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Dewberry Farm #7

Sweet Revenge

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Fall into another sweet Dewberry Farm adventure! When Priscilla Jordan, a wealthy descendant of Buttercup's new living history museum's historic owner, turns up dead in one of the museum's cabins, the police finger local meadery owner Serafine Alexandre as the killer. There's bad blood in Priscilla's family--a disgruntled husband, a disinherited cousin, and a ne'er-do-well son--but the local police don't seem to care. Dewberry Farm homesteader Lucy Resnick's desperate to help her friend... but someone's warning her off the case.

When an intruder pins a threatening note to the farm's back door with a knife, Lucy knows she's getting close to the the truth... and if she doesn't figure it out fast, she may be next on the chopping block. With a twisty historical mystery, easy, delicious honey-themed recipes and beeswax projects you can make at home, and a cast of fun characters--both animal and human--you'll love this new visit to Buttercup!

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2020

491 people are currently reading
307 people want to read

About the author

Karen MacInerney

52 books1,142 followers
I'm the author of the Agatha-nominated Gray Whale Inn mystery series, Tales of an Urban Werewolf. the Margie Peterson mysteries and the Dewberry Farm mysteries (plus a new fantasy in the works). My reading is like my writing: eclectic!

I grew up in the Northeast, but I currently live in Austin with my husband, two kids, and a houserabbit named Bunny. Feel free to visit me online at www.karenmacinerney.com; I love connecting with readers.

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5 stars
338 (45%)
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285 (38%)
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107 (14%)
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18 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
Profile Image for Shawna Shaheen.
332 reviews23 followers
September 25, 2022
book 7. These are interesting stories in these series. Mostly there sometime about old history. Lucy is a farm woman after leaving her Old job. She decided to become a farmer. Well in this book Alicia ( the historian ) and Priscilla the billionaire( Chairwoman) that has scopes of money all over the place was giving a tour like of an old plantation Warren House. But she was crossing bad vibes to Alexa and Sefrina ( one of the sisters to Amiee that owned a meadery and had priestess upbringing) because of their history about slavery and what was going on back then. But Priscilla was not having it. She put her foot Down ( to make the old years more happy and the rich more human than anyone had known but the truth was where Sefrina and Alicia wanted to start!) And then a her so called husband Nigel was mad at her and told her that he is getting a divorce. She even told him she would ruin him. ( Nigel had a thing for Sefrina) Safrina's worker at brewery ( Chole was like 18) had a thing for Nigel he was old enough to be her dad. An Priscilla bro ( well half bro Arthur which was Pris. Cousin that got adopted by Priscilla parents cause his parents had died) Arhur was very jealous of her. She had the strings in the family so to speak. So Arthur had been duped for that. They made him like a stranger to them ( even though he lived in a cottage that Priscilla had built right on their property) and then there was the son Damien and his girlfriend that seemed like they did not give an iota would happened ( Damien girl sure would love to get her hands on that monney) well as you all know what's next. Yes Priscilla gets killed. Right on the property in some cabins. Oh who do you think did it? There are a lot of suspets. Watch Out.
Profile Image for Nola Arganbright.
1,592 reviews32 followers
February 28, 2021
Honey and herbs

