Brynn MacAlister thinks she’s finally getting the hang of running her own dairy farm and cheesery in bucolic Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, especially with the help of her young assistant Wes, the grandson of her beloved former neighbor, Nancy. She and Wes are even holding a cheesemaking contest in conjunction with the town’s upcoming summer festival, a contest that Brynn hopes will become a tradition and further strengthen her ties with the community to which she’s still very much a newcomer. But the opening of the festival is marred by a freak accident, when a young man is run over by a tractor ridden by Jeff, the leader of the local Community Supported Agriculture group to which Brynn belongs.

Jeff is taken into custody, but his teenage daughter Chelsea seems to be unbothered, especially surprising given that the young man he killed was a guy she was dating. Then Wes stumbles across the body of another of Chelsea’s boyfriends, and finds himself under suspicion for murder. Wes, a Pakistani-American from Boston, is sure the police are doing the best they can, but others in the community hold a differing view, and one of them decides to take matters into his own hands by shooting Wes in broad daylight. In the hubbub, Brynn sustains a concussion, but neither that nor the ugly racism she encounters as a white woman defending her brown friend will deter her from clearing Wes’ name and finding the real killer responsible for at least two diabolical murders.

It was honestly pretty great to read a culinary cozy that acknowledges, condemns and confronts racism head on as part of its main narrative. The representation might not have been perfect -- for example, it’s okay to describe Willow as being Black or mixed race, and far preferable to repeatedly describing her “mocha skin” -- but it’s far and away better than in most of the non #OwnVoices novels I’ve read in the genre. Kudos to Mollie Cox Bryan for stepping up and starting a necessary conversation with her readers.

I was also a fan of the technological aspect of this story, and enjoyed following along as Brynn and co unraveled the mystery. Her relationship with her sister was also really nicely depicted, and I’ve never wanted to hug a cow so much in my life as after reading about Brynn and her “girls”, as she calls them.

This volume included 5 delicious-looking recipes, and I decided to try out this one:

QUOTE
Blackberry Breakfast Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly scrambled
1 ¼ cups milk
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup blackberries (fresh or frozen, thawed), lightly mashed

For the topping
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons cold butter

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter, and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.

Fold in mashed blackberries.

Pour batter into lightly greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

Place flour, brown sugar, and butter for the topping in a small food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are combined and mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Evenly sprinkle topping over unbaked bread.

Bake at 400 degrees F. for 45-60 minutes, until the top is brown and a toothpick inserted in the center tests clean. Check bread after 40 minutes and loosely cover with aluminum foil if the top is getting too brown.
END QUOTE

I screwed this up in so many ways, I don’t even know where to begin. My most egregious mistake was in pulsing the crumb topping too hard, I’m sure, making for a buttery consistency that certainly did not bake up into anything delicious. I will have to just do that by hand the next time I make this, though to be perfectly honest, I did not at all like the blackberries here. I usually love fruit, but found the blackberry seeds to be very crunchy and annoying: unsurprising given my general disdain for nuts in baked goods. I’d have to deseed them first, or perhaps be lazy and use a berry that doesn’t require all that extra work. Let me know if you have better results trying this at home, as it certainly sounds like a delicious recipe and I’m sure I just messed it up somehow. Eagle-eyed readers will notice that I baked a double batch to use up all the blackberries I had, but I’m pretty sure that had nothing to do with why the recipe didn’t work out for me.

Next week, we head north to check out the latest in one of my favorite culinary cozy mystery series while making an amazing traditional soup. Do join me!

This is the second Buttermilk Creek Mystery by popular cozy author Molly Cox Bryan. I am a fan of the author's first book and was pleased to read this for review. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinions are my own. Molly Cox Bryan is a wonderful cozy writer with a talent for creating great charcters.

In this next in series we return to charming Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, the town where Brynn MacAlister raises her cows and makes popular cheeses. Brynn is new to the area and her business is new to the local people. She is hoping to raise her business profile by participating in the local cheese fair she is preparing for. with her talented cheese maker. When one murder occurs and then a second Brynn steps up to investigate much to the chagrin of the local police. When her cheese maker falls under suspicion Brynn must help save him as well as her business reputation.

