Brie Hooker is a vegan chef who comes to her twin aunts' goat farm for the funeral of one of them. When the will is read, she discovers that they bought her a (needs tons of work to be inhabitable) large house she wants to eventually turn into a B&B. She decides to stay at the farm and help the surviving twin, Eva, run the place while she uses her spare time to work on the place.

When, during the wake, a pot-bellied pig named Tammy uproots a human skull, it is eventually determined to be that of Eva's runaway husband, Jed. The sheriff - who's kin of Jed - decides that Eva must have murdered the man over forty years ago and didn't expect his body to be found. But Brie isn't going to see her aunt railroaded for something she didn't do, and with the help of old and new friends, she sets out to find the killer. What she doesn't know is that finding a killer isn't that hard if you know where to look...

This is a new series, and I think that it might need a bit of honing. I was a little concerned when Brie was shown a newspaper headline that read "Murdered Corpse Dug Up on Udderly Property." How does one murder a corpse? Oh, well...anyway, after Jed's remains are discovered, other people start dropping like flies. I don't mind a murder or two, but when what seems like half the town is disappearing...

Then Eva is arrested for Jed's murder, and Brie decides it's time to dig a little deeper. Luckily, she has the help of the town's two most eligible bachelors, Paint and Andy, and also has their undivided attention toward her personally; which she needs because it seems she's also become the target of a crazed killer. It doesn't matter that she wasn't around for the original murder, but the fact that she's living at the farm includes her as someone to get rid of; and whoever it is, is doing their best to remedy the fact that she's still alive...

I thought the book was written well, and the plot was fairly decent, but things just didn't seem to come together completely enough for me. I must truthfully also say that I absolutely abhor love triangles. I always wonder if it were one man and two women if the reader would think it was cute - especially if he was speaking of them the way Brie was speaking of Paint and Andy. They’d be calling the guy a dog. So yes, unfortunately, that tempers my view of a book when it’s a prominent part of it.

I also get that Brie's a vegan, but I don't understand why she'd be so willing to sell cheese or other products, especially since she thinks dairy 'contaminates' food. It just didn't ring true true for me. I couldn't see that a true vegan would be so willing to sit down with meat eaters and have no problem with it. Again, it just doesn't seem believable.

All in all, the mystery was done well and the ending was very good, but I just couldn't get past the points I mentioned above. Very good for a new series, and hopefully the love triangle will be resolved in the next book. Recommended.

When vegan chef Brie Hooker's aunt Lilly died, she could not walk away from helping her Aunt Eva run the Udderly Kidding Dairy farm in rural South Carolina. Taking care of hundreds of goats and helping to sell goat cheese puts Brie out of her comfort zone. And there is trouble when Tammy the pot-bellied pig finds a human skull buried on the property. It turns out the skull belongs to Eva’s husband Jed who had disappeared 40 years ago. Sheriff Robbie Jones, who is Jed's cousin, sets out to pin Jed's murder on Eva. But Brie is determined to prove her aunt’s innocence with the help of her lawyer mother and her zany friends. Two new male acquaintances: moonshiner Paint and veterinarian Andy also help out and provide a romantic conundrum for Brie.

This was a fun quick read and a strong debut in this mystery series.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Henery Press with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Bones to Pick is a fun cozy mystery and I have to admit I love the goat farm setting. Goats are so cute as are their guard dogs. Brie, a vegan, is helping out her Aunt Eva who she adores, when the first skeleton is discovered on the property. I love Brie and her aunt is a hoot. She may be older, but she’s competent with a gun, loved by (most of) her neighbors and has a good sense of humor. The other characters are well-drawn to, from the moonshiner, who is way sexier than you would picture, to the vet to the New Age best friend. Even Brie’s parents get involved in proving Eva’s innocence.
The part I didn’t like is the love triangle. Brie broke up with her cheating fiancé maybe a year ago and the minute she comes to town she got two attractive decent guys drooling over her. Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but there are two men, best friends, who are interested in her and she just can’t decide which one she should be dating or kissing, so apparently for the time being “both” is the answer and that just rubs me wrong.
The mystery itself good and I liked how all the individual pieces pulled together. We’ve got secrets and a conspiracy that was years in the making. The bad guys are bad and not afraid of killing people. Once again, our amateur detective is lucky to not get killed, but at least she has back-up and some degree of planning.