I have loved this series. The characters are fun including those with four legs. I love the cow and goats and their names.
Lucy and her friend Quinn can't let unsolved murders go without doing their own investigation. Lucy has decided to add honey products to her farm industry. When the wealthy benefactor threatens to close down a historical exhibit and is later found dead in the exhibit their are numerous people who can be considered as suspects.
One of Lucy's friends is quickly arrested due to her knowledge of herbs and Lucy and Quinn go to work to find the real killer.
There are plenty of false leads and a strong finish.There are also great recipes included.
Profile Image for Kim.
1,162 reviews16 followers
November 11, 2020
This was an entertaining read. This is my second book to read in this series, even though it is the seventh book in the series. The story pulled me in from page one, and I really enjoyed the characters, both human and fur. The mystery is full of twists and turns, which kept me guessing whodunit. The secondary story was just as engaging as the murder mystery. I really enjoyed the bits of history scattered throughout the storyline. I am looking forward to reading more of this series and recommend this book to other cozy mystery fans.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.
Profile Image for Anastasia.
2,258 reviews102 followers
September 15, 2023
Sweet Revenge by Karen MacInerney is the 7th book in the Dewberry Farm mystery series. Priscilla Jordan, a wealthy benefactor to the museum, is killed in a museum cabin after threatening to close the exhibit and local meadery owner Serafine is arrested, leaving Dewberry Farm owner, Lucy Resnick, to find the killer. An enjoyable mystery where we learn a little about the history of the area as well as bee keeping and natural remedies. I like that we didn't see much of Rooster in this book and hopefully he will move away. I like that recipes are included. An enjoyable and engaging cozy mystery.
Profile Image for Deborah Almada.
1,245 reviews39 followers
November 4, 2020
I really love this series, while I enjoyed this story I felt it was a little rushed, missing some of the details and characters I have come to know and love in this series. The mystery was interesting, as was the backdrop but again I wish there had been a light more of it. Lucy is such a great character I truly wish we could have spent more time with her!
Profile Image for Teri.
763 reviews95 followers
December 24, 2020
Springtime in the little town of Buttercup, Texas, and once again a killer is loose. Buttercup is the home of novice farm girl Lucy Resnick who is struggling to maintain her grandmother's farm. Lucy has recently taken up the hobby of Beekeeping in the hopes of having her own honey for future products to sell. Her friend and master beekeeper Sarafine is helping her establish new hives. Sarafine is also teaching classes at a local museum where Nigel, a man she is a little smitten with, is attending her class. Problem is, Nigel is a little bit married, but planning to divorce his pretentious wife Priscella who is the Board Chair of the museum's non-profit. Priscella seems to be having issues with several people, including Serafine, her husband, her "brother", and the museum's director.

Well, someone turns up dead. This is a murder mystery, after all, so I shall not spoil it from here. But the wrong person is arrested. Lucy, who is a former investigative reporter, goes in search of the killer and motive behind the murder while also handling her own mystery back on her farm. Can Lucy put the pieces of the puzzle together before another Buttercupian meets their demise?

I thoroughly enjoy all of Karen MacInerney's cozy mystery series. I especially enjoy her Dewberry Farm Mysteries for the Texas references and setting. I am looking forward to the further adventures of Lucy in Buttercup, Texas.
Profile Image for Heidi Prockish.
473 reviews17 followers
November 20, 2020
This series just gets better and better!! I was so happy to see that Jelly Bean made it into the book. I may have cried a little. The mystery and the story were great, I did not guess the killer which is always fun. The only thing I don't like about this series is that I read them too fast, but they are so good I cannot put them down. I hope in the next book we will get to learn more about the bee hives and honey.
Profile Image for Moondance.
1,188 reviews62 followers
July 4, 2021
I don't know why nobody's done a horror film called "The Beekeeper" yet, but as I looked at myself reflected in the back window of my little yellow farmhouse, swathed in a beekeeper's hazmat suit with a smoking metal tin in my right hand, I reflected that I's be a good candidate for the starring role.

Lucy has added bee hives to Dewberry Farm and Serafine is assisting her with learning about the upkeep of the bees. Serafine is also involved in teaching workshops at the new Buttercup's Heritage Farm Living history museum. Lucy needs to clear Serafine's name when she is accused of killing the museum's benefactor with poisoned tea.

This series gets better with every book. This one was particularly poignant because Karen included sweet Jelly Bean in the story. Jelly Bean's backstory was just as it happened in real life and brought a tear to my eye.

I always learn something new when I read these books. Perhaps my hankering to have my own small farm makes me pay special attention to the details. I love the recipes and info shared about the animals.

Lucy and Tobias have settled into a nice mature relationship that is a joy to watch. I really like that there is not strife in that part of Lucy's life.

The mystery is very well done. I felt that I knew all along who the culprit was and I'm sure we all knew why as well. It was still good to follow the clues and discover how it all played out.

I generally try at least one of the recipes from this series. This time I have several natural remedies to play with as well.

I enjoy my visits to Buttercup, Texas and look forward to returning soon.
Profile Image for Tarri.
627 reviews6 followers
November 1, 2020
In the small rural community of Buttercup, Texas, everything is not going well. First two of Lucy's queen bees have died, then she finds a doll baby (spell doll) stuck through a post on her fence, and third her cow and goats have escaped the pasture and are eating from her garden and pulling branches off her peach tree.

