Murder by Vegetable

September 15, 2012
A small-town Tennessee sheriff has his hands full with murder, arson and his mother's ramp festival. Park County sheriff Tony Abernathy and his wife, Theo, are coping with newborn twin daughters, Theo's quilt store and now the Ramp Festival, which will attract a large crowd, including all the local troublemakers. Despite the overwhelming smell of ramps, the festival seems to be a huge success. The participants are enjoying watching working recreations of ancient weapons like the trebuchet, until a potato hits and apparently kills much-hated local game warden Harrison Ragsdale. A quick look from a doctor, however, establishes that the cause of death is not the potato. Ragsdale had a wooden stake in his neck and evidence of a severe allergic reaction. Because Ragsdale was widely considered guilty of killing several people's pets, there is a plethora of suspects. In addition, an arsonist has burned down the home of a local couple, and a body found in the garage turns out to be that of one of the Farquhar brothers, who are responsible for much of the area's criminal activity. Theo, who picks up loads of gossip at her store, is always eager to help Tony solve his cases. This one promises to be more difficult than most. Like Tony's earlier cases (Murder By Music, 2011, etc.), this one is more interesting for its eclectic characters than its meandering plot. Quilt fans will welcome the included pattern for a mystery quilt.

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September 1, 2012

Sheriff Tony Abernathy and his wife, quilt shop owner Theo, are thrilled when their infant twins finally sleep through the night, but spring fever hits their rural Tennessee hamlet and ends their tranquility. The annual Ramp Festival, which celebrates the first wild onions of the spring, promises to be a fun-filled event with old-fashioned entertainment like vegetable-lobbing contests. However, when much-reviled Harrison Ragsdale is fatally hit by a potato, questions surface. Maybe the tuber didn't kill him, but his death is definitely a homicide. Tony and his team investigate. VERDICT Graham's fourth series cozy (after Murder by Music) is leisurely paced with a compassionate tone, mild humor, and a delightful husband-and-wife team. Quilters will love the mystery quilt pattern directions included with the book. Beyond the obvious tie-in with quilting mystery titles, Bill Crider readers might also enjoy, for the humor and rural police work.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2012
No one in tiny Park County, Tennessee, likes Harrison Ragsdale, also known as Hairy Rags, the game warden. Far from being a lover of animals, he seems to be connected to too many missing cats, poodles, and pet bears. During the Ramp Festival, he wanders into a field where hobbyists were firing vegetables with homemade weapon-launchers and promptly collapses, dead. Sheriff Tony Abernathy, aided by his wife, Theo, must sift through the abundance of likely suspects, as nearly everyone has a reason to be glad Rags is gone. Tony follows the trail around the county, using clues from the beer-fueled bragging at the local seedy bar and the coffee-driven gossip at Theo's quilt shop. In this latest in Graham's quilting series (Murder by Music: The Wedding Quilt, 2011), Tony carries the story, as Theo manages the couple's twins. The supporting cast includes realistically quirky small-town characters, some recurring. As always, there is a mystery quiltthis time a baby quiltand quilting instructions, along with clues, are scattered throughout the book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)