A Sprinkling of Murder (A Fairy Garden Mystery)
By Daryl Wood Gerber

Book Club Tea 
Magic & Fairies
Murder Mystery

I loved the premise of this story and was immediately captivated by the world Gerber created surrounding Courtney Kelly, 29 year old fairy garden shop owner in the beautiful town of Carmel by the Sea in northern California, has such a great disposition and believes in magic. When Mick Watkins the owner of the dog grooming business next to her dies all of a sudden and fingers are pointed at Courtney, she had to use some magic of her own to clear her name. 

I really enjoyed this read. I found it fun and love the whodunnit to figure out the murder mystery with a few suspect characters. Though this is my first Gerber book, this definitely will not be my last. I really recommend this one for a great cozy mystery read.

This is the first book in Daryl Wood Gerber’s new cozy mystery series. It is her venture into the fairy realm. As a lover of all things fae, I was a bit nervous. She did amazing with it. Courtney owns a tea shop and garden store where she encourages creativity among her patrons. She sees fairies and in this book has a fairy in training helper, Fiona. After a dead body is discovered in her store, her landlord, Courtney becomes a suspect in his murder. She decides she must clear her name by investigating the murder herself. While that is going on we get to read plenty about fairies and making fairy gardens. 
I really enjoyed reading this book. It captured my imagination and now I really want to make a fairy garden of my own. The mystery has enough suspects to keep you on your toes. I won’t go much into that because I’m always afraid of giving away too much. Part of the enjoyment of cozy mysteries is trying to solve the mystery before the big reveal. My lips are sealed and my fingers taped shut. The characters are a mix up ones you love and hope to see more of and those you dislike but know they will probably return because they are town people. That’s fine with me. The troublemakers keep you on your toes. 
Ms Gerber has wonderful writing skills. Recently she has written in the thriller mystery genre. I was curious to see if she would be able to write two very different yet similar genres with equal skill. The answer to that is yes. I didn’t see any flaws or mixups in reading this book. It was delightful and cozy from the start to the finish. If you have ever dreamed of fairies I think you will find enough in this book about fairies to enchant you.

I absolutely adore stories about fairies and A Sprinkling of Murder was an enchanting delight.  Courtney was an amazing heroine that you will instantly like and I love how she created such a fun store, Open Your Imagination, to help people create their own fairy garden.  The mystery was well-thought out and it even had me guessing.  A Sprinkling of Murder is a great start to a new series and I’m now desperately wanting the second book.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay but....

Book 1 in a new series.

Not my favorite by this author. Probably won't read anymore. I like a touch of the paranormal but this one was a bit too much. The whole getting people to talk by having a fairy spell them into it, just reads bad karma to me and... icky.

This new cozy mystery by Darryl Wood Gerber is a whimsical whodunnit. I love the introduction of fairies as if they really exist. I wish I still had the magic of childhood to believe in fairies and you will too after reading this book. The main character makes fairy gardens and owns a store that caters to them. What a novel idea, especially in these times. I look forward to the next installment.

‘A Sprinkling of Murder‘ begins the new ‘Fairy Garden Mystery‘ series with an intriguing, fun, and enjoyable introduction to this world. I’ll admit that I was hooked on this world early on and I can already say that I’ll be following this series for as long as it runs. A touch of Paranormal, lots of Cozy Mystery to solve – why wouldn’t a Mystery lover devour this new series? I certainly plan to.

There was a time when Courtney believed in the magic of fairies, could even see and converse with them. Yet, that all disappeared when her mother died when Courtney was about 10 and she moved onto what everyone else considers the ‘real world’ of facts, realities, and no more magical moments in the garden with the fairies.

Until… as she approached her thirties suddenly she was seeing the fairy world once again. Perhaps it was when she opened her fairy garden shop ‘Open Your Imagination’ that the magic flowed once more. How doesn’t really matter – the timing couldn’t be more perfect for the fairy that Courtney once spoke with returns with a message that trouble is on the way… and it certainly was when a dead body is found at her garden shop. And Courtney is the main murder suspect. Time to do some sleuthing of her own in order to prove her innocence – but not everything or everyone is as they seem, for among this community a murderer lurks, and it isn’t Courtney.

I try not to give away spoilers in any review but I’m especially vague on Cozy Mysteries or Paranormal Mysteries titles. ‘A Sprinkling of Murder‘ was such a delightful introduction into this world. First, I love anything with a touch of the Paranormal, Second I also love and have created fairy gardens so that’s another plus, and Third I simply love a really good mystery in a world that is well-built with interesting characters to meet, interact with and suspect of foul deeds over the length of the book. I found all of that and more in ‘A Sprinkling of Murder‘.

There is definitely world-building here, there has to be at the start of a new series, a new world. I liked Fiona, she’s rough around the edges as a fairy, but I did like her and look forward to more in the future. The murder victim wasn’t entirely liked by the community but shifting through the numerous suspects we meet, tossing out this one and that one was a fun time for me. With a few twists, and delightful new world, and intriguing characters I fell in love with this story and would definitely recommend it. The next title is due out in March of 2021 – a long time to wait, but I’ve no doubt that the end result will be well worth it.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Kensington Books via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber
Book #1: Fairy Garden Mystery Series
Source: NetGalley and Kensington
Rating: 2½/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line:  Once again, I find myself in the minority when it comes to star ratings on a book.  I struggled through this book from page one to the very end and that made me angry because I really wanted to love this read.  It has everything I normally love in a cozy mystery and even has a dash of the paranormal, but somehow none of this came together for me.  I found most of the characters to be rather flat, the plot to be rather cliché, and the addition of the fairies to somehow be beyond the real of possibility, even in a fiction book.  To be completely honest, I am not sure why this read didn’t work for me, but as I finally made it to the end, I realized, I won’t be giving the series a second chance.  I think this may simply be an instance of “not for me” but I can absolutely see how this book is appealing to other readers.

