Grounds for Murder is the first book in an amateur sleuth cozy mystery series by Betty Ternier Daniels. Released 24th Sept 2024 by ECW Press, it's 280 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The author does a good job with the setting, and seems to be intimately familiar with rural Canada and smallhold farming. The book is full of quirky small town characters, charlatans, criminals, friends, and the occasional homicidal maniac.
Dialogue and pacing are notoriously difficult to write and the author struggles in places with naturally flowing back and forth dialogue which feels organic. Some of the characters are obnoxious (her tenants, Monica the realtor, her kids, etc) and the dialogue as written is inconceivable. Readers should bring a strong suspicion of disbelief.
The book is perhaps a trifle graphic in places for a generally light cozy mystery. Nothing egregious, but more sensitive (squeamish) readers should be aware. The language is also a bit heavier than the usual cozy fare (one f-bomb and a handful of lesser curse words).
Three stars. Worth a look for fans of light smallholding/rural farm cozies, or possibly a buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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