Serafine, her friend, neighbor, and all around helper with all things crafty (including bees), is arrested when a dead body is found after a teaching seminar she gives on healing potions and creams at the new museum of old homes. As usual Lucy steps up to help when the inept sheriff closes the case without investigating.

The book is written by one of my favorite cozy mystery authors. She keeps the reader interested from the first page to the last and her characters people you would meet in any farming community. In each book relationships grow, but each book is definitely able to stand-alone. Sweet Revenge had some very interesting historical information thrown in that makes me want to find out more about the houses of earlier time periods and how they're changed.

Sweet Revenge is great
Profile Image for Kelly.
5,667 reviews227 followers
January 5, 2023
We're back in Buttercup and Lucy is stepping in to do her thing. Which means, of course, there's a dead body. Because no trip to Buttercup would be complete without at least one person ending up dead. (That sounds sort of sarcastic when I read it to myself, but I'm serious. I mean, I read these books for Lucy's perseverance in finding out who did the crime. If there wasn't a crime, things would be a little boring, right?)

Anywho. A wealthy woman with more than a few enemies ends up in a bad way. Or, if not enemies, at least people who had reason to not be sad she was dead. Which makes things a little sticky for Lucy since it leaves a wide list of suspects to sort through.

But Lucy is dogged and she follows the clues until she figures out who did the deed. She also puts herself in a pretty dangerous situation to figure said things out. Something which doesn't thrill Tobias, I'm sure.

A little danger, an entitled woman, a slew of suspects, and some interesting discoveries. *thumbs up*

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Profile Image for Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review).
882 reviews
March 1, 2021
Phew Karen MacInerney has done it again! Things seem to have settled down in Buttercup, the only problem Lucy has is a couple of her new hives don't seem to be thriving. One of the local meadery owners has come (along with the Meadery's intern) to see if she can solve the problem, the diagnosis is good (a couple of new Queen Bees are needed) but after Serafine and Chloe have left Lucy discovers a Voodoo doll, made out of beeswax, nailed to a fence post and her cows and goats let loose and in her crops and orchard! Lucy cannot believe that Serafine would do either deed, but she and her sister Aimee are the only followers of Voodoo in the area. As if that isn't bad enough the next day/evening Lucy overhears a couple of arguments, both involving one person (Priscilla Jordan), and then Lucy and her friend Quinn find Priscilla dead in a new addition to the living history museum.  When the somewhat inept police chief arrests Serafine for the murder Lucy needs to step up and find out the truth - after all there are plenty of other suspects that the police aren't even looking at!
Profile Image for William.
Author 7 books5 followers
November 4, 2020
Lucy Resnick is surely closing in on her personal good life. She has her nice little farm in a nice little town in picturesque Central Texas. She loves to cook and has good friends, cute animals, and a handsome man in her life. What more could she ask?
Well, of course there are chores to be done, but they're mostly doable. And new beehives to deal with. And escape artist livestock that love the garden and peach trees. But, you know, challenges are there for a reason.
But what of the scary, unsettling things that darken the edges of Lucy's day.
What of the mounting evidence that shows someone does not wish her well?
And, especially, what of the local, rich, beautiful but very dead socialite whose body Lucy discovers at the nearby Heritage Farm?
Can Lucy prove that her friend the deputies arrest is not the killer? Can she do it before someone else is murdered? Possibly Lucy?

It's a fun ride. Karen MacInerny's books always are. Check out all of her series.
Profile Image for Melinda.
415 reviews133 followers
January 9, 2023
CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
✅ well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional

PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
✅ gripping
🔲 exceptional
🔲 mind=blown

WORLDBUILDING
✅ takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
🔲 nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own story

ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
✅ immersive
🔲 you forget you are reading a book

PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
🔲 picks up with time
✅ page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down
284 reviews2 followers
November 22, 2020
This series is always a good mystery while often being educational as well. Lucy is once again ready to step in to find a killer when her friend is arrested for the crime. Lucy knows she has to find the truth because she can't trust the instincts of the local sheriff, who is willing to take the easiest route to close a case.
I found this story to be well paced. I was excited when the killer was revealed because I was actually surprised, I was expecting it to be someone else. I love when that happens! Looking forward to the next book in this great series.
227 reviews1 follower
November 11, 2020
I love going back to visit Dewberry Farm! It’s like visiting family and old friends! Lucy is such a great character. She has bought a farm and is always learning something new. Beekeeping and making salves and creams from beeswax are her new projects. I was trying to solve the mystery until the very end. The recipes included sound delicious and I can’t wait to try them! Looking forward to the next book!
Profile Image for Krista.
1,160 reviews4 followers
November 7, 2020
Another fabulous book in the Dewberry Farm mystery series! This book left me hungry after all of the delicious food that was cooked/baked and eaten! The book kept me guessing until the very end. I loved how Jelly Bean made an appearance in the novel. Looking forward to Lucy’s next adventure! Maybe there will be a wedding in her future?
Profile Image for Federica De dominicis.
362 reviews6 followers
November 9, 2020
A great story, with a good approach to some very difficult truths. I love the characters and the writing of Karen MacInerney and I'm always very keen on picking up one of her books, looking forward to the humour and the warmth of her worlds. This time there was and added layer to that that has made me love the book above all the others. No spoilers, but I highly recommend to read it.
Profile Image for Stephanie Hobrock.
111 reviews3 followers
November 12, 2020
Good Read

I love it when the protagonist’s significant other supports her desire to solve crimes instead of letting it cause issues between them.
This is a great addition to the series, and flowed smoothly to the end. There are some neat inclusions if you follow the author on Facebook that will also make you smile.
Profile Image for Kevin.
802 reviews20 followers
December 5, 2020
There's always a mystery to be solved at Dewberry Farm

Lucy Resnick is back with a new mystery to solve when her friend Seraphine is accused of murder. I have to admit that I thought the killer was someone other than who was revealed, but I had also considered that person as well as I read. Looking forward to Lucy's next adventure.
1 review
January 20, 2021
Great stories continue, but needs better proof reading

I love these books from Dewberry Farm, but as the series is going on I have noticed the punctuation and quotations missing in spots. However this is the first book where the wrong name was used for the killer. Made it very confusing.
Profile Image for Pat Plummer.
133 reviews
October 31, 2020
Marvelous! First one read in the series for me and I have downloaded 4 more! Great herbal recipes accompany this intricately plotted stories. Loved the “shout out” to H-E-B.
Keep up the great work. Pat from NC
Profile Image for Kathleen Esche.
135 reviews2 followers
March 20, 2021
I want to live in Buttercup!

These are great mysteries that take place in a wonderful small town called Buttercup. Many of the characters have their own businesses but they help each other out. A great hammock read. Loved the special references to Jelly Bean.🥲
877 reviews25 followers
June 29, 2022
Sweet Revenge

What an amazing story! I absolutely loved reading this book. I lived living on a farm growing up and can relate to quite a lot of things that occur when it comes to having animals! Being a farm girl also lets me have wonderful memories of my life. Thanks for writing such great books!
Profile Image for Larry.
3,038 reviews17 followers
January 11, 2023
Another great story.

I enjoyed this book as I have all the books in this series. The plot is easily followed, the characters, both main and supporting are interesting, and the end, though not surprising, ended well. I do recommend this book.
Profile Image for Rebecca (booksandbreggs).
939 reviews38 followers
November 6, 2020
Another good cozy. The same teen-obsessed-with-someone trope for the second book in a row is a bit silly...3/5 stars.
Profile Image for Tina.
1,032 reviews17 followers
November 12, 2020
Cozy mystery with great recipes

Lots of action in a tiny town. Small town America. Great recipes especially salve and foot balm. Can’t go wrong here.
Profile Image for Lady Galaxy.
877 reviews
November 13, 2020
I liked the mystery, but this book is in drastic need of proofreading. Whoever was supposed to prepare the Kindle edition of this book for publication failed miserably.
251 reviews
December 3, 2020
Sweet revenge

A great story with very interesting characters. I really enjoyed this book and will read more from this author I’m going to enjoy this author
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews

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