Bones to Pick: A Brie Hooker Mystery
By Linda Lovely
Henery Press
October 24, 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

The unofficial meat-and-grease capital of the South, Ardon County, South Carolina is not the first place one would expect to find a vegan chef. Yet that’s where Brie Hooker finds herself following the sudden death of her feisty Aunt Lilly. In the ultimate ironic twist, Aunt Lilly has willed Brie a run-down Southern mansion that would be the dream site of her future vegan Bed and Breakfast. The only stipulation is that she hoped that Brie would first stick around to help Aunt Lilly’s twin Eva run their Udderly Kidding Dairy. Brie knows next to nothing about goats, chickens, or pigs, but she adores her Aunt Eva and won’t hesitate to stay and help. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese potbellied pig Tammy helps out as well, digging up a skull that long-buried on the farm.

Aunt Eva is the first to admit that it probably belongs to her husband Jed Watson, who disappeared forty years ago. After three years of abuse, the twenty-one-year-old Eva fled seeking a divorce, only to have Jed disappear a week later. Jed’s entire family – which includes Ardon County Sheriff Robbie Jones – has always held Eva responsible, especially after she inherited the Watson family farm. More probable suspects are Jed’s many floozies, fellow boozehounds, and jealous kin, and with the law distinctly biased it will be up to Brie and her family to find the truth. Bree’s father has the credential of being the president of the Upstate Southern Carolina Chapter of Sisters in Crime, while her mother has the more practical skills of being the City of Clemson’s attorney. Nearly getting axed during the Ardon Flea Market facing the rage of an infuriated manicurist are but mere warm-ups compared to task of convincing these meat-eaters that tofu can be edible.

This debut series will appeal to fans of the quirky humor and distinct Southern settings featured in the books of Donna Andrews and Margaret Maron. This is place where the War of Northern Aggression hasn’t been forgotten, nor have the rivalries and resentments that last for generations. Enhancing the complex mystery are lovably eccentric characters, from the aunts who “video selfie” their will to Brie’s New Age friend who bears a tattoo of a quilt print. Animal lovers will delight in the farm’s five Grand Pyrenees, not to mention Brie’s own teacup Maltese-Yorkie Cashew. Vegan chef Brie faces an uphill battle convincing the natives to accepting her unfried, baconless vegetable cuisine, but it’s a challenge she’s willing to accept. A love triangle may be a common trait of cozy mysteries, but the rivalry between veterinarian Andy Green and (legal) moonshiner David “Paint” Paynter is more friendly than petty. This is an exciting and promising start to a series that abounds with Southern flavors and wit.

Bones to Pick is a fantastic mystery. I loved the plot and the quirky farm setting, as well as the characters. I recommend to mystery fans.

This is a cute mystery about vegan chef Brie Hooker living on her aunt’s goat farm, helping her Aunt Eva with her dairy. When the farm’s pot-bellied pig finds the skull of Eva’s husband, who disappeared years back, the sheriff, who is related to the deceased, decides Aunt Eva is the murderer. However, the sheriff does not expect Brie’s resolve to solve the murder and prove her aunt is not guilty. At the Same time, Brie is enveloped in a romance that goes on and on. Still, she perseveres through a series of twists and turns that take the reader in a myriad of directions as Brie pursues the answers to who the murder is.

The author weaves a zany tale through threats, fights and romance to a pretty good ending that was surprising. I hope the author will bring this crew of crazy misfits to more books. I have not read anything by this author but hope to read more of her fantastic tongue-in-cheek humor in the future. This is a book that will bring a smile to a reader’s face as he/she reads, while keeping him/her entertained for the duration. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Small towns are incestuous. And in the Southern USA have too many guns, too much testosterone meaning too much bad temper, and not mention greed.

Greed because there are few ways to make legitimate and 'good' living, and because laziness and greed are partners in crime. The easy way to make money is often preferred.

So here we find, with the local law enforcement barely trained and exhibiting the above characteristics, and often chose because of (family) relationships, we find the very first statement to be true.

Thus the law officers are liable to take short cuts and easy solutions.

A nicely written mystery, but I'm sorry, even as a vegetarian myself I wasn't converted to being a vegan - how could you give up goat milk and cheese living on a goat farm? Never, if the recipes offered were samples - I did check out veganism after reading this book but again wasn't converted. And the vegans I have known always seem to be less than healthy as it is very difficult to balance the nutrients.