I love this series for all its charm. The setting of the farm and surrounding small town is idyllic. The charcters all add to the story and are likable . I look forward to the growth of this series and many more books to come.

I found this to be a very enjoyable book in the series. I love the setting of the book and learning more about the cheese making process. The mystery was well-written although I wasn't a fan of the reason the father was a suspect.
It was an easy read that kept me turning pages.

I wanted to love this book but the references to an underage girl as plot device kept me from keeping reading.
It's not a bad book but a sensitivity reader would help.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Micro-dairy farmer, Brynn McAlister and her assistant Wes, have the local CSA fair, cheese-making and murder to contend with in this book! Brynn is sidelined with an injury, so her sister Becky visits to help.her recover. Becky is quite a sleuth too and it was fun to see the sisterly dynamic between the women. I enjoy the series....what's not to like - "keep you reading" mystery, a fun group of friends, the sweetest cows you'll ever see and cheese! Wonder what mysteries Brynn will uncover next!

I received an ARC from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Although I was happy to have been approved for this book, I ended up DNFing by page 34 after attempting to read it several times.

The MC feels a "wave of respect" because an adult man recognizes that a different man was "too old" to be dating a sixteen year old girl, but the MC speaks poorly about the teen girl. The language used is of the teen and man having sex (consensual), not statutory rape which it in fact is. It's specified that the teen girl "was no innocent," which we all know is just a prettier way to call this kid a slut. A prettier way of saying it, but we all know what was meant. Then the MC points out it doesn't matter if the kid wasn't an innocent because it was considered statutory rape, which is a step in the right direction but... Instead of coming down firmly on this issue, the author has the person MC's talking to say they have "no idea" if it's accurate to call it statutory rape. Just a few pages later, yet another adult claims the teen girl is "hopping into bed with everybody she can," but they blame it on low self-esteem with no mention of grooming or that children can't consent to sex. 

A Native American character describes Native American beliefs as "mythology," which is problematic. It's like saying it's not real, but believers believe. Many people would be upset, for example, if the Bible were described as mythology so you shouldn't denigrate others beliefs that way by calling them myths. Also it just doesn't make sense for a NA character to say it.

A Pakistani character says "I'm American, not Pakistani.I don't remember anything about Pakistan. It's kind of weird," while talking about their mom making sure they were aware of Pakistani culture. That was it. I think this could be a meaningful conversation about identity and belonging, but as the author doesn't discuss it further here it feels like a throwaway comment that assumes you can't be both American and Pakistani, which feels fraught if you put it in context with ongoing immigration battles.  

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review.

Set in Shenandoan Springs, Virginia this is book 2 in the Buttermilk Creek Mystery series. Brynn is a newer resident and her farm is producing some great cheese and bringing in some tourist into the area. She is planning a cheese making competition for this years annual fair. A tractor accident leaves a man dead and now her assistant is being accused of murder. A child pornography ring, a cow with a collar full of evidence brings the FBI into town. A good story and a great continuation of book 1. Could be read as a stand al0ne. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The second in a really, really good cozy mystery series that features a small town and the unusual cast of characters that live in and around it. You can definitely read GOODNIGHT MOO as a stand alone but then you'd be cheating yourself out of the first, entertaining chapter in the life and times of Brynn MacAllister. Brynn owns a small dairy farm and works together with the other farmers to keep their farms happy and healthy. The State Fair is going to host a cheese making competition and Brynn likes her chances of winning. That is until people start dying and she must jump into the investigation to protect her friends and family. The story is well written and the characters well developed. The book is a cozy mystery but it's also an entertaining look at a community that feels real. I thoroughly enjoyed Mollie Cox Bryan's second look at Shenandoah Springs, Virginia.

This was the second book in the Shenandoah Springs cheese making mysteries. I am a huge fan of cheese, however lactose intolerant, so I might as well read about it if I can't eat it! This was a good second book. There were a few parts that were a little extreme, however I can't really go in to them without giving spoilers. I enjoyed that Wes was still there and I think he adds greatly to the story. In this installation, Brynn is hosting a cheese making competition at the fair. It is cut short when Wes is shot. His dad and brother fly down from Boston and try to bring him home, but when a gun registered in his name is found to be the weapon in a local murder, he is arrested. Meanwhile, just to add to Brynn's plate, Schuyler has brought her a foster cow. A sweet Highland named Jewel, who is terribly skinny. Brynn is suffering from a concussion and has to rely on her sister and friends to help nurse her back to health.

There are a lot of contemporary issues going on in this book. I found this to be a nice change, but at the same time, as mentioned above, a little extreme (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5). I was totally off on the killer, so that was a nice surprise. I also like the addition of Brynn's sister, Becky. I hope she makes appearances in the later books. Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book. I can't wait to read the next one!

It was wonderful to be back in Buttermilk Creek. A clever mystery that I was certain I had solved and was surprised by the ending. Red herring had me fooled. Mollie Cox Bryan has made me fall in love with some special cows. Already a fan of cheese, but cows? Great dog, too. Caring friends. Hoping for a little romance for Brynn in the next book.

I enjoyed revisiting Shenandoah Springs, Va again. I really like the main character and the setting. The mystery is well written and enjoyable. The cows are too cute and i love the idea of the cheese making. Bryan's descriptive writing style draws you in and keeps you there. Really look forward to book three in this series. Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.

Brynn frustrated me in this one. She has a concussion for a good bit, and her mental fog is portrayed fine, but it’s frustrating as a reader to be in her head during this time. Even after, she lives her life a bit shocked at what’s happening and I really want to shake her. How is she in Shenandoah and is confused about the racists coming out of the woodwork? About KKK? About drugs? About everything else too. I enjoy cozies that take on current events, but this take is hard for me. I really shouldn’t have read this book right now, but I had to because I got it from Netgalley. I might read one more book from the series because I like the cows, Wes and the other characters. I also like that the author tries to put in some issue, it’s the execution I have a problem with.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Goodnight Moo by Mollie Cox Bryan, the second in the Buttermilk Creek mystery series, is another entertaining story of Brynn MacAlister and her three cows, Buttercup, Marigold, and Petunia. A fourth cow has come to board, a Highland cow named Jewel who is frighteningly thin as well as depressed, her owner having died, and left her alone. All is well at Buttermilk Farm as Brynn and Wes prepare for the fair and their cheese competition. It all falls apart quickly as Wes gets shot in the middle of the competition and Brynn, upon seeing him lying in a pool of blood, faints, hits her head and is forced to spent the next couple of weeks recovering from a concussion. Not even a concussion, or the arrival of Wes' father and brother stop her from solving this crime as well as several others that are committed in its wake. It gets complicated, but of course, that doesn't stop Brynn. All's well that ends well. That's what cozies are about.

Goodnight Moo is a wonderful small-town mystery, which takes place in the Shenandoah Valley. It is summer and so is very humid; humidity the reader relives along with the characters in the book, it is portrayed so well. Bryan's characters are well-rounded and she is handy with the use of red herrings, leading the reads in the wrong direction until almost the very end. This is a very cute series, as cute as murder can be, at any rate. Brynn and Wes are working hard and have a bundle of good friends to help. The community is everything it should be. The plot was a good one, involving much more than was initially assumed and the characters rose to the challenge. The reader need look to further for intrigue, cyber-crime, and much more as this fabulous story unfolds. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Goodnight Moo by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #goodnightmoo

GOODNIGHT MOO is the second book in the Buttermilk Creek Mystery series! We meet up again with Brynn and the rest of the residents of Shenandoah Springs as they’re gearing up for the annual fair. Everyone is ecstatic, but things go really sour when Wes finds a dead body.

