Mulberry Mischief

Sharon Farrow

Aug 2019 · A Berry Basket Mystery Book 4 · Kensington Cozies

About this ebook

Autumn has arrived on the shores of Lake Michigan, but Marlee Jacob, proprietor of The Berry Basket, is feeling a chill for other reasons ...

With the Harvest Health Fair in full swing, Marlee makes sure to stock up on elderberry products for cold and flu season. But this year there's also a run on mulberry when an eccentric customer wants to use the dried berries to ward off evil forces. True, it's almost Halloween, but something else seems to be spooking Leticia the Lake Lady, Oriole Point's oddest resident. She believes someone plans to kill her—and the ghost. Only mulberries can protect them. Marlee doesn't take her fears seriously until a man named Felix Bonaventure arrives in the village, asking questions about a mysterious woman.

The next day, Marlee finds Bonaventure dead on Leticia's property—shot through the heart with an arrow made of mulberry wood. And Leticia has disappeared. Marlee soon learns the Lake Lady has a deadly past that is connected to the famous Sable family who are in town for the health fair. A bunch of clues start to come together—and figuring out what's going on puts Marlee in a real jam ...

Includes Berry Recipes!

Ratings and reviews

Mulberry Mischief by Sharon Farrow is the fourth novel in A Berry Basket Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone since Marlee’s background is provided along with references to the last three cases. Marlee Jacob delivers mulberries to the home of Leticia the Lake Lady and finds a man dead with a mulberry arrow through the heart. Leticia has disappeared and becomes the police’s prime suspect. Marlee knows that Leticia thought someone was out to harm her. She wants to make sure Leticia is safe plus find the killer. Mulberry Mischief has a delightful cast of characters from kindhearted Marlee to fashionista Andrew to Old Man Bowman who is fascinated with Big Foot. Leticia is an off-beat character with her unusual ideas and flaming orange hair. Oriole Point is having a Haunted Halloween Harvest Health Fair (try saying that three times fast). Piper Lyall-Pierce, the coordinator, wants to convince people to eat less candy after her husband ate a whole bag of Twizzlers last Halloween (I find licorice is like potato chips, you cannot eat just one plus they are fat free). I did find Mulberry Mischief to be a slow starter, but the pace soon picks up. The mystery was interesting with misdirection, multiple suspects and clever clues. I like that we get a complete wrap up at the end. You have to love a criminal who spills his guts. I was tickled by the names of Aunt Vicki’s Doberman Pinschers. They are Buffy, Willow and Xander. I think it is wonderful that she manages an animal rescue that captures feral cats and spays them. I liked the inclusion of mulberry folklore and the health benefits of mulberries. The ending was humorous. Mulberry Mischief is an upbeat cozy mystery with Halloween hijinks, a frisky feline, mulberry mania, a costumed killer, and a booming bell.

I really enjoyed this lively fourth in series and learned a bit about mulberries. This Halloween-themed story can be appreciated at any time of year. The tragic heroines we meet and the stunning conclusion are more haunting than the ghosts and goblins preparing for the parades. Characters are well-defined, the mystery is challenging, and the setting on beautiful Lake Michigan in Oriole Point is gorgeous. Marlee is owner of The Berry Basket, selling berries and berry-based products. The town is gearing up for the Haunted Halloween Harvest Health Fair. Before it begins, she is given a most unusual order. Leticia the Lake Lady and local eccentric wants Marlee to get her enough mulberries to cover her home to protect her from someone coming to kill her. It is well past mulberry season, and the best she can get would be dried mulberries. The quantity required to cover a home would be huge! Leticia will settle for enough to put around her doors and windows. Only Marlee can deliver them; nobody else can come. Leticia believes she and the “ghost” are in danger from the “shadow people” who want her to remain silent about dark deeds done in the past. So many people are in town for the health fair; are the shadow people among them? Leticia came to Oriole Point about four years ago. Very little about her is known. She rides a purple scooter, spends much time looking out at the lake, and lives in a cottage in the woods. She knows about mulberries, both health benefits and the folklore from various countries. One of Marlee’s employees discovers one of the Lake Lady’s secrets. Leticia, formerly known as Ellen Clark, had once been in prison for a murder occurring 28 years ago, and married her counselor from prison when she was released. When her husband passed, she moved to Oriole Point. A middle-aged man came into The Berry Basket, wanting to find Ellen Mulberry. He would only say that he has urgent business with her and she isn’t answering her phone. Felix Bonaventure left his card with Marlee in case she finds out who Ms. Mulberry is. She and her employees wonder – is it the Lake Lady? Marlee left the mulberries on Leticia’s covered porch when she didn’t answer her door. There are many, many cats and wild turkeys on the property. A couple cats come up to Marlee, acting as if they want to go inside. She opens the door, which isn’t locked, leaving Leticia’s overpayment inside. The cats knocked over a stack of papers with a cover sheet entitled “Mischief and Murder” by Ellen Mulberry. The next morning, she and boyfriend Kit, an investigator with the sheriff’s department, stop to make sure Leticia is okay. The door is locked, berries are still outside, and in the field, Felix Bonaventure lies dead with an arrow sticking out from his heart. And Leticia / Ellen has disappeared. This complex mystery is riveting; it was hard to put down! The plot is finely twisted at times, and ultimately finely executed. This is one Halloween Marlee, her friends, and Oriole Point won’t forget! The resolution is stunning! While I had the suspects narrowed down as much as Marlee and Kit did, I couldn’t figure out whodunit. The ending is overall satisfying despite one sad event, and the comic relief was welcome. I highly recommend this to fans of well-written cozy mysteries, Halloween, berries, and western Michigan. From a thankful heart: I won a copy of this novel; a review was not required.

About the author

Sharon Farrow is also the co-author of the Agatha nominated Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mysteries written under the joint pseudonym D.E. Ireland. A freelance writer since her twenties, she has been published in mystery, fantasy, and romance; one of her short stories has been optioned for film. Sharon currently lives along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline where the Berry Basket series is set. Visit her online at sharonfarrowauthor.com, on Facebook @SharonFarrowAuthor, or Twitter @SharonFarrowBB.