Town in a Strawberry Swirl

February 15, 2014
Candy Holliday, co-manager of Blueberry Acres in Cape Willington, Maine, is trying to keep everyone happy as interim editor of the local paper in this fifth adventure in the ongoing series. Candy has hired blogger Wanda Boyle to bring needed interest to the failing paper. Meanwhile a group of vocal women dedicated to preserving small-town life is planning an upcoming strawberry festival, and Candy is busy trying to keep them happy as rumors of real-estate developments grow. Then Candy's father finds the man behind the rumors, a neighboring berry farmer, dead in his hoop house. As Candy and her father try to uncover clues, they unearth local lore concerning buried treasure. This clever story continues an arc regarding Cape Willington's founding families and a plot to take over the town. Readers new to the series will have no trouble enjoying this layered puzzle in what continues to be a strong series that makes the most of appealing characters, facets of farm life, and a few recipes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)