Bones to Pick
A Brie Hooker Mystery #1
Linda Lovely
Henery Press, October 2017
Trade Paperback

From the publisher—

Living on a farm with four hundred goats and a cantankerous carnivore isn’t among vegan chef Brie Hooker’s list of lifetime ambitions. But she can’t walk away from her Aunt Eva, who needs help operating her dairy.

Once she calls her aunt’s goat farm home, grisly discoveries offer ample inducements for Brie to employ her entire vocabulary of cheese-and-meat curses. The troubles begin when the farm’s pot-bellied pig unearths the skull of Eva’s husband, who disappeared years back. The sheriff, kin to the deceased, sets out to pin the murder on Eva. He doesn’t reckon on Brie’s resolve to prove her aunt’s innocence. Death threats, ruinous pedicures, psychic shenanigans, and biker bar fisticuffs won’t stop Brie from unmasking the killer, even when romantic befuddlement throws her a curve.

When I first heard about Bones to Pick, I was a tiny bit hesitant to read and review it because I’ve run into a few books with this kind of hook that tend to have an agenda. Having read and enjoyed a couple of other things by Ms. Lovely, I decided my slight reluctance was probably unnecessary and I’m glad to say this hardcore carnivore was right. The vegan theme is front and center but not at all in a lecturing sort of way. Instead, the author shares her knowledge of such dietary habits with humor and a lighthearted approach that made this a fun read.

The characters, whether it’s Brie, Eva, Andy, Brie’s parents, Paint, Mollye or a plethora of other folks are well-developed into “real” people and they brought the story to life. I can’t even pick a favorite but I have a certain kind of fondness for Tammy the pig, not because she could be a nice side of bacon 😉 Ms. Lovely is equally adroit with her plot, starting with the very amusing idea of a vegan chef helping run a goat farm, and she has turned what could have been a simple murder into a tale of widespread crooked doings and unneighborly feuds. There were enough laughs to keep me snorting and chuckling the whole way through,, starting with a vegan whose name is a cheese, and I’m already counting down to the next book in the series.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, October 2017.

I enjoyed this book. It had a good plot, great characters, and lots of humor. Brie Hooker is a vegan chef not working as a vegan chef. Incidents have lead her to helping her aunt Eva run a goat/cheese farm. She has two strapping young men interested in her, and aunt that is a strong person of interest in a forty year old murder. The helpful thing is that her mother is a lawyer and can advise her and her aunt to keep their mouths shut. I liked learning about tofu- slimy, that many meals can be meatless & vegan and then plated with a protein to satisfy a carnivore. This makes cooking in a mixed family easier. Near the end, I was not happy everytime someone in my household wanted me to put the book down to do something for them. Give this mystery a try- you’ll find it was worth your time.
I look forward to more in this series. Team Andy or Team Paint?

I really, really liked this book and the main character, Brie Hooker, a lot! At first.

Then I began to feel like her being a vegan was something extra special and that she was. Then the endless preaching about how she was a vegan. Well, it just grated on me. A lot! Using the Shania Twain song: "So, your a vegan, that don't impress me much". It really got in the way of the mystery for me. Okay, I figured out she was vegan - did I really need to be reminded every other page?

And her stance on men. She had been cheated on by her fiance whom she had broken up with over about a year ago. She was done. Yet every other page, she was lusting after the two single men in the book.

I think this could have been a humorous, cute little cozy mystery. However, all this vegan and lusting, it just really got in the way for me.

There were also a few times when a paragraph would be rewritten in its entirety just a few pages later. The first one was when she needed to learn about the breeds of goats said during her "market days event". The second one was when her aunt scolded her about talking to the customers of cholesterol count in cheese. That's just the times I remember.

I did not finish this book. Although I did read the last couple of chapters and yes, it ended like I thought it would. However, the way I went about saved me probably several thousand more reminders that Brie was a vegan.

I've given an extra star for the author's time spent.

Thanks to Henery Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

The first book in the Brie Hooker Mystery series by Linda Lovely is Bones to Pick. Vegan chef Brie finds herself working and living on a farm after her Aunt Lilly's death. She takes over several duties to help out her Aunt Eva. Things take a bad turn after her aunt is accused of murder when the skeletal remains of Eva's long missing husband are uncovered by the farm's pig, Tammy. I loved the southern setting complete with southern sayings. This is a nice start to a fun series. I was less than thrilled with Brie's overactive hormones in the midst of a lust (not love yet) triangle. The mystery was not as strong as it could have been, but I see potential for future books.

From its quaint small town setting to Brie’s creative expletives and punny names (Udderly Kidding), this is very much a traditional cozy mystery.  Brie is resourceful and spunky, and she has her mind set on rooting out the truth and proving her aunt’s innocence.  As she becomes more acquainted with the townsfolk, age old family feuds and questionable business dealings come to her attention.  With a murder to  solve and two great guys competing for her attention, Brie has more than enough on her vegan plate.  A diverse cast of characters, sometimes comical situations, and an intriguing plot made this a delightful read.  I look forward to following Brie’s adventures in future books in this series.

This is a great book; this is the first book in the Brie Hooker Mystery Series written by Linda Lovely. Living on a farm with four hundred goats and a cantankerous carnivore isn’t among vegan chef Brie Hooker’s list of lifetime ambitions. But she can’t walk away from her Aunt Eva, who needs help operating her dairy. Once she calls her aunt’s goat farm home, grisly discoveries offer ample inducements for Brie to employ her entire vocabulary of cheese-and-meat curses. The troubles begin when the farm’s pot-bellied pig unearths the skull of Eva’s husband, who disappeared years back. The sheriff, kin to the deceased, sets out to pin the murder on Eva. He doesn’t reckon on Brie’s resolve to prove her aunt’s innocence. Death threats, ruinous pedicures, psychic shenanigans, and biker bar fisticuffs won’t stop Brie from unmasking the killer, even when romantic befuddlement throws her a curve. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

I really enjoyed this southern cozy mystery. I absolutely loved the name of the Dairy Farm. Very action filled and engaging mystery. It is well plotted and the characters are so enjoyable, Paint and Andy were a real hoot. I would highly recommend this title and look forward to reading more by this author.

Brie Hooker is a vegan chef who has come home to visit when one of her twin aunts passes away. She ends up staying to help her remaining Aunt Eva run the goat cheese farm that the two aunts had worked on together.

While she is a vegan, she is okay with fixing non-vegan dishes for family and friends, so the book doesn’t preach too hard about food choices. She is attracted to two different men who are quite carnivorous in their food choices as well. She is just finding her footing, when the family pig makes a gruesome discovery on the farm – one that spells legal problems (and worse) for Aunt Eva.

Brie dedicates herself to finding out the actual whodunnit and freeing her aunt from unfair imprisonment. Brie’s mother, father, best friend, and the two good looking local bachelors (along with others) come to her assistance.

The only thing I wished for was some of the vegan recipes that Brie utilizes throughout the book. While I am not a vegan, some of my family members are and I would have loved to wow them with some of the dishes that are described.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Transplanted Yankee vegan chef Brie Hooker leaves her Asheville job to help out her Aunt Eva in South Carolina. Eva's twin sister, Lilly, has died recently, and Eva needs her help in the goat cheese business and farm the sisters co-owned. It seems to be an odd match for a vegan, but Brie is devoted to both aunts. Things begin to get strange at the farm during Lilly's wake. The pet potbelly pig is rooting around and turns up a long-buried skull. It turns out that Eva had a past Brie didn't know about including an abusive ex-husband who went missing 40 years earlier. Who else could it be but Jed Watson? The assorted Watson clan is sure that Eva murdered him and even worse, so is the sheriff. Brie, her flamboyant friend, Mollye, and two dishy men with interest in Brie are determined to find the real killer. The bodies keep piling up, and all of them had a long-ago connection with Jed.

I have to admit that I found the beginning of the book a bit "folksy" for my taste but a combination of well-developed characters, tight plotting and a wealth of humor won me over. The mystery is not so much "whodunnit" but "how did he get away with it?" I am looking forward to the next book in the series and the love triangle that is developing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Henery Press for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

BONES TO PICK is the first book in the Brie Hooker mystery series, and it is a lot of fun. Vegan chef Brie Hooker finds herself in an unusual situation when she moves to rural North Carolina in the wake of her aunt’s death to help her other Aunt Eva with her goat farm. Things get off to a rocky start when Tammy the pig unearths a skull during Aunt Lily’s funeral reception. Turns out, the skull belongs to none other than Eva’s long lost husband Jed, and the sheriff, who is Jed’s cousin, makes Eva his number one suspect. Brie knows that Eva is innocent and sets out to clear her name, but things get complicated when two more people die. Murder, corruption, greed, and humor come together to make a good start to the series.

I just love Aunt Eva. She is the highlight of the book. A little crusty with a big heart, she is funny and loveable. Brie is funny, too, and a little out of her element. She is mostly endearing, but I do, at times, find her occasionally on the verge of being preachy about veganism. Her suitors Paint and Andy are also enjoyable, and they ooze Southern charm, but I do hope the author does not drag out a love triangle with them. I just do not understand the appeal of the love triangle; I find them tedious. Brie’s friend Mollye is a little over the top, but she makes a nice sidekick for Brie. The mystery is interesting and entertaining. Even though the bad guys’ identities are evident very early on, the “why” of the crimes kept me reading.

“Bones to Pick” earns 5/5 Delightful Dilemmas and Suspicions Galore!

Thrilled! It’s the first word that comes to mind after reading Linda Lovely’s first book in her Brie Hooker Mystery series. The story jumps right into all the conflicts with which Brie is confronted, and I couldn’t set it down from there. Sadly, her Aunt Lilly died tragically, and she finds herself struggling as a vegan living and working on the Udderly Kidding Dairy farm where she manages hundreds of goats, dairy, of course, she can’t drink, cheese she can’t eat, and eggs she can’t fry, but the worst dilemma is the discovery made by one of the farm’s pot-bellied pigs…bones! Not just any bones. The bones discovered are those of her Aunt Eva’s no-good husband who had disappeared decades before, and the sheriff puts her at the top of the suspect list. Why not? Isn’t it always the spouse!

Brie begs to differ, and Linda sends us along for a well-written ride of threats, fights, lighthearted fun, and a romantic triangle that leaves one perplexed about which side to choose. We are introduced to delightful characters, some quirky, but Brie is endearing and the dynamic between her and Aunt Eva’s bold personality is fun to follow. As with many first books, the background and character introductions take an important role in the story telling, and Linda has done well providing a very interesting world I enjoyed being a member. The clever twists and turns in the murder mystery itself challenged my inner “Sherlock,” and I should have seen the “Watch out!” conclusion coming. The mystery did have a great solution, but enough was left up in the air and the world created makes me wanting more from this series. I loved it!

Persistence pays off—on October 24 Linda Lovely’s new Brie Hooker series will debut with Bones To Pick, published by Henery Press. Brie Hooker finds much irony in her life. After her fiancé betrays her, she finds two men are interested in her. Although she is a vegan and a vegan chef, her current work involves dairy—in the form of caretaking goats and chickens—neither of which in any form fits her culinary choices. Her dream come true happens only at the cost of a beloved aunt dying. So when another aunt lands on the police murder suspect list, Brie must solve the case to prevent another irony from occurring.


There was a lot that interested me in Bone To Pick. Linda’s main and secondary characters are well developed. Brie’s family characters are especially fun. I’ve always enjoyed Linda Lovely’s writing. Four years ago, I interviewed her about a previous mystery series she wrote for a different publisher. Please welcome Linda Lovely back to WWK. E. B. Davis
(This is my preamble to the interview, which will post on 10/25/17)

What a wonderfully fun start to a fabulous new series, and you don't have to be vegan to love it! In this new series you meet Brie who has moved in with her Aunt to help run her goat farm because her other aunt has died in an accident. While at the wake a precocious pig named Tammy finds a bone who ends up being the missing husband of her living aunt. During the wake Brie is introduced to Andy the local vet and Paint the local moonshine maker. Both men have been friends for years and both are attracted to Brie. They both jump in to help her figure out just what happened all those years ago when everyone thought her aunts husband had just run off. With half of the town being related to the man and most thinking her aunt murdered him for his land will Brie be able to keep her aunt out of jail. This was a well written story filled with eccentric characters that you can't help but fall in love with. The banter between Brie and her Aunt is hilarious especially when it comes to the food that they choose to eat. I so look forward to what comes next for these two and to finding out if Brie will be able to choose between the two guys. I usually like one guy over another when reading a book but in this case I loved them both so it will be interesting to see who she picks if she even picks one of them.