Give ‘Em Pumpkin To Talk About
By Joyce and Jim Lavene
These skilled writers have done it again. They’ve penned a book that had me completely transfixed. Their style of writing feels as though it was so effortless to them. (I bet they would say different). It just flows across the pages.
~Lisa K’s Book Reviews
Well-tuned, with plenty of romance, mystery, suspense, history, legend–and some just plain ornery people. The book became a really fast read, because I couldn’t bear to stop before finishing!
~Mallory Heart Reviews
This is a great read, with wonderful characters and a great plot. You’ll want to read it all in one sitting. If you are looking for a great new mystery series then I highly recommend this one. I’m really looking forward to book two.
~Booklady’s Booknotes
With a romantic interest, a murder, lost gold and missing grandparents, not to mention a hard to deal with mother, this cozy mystery has all of my ingredients for a great read!
~Book Splurge
It is Amazing!…Each character brings something unique and has a charm about them that really bring this story to life.
~Shelley’s Book Case
Give ‘Em Pumpkin is a superb beginning to a new series. It’s cozy mystery; and it’s written by the Lavenes. What else could it be but great?
~Back Porchervations
This is a good cozy with a couple of mysteries. Lots of drama, treasure hunters, murders and talk about ghosts and Aliens.
~readalot
Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About
(Pumpkin Patch Mysteries Book 1)
Cozy Mystery
Print Length: 199 pages
Publisher: J. Lavene (August 4, 2015)
ASIN: B00Z7LUVZQ
My Review
I was so excited to read this book. I’ve read many books by these authors and have always started each series somewhere besides the beginning. This is the first time I’ve started one at the beginning! Now I don’t have to go backwards to go forward.
I’m beginning to suspect Joyce and Jim Lavene have special powers. How else can they write so many books so fast and make me fall in love with their characters so easily?
I loved Sarah Tucker. She’s a successful lawyer working for a senator. Rising up the ladder quickly. When her mother decides it’s time to sell her grandparents abandoned farm, Sarah takes time off to seal the deal.
Off she goes to Misty River, Virginia, and right into her childhood memories. Sarah loved her grandparents and cherished every minute she spent on their farm. From swimming naked in the river, to watching the pumpkins grow huge, she knew every inch of those acres.
Her analytical mind says seal the deal when a buyer offers a huge amount of money for the farm. Her whimsical mind says don’t do it. You love this place. It could be brought back to it’s former glory.
And what about her grandparents. They vanished without a trace many years ago, food still on the table, no signs of violence. If she sells the farm, she might never know what happened to them.
And where will Jack go. Her former childhood playmate, the boy who gave her her first kiss, lives on the farm. He’s been there for years, a squatter you could say, protecting the place and keeping it from falling to ruin.
Digging into the old investigation stirs up a hornets nest. Sarah and Jack arrange a meeting with a man who says he has a lead on her grandparents. Once they reach the farm, bullets fly and they find the man dead.
Sarah, along with Jack and many of the town folk, better dig faster for clues if they don’t want more bodies piling up.
Speaking of digging. There’s also the mystery of the buried Confederate gold somewhere on the farm. The plot thickens.
This is the type of writing that keeps me reading for hours, reading from beginning to end. Pausing to laugh. Diving back in. Wanting to know what happens. Not wanting it to end.
The romance is sweet and funny. Sarah is attracted to Jack in spite of herself. He loves to keep her off balance. These two are made for each and I crossed my fingers for a happy ever after.
The mystery is a good one. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it totally caught me by surprise.
The characters were wonderful. So many of them, yet it was easy to remember who was who.
The community is close. Everybody pitches in to help each other. And a bear can’t poop in the woods without someone knowing about it. You know those kind of towns.
The writing. How to describe it. These two authors have a way of keeping me engrossed even when they’re writing about something as mundane as walking from the farmhouse to the barn. No wasted word, just the right ones to show you the scene.
I loved every word. Can’t wait for more. And knowing how fast these two write, it probably won’t be a long wait.
5 Stars
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Synopsis:
Richmond attorney Sarah Tucker returns to sell her family’s abandoned farm in Misty River, Virginia despite unanswered questions about her grandparents’ disappearance sixteen years earlier. Sarah was only twelve when she went to visit and found her grandparents had vanished. No amount of searching has brought answers.
Now Sarah is faced with other issues when a man is killed who claimed to have information about what happened to her grandparents. She learns of a Confederate chest of gold that is said to be buried on the property, and treasure hunters who are willing to do anything to get their hands on it.
Were her grandparents murdered for the gold? Sarah can’t sell the land and go back to her life until she has answers. But the cost of the answers may be her life.
Includes farm-fresh recipes!
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About These Authors
Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.
Author Links
Website / Facebook / Amazon / Twitter
Purchase Link
Amazon
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Check out the other stops on the tour for more fun posts!
August 3 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – Review
August 3 – Mallory Heart Reviews – Review
August 3 – Books and Authors – Review
August 4 – Booklady’s Booknotes – Review, Guest Post
August 4 – Kimberly’s Bookshelf – Review
August 4 – Book Splurge – Review
August 5 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Guest Post
August 5 – Back Porchervations – Review
August 5 – readalot – Review
August 6 – fuonlyknew – Review
August 6 – Girl with Book Lungs – Review
August 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review
August 6 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – Spotlight
August 7 – A Blue Million Books – Interview
August 7 – Queen of All She Reads – Review
August 7 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – Spotlight
August 8 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post
August 8 – MysteriesEtc – Review
August 8 – Griperang’s Bookmarks – Interview
August 9 – Community Bookstop – Review
August 9 – cuppa Tea With G – Review
August 10 – View from the Birdhouse – Review
August 10 – Cassidy Salem Reads & Writes – Review
August 10 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too ! – Spotlight
August 11 – Babs Book Bistro – Review
August 11 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Review
August 12 – A Chick Who Reads – Review
August 12 – Book Babble – Review
August 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review
August 13 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review
August 14 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Guest Post
August 14 – Moonlight Rendezvous – Review
August 15 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Laura’s Interests – Review
August 16 – Brooke Blogs – Review
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