springs cheesemaker Brynn McAlister finds herself at a crossroads when her ex shows up unexpectedly. Thrown for a loop even though Dan is quickly chased out of town, Brynn has to decide if she’s ready to risk her heart on local officer Mike while wrestling with the decision on what to do with Ferdinand. Of course she can’t help but poke around in the case of the missing koi...Absolutely enjoyable!
In this long awaited return to Shenandoah Springs cheesemaker Brynn McAlister finds herself at a crossroads when her ex shows up unexpectedly. Thrown for a loop even though Dan is quickly chased out of town, Brynn has to decide if she’s ready to risk her heart on local officer Mike while wrestling with the decision on what to do with Ferdinand. Of course she can’t help but poke around in the case of the missing koi...Absolutely enjoyable!
October 20, 2024
Fun Story
Another Buttermilk Creek story. Brynn and her family of Wes, the cows, dog and cat work to solve a mystery in town. Good story and interesting characters. I thought some pieces of the story were left unsolved…Dan, Tillie, etc but I hope they get addressed in future books.
Another Buttermilk Creek story. Brynn and her family of Wes, the cows, dog and cat work to solve a mystery in town. Good story and interesting characters. I thought some pieces of the story were left unsolved…Dan, Tillie, etc but I hope they get addressed in future books.
December 24, 2024
When Brynn's bull, Ferdinand, is accused of stealing Koi from a new pond supply business , she can't help but get involved in the mystery. Then threatening notes start to appear. Are the two connected?
It's an interesting story with likable characters.
It's an interesting story with likable characters.
September 18, 2024
This was a quick enjoyable mystery. Start with the previous books since this is a mid-series novella and there isn’t a lot of background or character building.
October 6, 2024
What a sweet book! The characters are good, the storyline was good and I liked the sweet romance that happened in it as well. It’s an easy, quick read but very good! Recommend it to everyone.
December 14, 2024
Moo River
Great trip to the farm. I loved the fish thief! And the ending was great! The cows always b make me smile.
Great trip to the farm. I loved the fish thief! And the ending was great! The cows always b make me smile.
April 1, 2025
Moo River
Good story but had an awfully large number of errors. Funny solution to one part of the mystery as well.
Good story but had an awfully large number of errors. Funny solution to one part of the mystery as well.
October 5, 2024
Fall is in the air, harvest festival and a new business is opening in Shenandoah Springs. A village where you can find gossip as everyone has something to say.
Koi fish have been disappearing. Who is stealing the fish and why?
A fun read with yummy sounding cheese dishes and a bull calf that loves to get into mischief.
Entertaining and likable characters.
I received an ARC prior to publication and decided to voluntarily review.
Koi fish have been disappearing. Who is stealing the fish and why?
A fun read with yummy sounding cheese dishes and a bull calf that loves to get into mischief.
Entertaining and likable characters.
I received an ARC prior to publication and decided to voluntarily review.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews