Bones to Pick by Linda Lovely is the 1st book in A Brie Hooker Mystery series, and a great start. Brie Hooker is a Vegan chef and she is helping her aunt on her goat farm. When a pig digs up a body, the mystery begins. Once I started this book, I could not stop reading it until I was done. Not only is this book an exciting mystery but also very refreshing and a quick read. If you love fun cozy mysteries, which are my favorite, you will love this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

BONES TO PICK, the debut in the Brie Hooker Mystery series by Linda Lovely starts out with humor in her acknowledgement and the chuckles continue throughout this delightful read! The quirky characters add to the charm of the story and captured my attention from the very first page. I found the protagonist, vegan chef Brie Hooker, to be an entertaining character from her ironic name to the situation she finds herself in helping her aunt run a goat farm, to her dilemma of the handsome vet and the moonshine man showering her with attention. The author provides many clever names and sayings that are quite entertaining. “Limburger and Liverwurst” is one of many creative cheese and meat swear words that Brie uses and just might find their way into my own vocabulary.

There’s nonstop action in the plot, especially after Tammy the pig digs up bones belonging to Brie’s long-gone uncle by marriage. The local sheriff seems to have it in for Brie’s family with her Aunt Eva in his crosshairs. Brie shows her devotion to her family and jumps in to prove her aunt’s innocence even to the peril of her own life. There are plenty of people who are viable suspects in the decades old murder mystery and when one of Brie’s suspects is murdered, the stakes are even higher. I was intrigued with how the cold case was woven into the new murder along with fraud and forgery that kept me guessing at how the threads were going to come together. But come together they did in a very exciting, suspenseful conclusion!

A fun cozy and I'm not kidding. Okay, since it is a goat farm you know I had to go for it. Not a vegan, do not like goat cheese, but do enjoy reading about the various foods and critters on this dairy. Rita, the mule, is my hero. Amusing love triangle. 40 year old mystery is revived when skeleton is unearthed and then the wackiness ensues. I am so glad to see this is just the beginning of a series.

Brie never expected one of her aunts to be killed in an accident. She was still so lively and running a goat farm, making cheese and selling it. Now she was gone and just her twin was left. Brie decides to stay with her remaining aunt and she will help run the farm. She still might pursue her dream of a vegan restaurant but her aunt needs her now. Who expected the adult pot bellied pig to dig up a skull buried in the barn during the wake for dead aunt?

Henery Press and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published October 24th.

Brie gets irritated by how the Sheriff treats her aunt. He's snooping through everything. He's disrespectful, and he suggests it's her husband who's been missing for years who is buried there. He's right but how did he know?

It doesn't take long to find out that there's been some dirty dealing going on. The Sheriff and his cronies are going to profit from a development company. It just happens to be on land that belonged to the dead man. One woman says it wasn't his signature on the form. The next thing that happens is that she's dead. Then her husband commits "suicide". Anybody who knows anything is disappearing.

When Brie and her girlfriend set the banker up with tracking devices that transmit sound, they hear more than they want to know, including the sheriff shooting him in head. Then they are discovered.

With killers facing them, it looks like the end of the road...

As strange as it sounds, this was a believable read. Brie even has two men interested in her and she can't decide which one she likes best. It's a good thing she had buddies or she probably wouldn't still be alive...

When a vegan meets a moonshiner and a vet, while helping her aunt with her goat farm in a town riddled with interesting facts, what do you get? A brilliant comedic cozy mystery, full of slapstick comedy and some darn good (and sneaky) sleuthing.

Oh my did I laugh and snort-giggle while reading this book!

Cute little lambs, aggressive guard dogs, mean nanny goat, wrapping up with a hot and heavy love triangle all come together in this charming who done it.

Super fun cozy mystery. Well plotted, fun characters. I look forward to the next in the series.

This story starts laugh out loud funny and then continues to pull you in page by page, body by body. Brie Hooker is at the Udderly Kidding Dairy for her Aunt Lilly's Wake when Tammy, the pig, unearths a skull. Eva, Lilly's twin, is just sure that is belongs to her husband who has been missing for 40 years. The story becomes more complex as more bodies are discovered and the question is can Brie figure out what is going on before she too becomes a victim.

This story is the first in the Brie Hooker Mystery series. It is a great blend of mystery and humor with a side of romance. The supporting characters are fun and likeable. The author has left plenty of loose ends to make way for further stories in this series.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Bones To Pick
A Brie Hooker Mystery, Book #1
Linda Lovely
5 Stars

Synopsis:

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. (Goodreads)

Review:
The characters are well developed and well rounded, and very likable. Brie, Aunt Eva and Mollye, Brie’s friend, were all people that I would like to meet and get to know better. Living on a goat farm is not the ideal scenario for Brie, who is a card-carrying vegan, but she knows her aunt needs her and she will do whatever is necessary to help her family. When her aunt is accused of a long ago murder, Brie will do whatever it takes to see the real killer brought to justice. Paint and Andy, two locals that are close to Aunt Eva, provide love interests for Brie, and I am curious to see who and how she will choose between the two.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the book, I felt like I was right there watching all of the action taking place. I could see the goats and potbellied pig and all of the chores that were required on the farm.

The mystery was well plotted and difficult to solve. With a lot of suspects and plenty of clues to sift through, with a few red herrings thrown in, it will take all of the reader’s sleuthing abilities to solve this one.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. There is plenty of humor (wait until you hear how Brie cusses), great characters and a well developed mystery that will keep you guessing. There is a little bit of minor language but it is very mild. This is a great start to a new series and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Henery Press for the opportunity to read and review this great book.

Linda Lively's Bones to Pick was an entertaining read. Brie Hooker is a vegan and lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina. But due to an unfortunate accident Brie's aunt dies. Brie travels to a small South Carolina town where her aunts own a goat farm, Udderly Kidding. During the friend and family gathering after her aunts death Brie's surviving Aunt Eva's pot bellied pig digs up some skeletal remains. Which are soon identified as Eva's long missing, assumed dead husband and Eva is the number one suspect. Brie must leave her life in Asheville and return to South Carolina to help work the goat farm and clear Eva's name. As if getting up at the crack of dawn to help run the farm isn't enough Brie has to work to clear her Aunt Eva's name when it turns out the sheriff's office and a lot of the town think Eva is the only suspect in her husband's murder. There is a fair amount of tongue in cheek and Southern humor.

I am not sure what possessed me to choose this book because...for starters, I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian, nor am I particularly interested in them. I am not interested in goats or goat farming either. But whatever caught my eye initially, I am so glad it did! This turned out to be not only a complex and fascinating mystery, but an interesting look at farm life as well. I recommend it to all readers.

Brie, ironic name for a vegan, moves back to her aunt's farm called Udderly Kidding. Her aunt's twin sister has just died, and Brie intends to stay and help her remaining aunt with the farm. Little did she know that a skeleton would be uprooted by a rescued Pot Bellied Pig (named Tammy) during the wake. That was the start of murders-old and new-that are mostly blamed on either her aunt or herself. With the help of two new friends, moonshiner "Paint" and veterinarian Andy, and a girlfriend from childhood visits, Mollye.

This was an exciting book punctuated with humor and romance. Add the ways of tight knit families that don't appreciate those who aren't related as well as crimes over 40 years old, and you have nail biting reasons to race to the end of the book! Don't miss this one!!

In Bones to Pick by Linda Lovely Brie Hooker, a vegan chef, has agreed to help her aunt on her goat farm after the death of the aunt's twin. I liked how Brie was a vegan who didn't spend all her time shoving her beliefs down the throats of her family and friends. Farming of any sort sounds difficult, and goat farming no different, but Brie loves her family and is probably ready for a change. The change may be more than what she bargained for when bones on unearthed on the farm and Aunt Eve is the chief suspect in a decades old murder. Brie ends up searching for answers while juggling the attention of two very attractive men. It was a good mystery with likable characters.

“I have a bone to pick with Bones to Pick. I found myself reading it when I needed to be working. Linda Lovely’s newest mystery series (Brie Hooker Mysteries) is packed with suspense and action and some spicy romance. Its excitement wasn’t the only thing that kept me flipping pages. The characters are funny and sweet and I look forward to getting to know them better in future books. Brie Hooker, a committed vegan, takes a job on her aunt’s goat farm. And if that wasn’t enough trouble for her, she’s thrown neck deep into a mystery when her aunt’s missing husband’s bones are unearthed by the resident pot-bellied pig. I ate up every morsel of fun the book had to offer and was also reminded of how much I love goat cheese. I look forward to reading future books in this series.” ~ Dorothy St. James, author of the Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries

I loved this book. It had wit and humour, wonderful characters, compelling setting, suspense and mystery – basically everything you could want in a crime novel – with some mild romance, a wide selection of engaging animals and foodie stuff thrown in for good measure.
The heroine, Brie, is a vegan chef, who has come South for her Aunt Lily’s funeral. Lily and her twin sister, Eva, ran a goat farm called Udderly Kidding, making goat cheeses. During the funeral wake, a skull is dug up by one of the dogs. The local sheriff immediately suspects that it is Eva’s abusive husband, who disappeared without trace 40 years ago. The husband, Jed, just happens to have been kin to the sheriff (and other less salubrious members of the community), and the suspicion very quickly falls on Eva – whom many of the locals had taken a dislike to, on account of her being a Yankee who ‘stole’ Jed from local girl, Nancy, and then inherited his farm when he was eventually declared dead in absentia. Brie decides to stay with Eva to help out on the farm, to offer moral support – and maybe help solve the skull mystery before her aunt is sent to jail.
A goat cheese making farm is not the ideal place for a committed vegan (despite her name), nor is Ardon County. As the local Moonshiner, Paint, points out “Here abouts it’s considered unpatriotic to serve eats that haven’t been baptized in a vat of lard. Vegetables are optional; meat, mandatory.” Although a committed omnivore myself, my mouth could not help watering at the description of some of Brie’s vegan meals. All her offerings are gladly consumed by her friends and relations – provided there is some meat on the side.
Paint is one of the two local (and very desirable) hunks on offer in Ardon County – the other being the lovely vet and pig whisperer, Andy. They are best friends, but both determined to woo Brie – and to help out with Eva’s problems. How is a woman to choose? “Breathe in, breathe out. Meditate. Erase those lustful visions. Going…going…sort of gone. Meditation isn’t foolproof”.
Brie, being a vegan, and determine to clean up her language, has developed an ingenious new range of swear words based on foodstuffs she will never again let pass her lips: “Son of a Porterhouse”; “Limburger and Blue Cheese … I felt certain that snaggle-toothed bologna brain was capable”. Aunt Eva, the cheese-making omnivore, is not impressed: “Seeing how you’re the only one sleeping in, you get a free bathroom pass, even though you’re still taking the names of heavenly cheeses in vain.”
I just fell in love with the characters in this book (well, the ones on team Eva anyway), and hope there are many more books in this series to come. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but particularly to fans of the Country Club Murders by Julie Mulhern.

Poor Brie! A Vegan on a goat farm!  This was a first for me with this author. Now that I know she also has another suspense series, it won't be the last.

With a cast of characters that include Brie, the vegan chef, and her twin aunts who own the Udderly Kidding Dairy, her mom and dad, the handsome vet, the hot moonshine seller, the interesting Mollye ( with an e) this southern mystery was a very fun read.

The characters are well-developed and all had strong presences. The story begins as one of the aunts unexpectedly dies. Brie moves in with her Aunt Eva to help her with the farm and we don't have to wait long for the bodies! 

At the funeral a skull is unearthed by a pot-bellied pig and the action is non-stop from there. 

Brie has her hands full trying to clear her aunts name and keep up with hundreds of goats while she tries to keep from getting killed!

I can't wait for the next one in this series.

Netgalley/HeneryPress/Release Date is October 24, 2017

Um. Right. I had some issues with this. But it's the first in a series, so it could just be teething troubles.

Firstly Brie. On paper a nice idea, the reality is that she's too stupid to live, constantly getting herself into situations anyone can see are a bad idea and then she's all sanctimonious about the joys of veganism everytime any food is mentioned. And food is mentioned a lot.

Secondly, the local police. I mean, I know that police getting the wrong end of the stick is a regular trope in cozy crime, but this lot take the biscuit in so many ways. They are so over the top rubbish it is bonkers. And the one thing that is actually a sensible thing to do (even if Brie can't see that it is) - question the wife of the deceased - is done in such a bonkers over the top way that my eyes nearly rolled out of my head.

Very few of the characters in this felt like three dimensional people, and the love interests that are being set up are done so clunkily that it drove me mad.

As I said at the start, this is the first book in a series, so it gets a slight pass on that so I may check back in in a few books time to see if anything has improved/settled down/got better.

What a great beginning to a new series. The characters are delightful and have so much potential for trouble, danger and fun! I felt as if Brie was an actual thrity something person telling this story from her viewpoint.

Brie's life is about to change. She had a scumbag fiance she was able to leave behind, a job she didn't care for, and dreams about doing something more enjoyable and valuable in her future. Sadly, the event that brought about her opportunity to change was her aunt's death. Family is very important to Brie, even when they have different ideas for her life. Her choice of cheesy swear words is to please her mother.
Being vegan is a core value for Brie who also loves adapting recipes to leave out any animal products. Still, when called upon, she will sell cheese to keep her remaining aunt's farm in the black.
She is not interested in dating until she finds herself sandwiched between two hunky and available bachelors. Not just bachelors - best friends but oh so different from each other! I see her resolve melting quicker than cheese on a griddle, which leads to the difficult decision - who to choose and how to keep both as friends?
Dating has to be put on the back burner when a skeleton is discovered on the farm which heats up a 40 year old cold case. A cold case that centers right there on the farm and threatens its survival.

Brie and wacky friend, Mollye, make it their mission to uncover the truth behind dirty dealings and crooked cops. It doesn't hurt to have the two hunks protecting their backsides.
Or to have a killer attorney in the family!

One bad thing happens after the other and more skeletons will fall from the closet (or be unearthed) before this tangled tale is disentwined. If you pay close attention you may even pick up a few tips and tricks. Sadly, there were no vegan recipes included at the back of my advance copy.

I was delighted to see Sisters in Crime and the Writers' Police Academy mentioned.
My only question at the end is about a deed with a forged signature. Will that come up again in future books?
Spoiler - but a good spoiler - all the animals live.

I accepted (OK, I begged for) an advance copy of this novel. The rating and opinions are my own.
I look forward to visiting this group again.

What's a vegan chef doing working on a goat cheese farm? I had the best time discovering why in this debut southern cozy mystery series! Author Linda Lovely clearly has a knack for storytelling and it's showcased in this clever, humorous plot.

Brie Hooker moves to the Udderly Kidding Dairy Farm to live with her fiesty Aunt Eva after her Aunt Lilly suddenly passes away. When a pot-bellied pig digs up an old skull in the yard and Eva is accused of murdering her no-good husband some forty years earlier; the bad news is just beginning. I adored tough-talking, wise-cracking Eva as she refused to budge under the pressure the crooked sheriff is putting on her and Brie. Two of Eva's good friends, Paint and Andy, are determined to protect both women plus romance Brie every chance they get! Mollye, an old friend of Brie's is a fun character I really enjoyed, also.

There's plenty of dastardly doings in this action packed, very, very funny mystery as there's much going on behind-the-scenes to be discovered and dealt with to solve the murder mystery. If you enjoy the Jana DeLeon 'Miss Fortune' mysteries, like I do, you're sure to love the Brie Hooker series. Reading this story is a rootin' tootin' good time!

Note: There is some mild bad language.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

How vegan Brie Hooker balances cheese loving carnivores, more than one romantic interest, and murder in Linda Lovely's Bones to Pick is a humorous  delight. A well-crafted series debut - Debra H. Goldstein