I read the first book in the series and liked it. And the second book was just as good. This was a bit darker than the first book though. Actually, it was darker than most cozies. Most cozies are light-hearted, fun fluff, but this book tackled some real-life issues, and I loved that. It made the book come alive more because those darker themes/elements added a realistic charm to the narrative. I saw that some people didn’t like the darker themes of this book, and I still can’t understand why. It’s not like these issues aren’t in our everyday life.

Anyway, this was a really good read. The characters are very amusing and entertaining. The mystery itself was great! Very twisty and dark and kept me on my toes. The ending did feel a bit rushed to me, but overall, it was still satisfying. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

This is the second book in this series. I’m loving it. The setting for the story, the characters, and the story line are all great. The love for animals is awesome. Love “The Girls”!! Brynn is continuing to show herself who she is and find out just what she can do. What fun to watch Brynn and Wes as they grow the cheese business. I can’t wait to go visit with them again in Shenandoah Springs, Virginia. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Another fun visit back to the fields of Shenandoah Springs, where the cheese is fresh and the cows are friendly! More than one unexpected death occurs in town and Wes becomes one of the top suspects! Can his family and friends prove he's not involved or does Wes hold secrets from all of us! Unfortunately Brynn suffers a concussion during a skirmish and her lovely sister comes to visit and help out on the farm. A little down time might just be what Brynn needs, but can she stay out of the murder mystery mix. Once again we get to hang out with the fun citizens of Shenandoah Springs, reminding us that new beginnings can sometimes be the biggest blessings. This is a great book to whisk you away from every day life, filled with great scenery, great friends and wonderful farm life!!

Goodnight Moo by Mollie Cox Bryan is the 2nd book in A Buttermilk Creek Mystery series, and I loved it. Brynn owns three cows, and she is making organic cheese. Brynn and her assistant is excited to be hosting a cheese making contest at the fair, but when death and mayhem break out, Brynn is on the case. I can not say enough good things about this book. The book has a great mystery and plot, but I also enjoyed learning about making cheese, and all her yummy cooking. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I strongly recommend this book for all cozy mystery book lovers.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is second book in the Buttermilk Creek Mystery series set in small town Shenandoah Springs, Virginia. Brynn is back with her micro-farm and cheese making business. Her assistant, Wes, becomes an suspect in a murder that seems to be linked to a previous farm accident. Brynn slips into sleuth mode to clear his name.

I really like this series. I love the animals and Brynn's fondness for them. The cows, Petunia, Buttercup, and Marigold, are joined by a foster Highland cow, Jewel. Who does love the hairy loveliness of a Scottish coo? Freckles the dog and Romeo the cat round out the farm's animal occupants.

The town is presented in such a way that I would love to visit. I've never considered cheese making until I read the first book. It intrigues me now.

The murders and various mishaps seem to center around one character. It was interesting to see how everything linked together. I appreciate that the characters are well written and seem like old friends when reintroduced.

The mystery was well plotted and I kept changing my mind about the culprit. There is a very serious undertone of exploitation that is handled quite well. I was very happy when the murderer was captured and Brynn could return to the joys of cheese making.

This is a very good series that I recommend.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another enjoyable installment in the Buttermilk Creek cozy mystery series. Set in the Shenandoah Mountains, Brynn MacAlister runs a dairy farm and churns cheese. Brynn has a new rescue cow and is running (what she hopes will be an annual tradition) a cheese maker contest as part of a local summer festival. While a relative newcomer in the town, she has formed relationships with some of the residents. When the husband of one of her new friendships is accused of murder, Brynn doesn't believe what people are saying about the motive. Another death occurs and her head cheese maker is accused, Brynn starts looking into things and puts herself into danger. This was a nice engaging read from the start with enjoyable characters and a small town setting in the mountains. While this is the second of a series, it can be read as a stand-a-lone without feeling like something is missing.

This is a very homey and no frills kind of mystery. The back drop is a peaceful farm and the owner brynn is trying her hand at cheesemaking. I really like the interaction between the characters. The murder is pretty darn clever and I enjoyed trying to figure out who did it. I recommend this book. I really liked it.