A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell

Title: A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die

Author: Edith Maxwell

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Online Ratings: 3.5 out of 5 stars

*I RECEIVED THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*

NO SPOILERS! 

Summary from Goodreads: 

It’s harvest time in Westbury, Massachusetts, and novice farmer Cameron Flaherty hopes to make a killing selling organic produce. But when a killer strikes on her property, her first foray into the world of organic farming yields a bumper crop of locally sourced murder…

Cam’s first growing season has gotten off to a slow start, but her CSA is flourishing thanks to a colorful group of subscribers led by Lucinda DaSilva, an enthusiastic Brazilian volunteer who’s vowed to eat nothing but locally produced food for one year. When Cam fires her only employee, local handyman Mike Montgomery, because he won’t follow organic growing practices, it seems like just another day at the office—until she finds him with a pitchfork sticking out of his neck.

The police suspect Cam of Mike’s murder, but when their investigation goes nowhere, Lucinda joins Cam in the hunt for the real killer. In a small New England town full of eccentric locavores, there’s no shortage of possibilities—from a neighboring farmer who competes with Cam for customers to a Swedish chef whose romantic designs on her have recently taken a turn for the odd. And then there’s the local militia group with its decidedly nonlocal agenda…

To clear her name, Cam will have to dig up secrets buried deep beneath the soil of Produce Plus Plus Farm. And she’ll have to catch a murderer whose motto seems to be “Eat local. Kill local.”

My Opinion: 

A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell was a suspenseful, mysterious, first novel in a new series, 'Local Foods'. The plot was quite fast-paced and there was never a dull moment while I was reading this novel. This novel had a unique setting for a mystery novel as it was set on a farm. I would have never of the combination of a mystery novel set on a farm but I really liked how both aspects of the novel contrasted each other. The overall all plot of this novel which was a mysterious murder on the farm is quite rare to find which definitely made this novel stand out. Another aspect I quite enjoyed was the resolution to the mystery of Mike's murder- it was quite unexpected and never suspected. The foreshadowing in this novel was my favourite aspect. Maxwell has definitely written a novel with a lot of suspense and many different techniques that are used in mystery novels. Something that I disliked in this novel was the characters were not relatable too. The main character, Cam, was one of my least favourite characters. Her devotion to the farm was commendable but when she found clues to help solve the mystery of Mike's murder she would never hand it into the police. I felt her character was slowing down the process of solving the mystery which I, personally didn't like. The romance aspect in this novel did not go into much detail and I am really hoping to see more in the next novel. The romance between the protagonist Cam and the chef was quite slow and I felt their relationship never went anywhere. Also Cam's background information was incomplete and I wished we learned more about her character which would help make her more relatable too. Overall Edith Maxwell has written a good, first novel in a new, promising, mystery series. I recommend this novel for mystery readers and even young adults. 

- Erisha <4