I really enjoyed this book and mystery in the book.  The one thing I liked about this book is that it brought in a little of fantasy with a normal murder mystery.  The fantasy portion didn't effect the realism because it was really only about being able to see fairies if you believe in them and I liked that explanation.  

My favorite character was the fairy Fiona.  I wish we had more from her then we did but in future books I would love to get a better understanding about how the fairy world works then we currently did in this book.

If you love cozy mysteries with some fantastical elements in it then this book is for you.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC. 

If you love cosy mysteries with a touch of magic, then this ‘whodunnit’ with fanciful faeries will enchant you. 

The magical setting is the main protagonist’s business, ‘Open your imagination’; Courtney Kelly owns and runs a fairy garden; a store where customers can purchase or create their own faerie garden... Unfortunately for them, most customers don’t see Courtney’s faerie friend, the feisty (and sometimes troublesome) Fiona, 
With the help of her friends, including Fiona, Courtney searches for a murderer since she needs to clear her name after discovering the body of Mick Watkins, fellow business owner in her shop.

A Sprinkling of Murder earns 5/5 Fairy Wings...Entertaining Fun!

“Do you believe in fairies?” [Insert loud clapping.] Daryl Wood Gerber is a favorite author, and her first book in a brand new series, a Fairy Garden Mystery, is a delight! “A Sprinkling of Murder” introduces Courtney Kelly, who saw her first fairy at a very young age, and now at twenty-nine years old has left her father’s landscaping firm and opened her own fairy garden shop...Open Your Imagination. She also added a weekly tea shop combined with a book club; it was becoming a popular event. But, it’s the dead body of a neighboring dog-groomer that doesn’t seem to fit in her idea of a fairy garden...and as a person under suspicion, Courtney will use all she has, including an “always in trouble” fairy,” to clear her name.

Written using the traditional cozy formula that has made me a fan, I love the theme, the cleverness and wit, the fairy lore created, and using a first-person narrative from Courtney’s perspective. The descriptive writing style and entertaining banter highlight a murder mystery I had difficulty solving myself, and a plethora of characters I’d look forward to following. The “magical” element is not childish; it is fun, somewhat unique, and easily perceived as a realistic friendship and partnership. It’s just one of the friends is a fairy...a fairy with an interesting personality, background, and penchant for trouble. Do you believe in fairies? I do! I do!

Yeah! Daryl Wood Gerber added several recipes for sweet and savory treats; each is “From” one of the characters in the story and includes a fun introduction from their perspective. Daryl also includes a “gluten-free” version for some of the recipes. Yummmy!

What an amazing start to a very promising series!  I loved the main character and fell in love with her life and the town itself. I can’t wait to read more in this series.

A Sprinkling of Murder is a cute first book in Daryl Wood Gerber's new Fairy Garden Mystery series, complete with real fairies and everything. Courtney Kelly is the owner of the Open Your Imagination fairy garden and tea shop. She designs fairy gardens and teaches patrons how to construct their own. After witnessing several people argue with another shop owner (at different times), Courtney discovers him dead inside her shop. With an unverifiable alibi and the death occurring on her property, Courtney finds herself at the top of the suspect list. Knowing she didn't do it, Courtney tries sleuthing on her own before she finds herself behind bars.

At the beginning of the story, Courtney is your typical cozy mystery amateur sleuth. I would imagine the adreneline causes you not to think straight, so I try to let  their cluelessness go and move on. For someone who claims to watch CSI, she did an awful lot of no-nos at the scene of the crime, though. Once the police arrive, Courtney tells them everything she did and/or touched, much to their frustration. As the story progresses and Courtney tries to prove her innocence, many potential suspects come out of the woodwork. At one point, Courtney even creates a suspect board in one of her new fairy gardens at home.

This is a very unique story with unique elements. I enjoyed the fairy garden shop setting, complete with a live fairy. The characters are fun and exciting. I enjoyed Courtney's character. She's trying to remain independent from her father. Her business is successful and thriving. Even though she has being a suspect over her head, she goes about her daily business while trying to figure out who killed Mick Watson and why in her store. The author delivers several suspects with means and motive, making figuring out who-dun-it difficult. There are twists and turns and red herrings, and while I may have suspected, I never was really sure. I'm looking forward to book 2.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

Princess Fuzzypants here:  There always seems to be magic in the stories of this author but she pulled out all stop with this book.  With a large sprinkling of fairy dust and a  personal fairy Fiona and a sweet Ragdoll named Pixie, how could the reader fail to be enchanted.  Kelly owns a shop that sells the makings for fairy gardens.  The theory is if you open your heart and have an enticing garden, you too may get your own fairy.  Kelly’s just happens to be on probation.

Carmel, a magical location in itself, seems to be split between the believers who want to meet a fairy and those who dismiss it as hogwash.  But Kelly’s business dream is threatened when she discovers the dead body of a neighbour in her patio late at night.  How he got in or what he wanted is a mystery as is who would want him dead.  Rumours and location make Kelly a suspect but there are others who have much more reason to be angry with him.

Between Fiona, Kelly and her friends, they are able to exonerate Kelly and learn the secret that led to the murder.  While I did suspect the culprit, there was enough to keep it from being a slam dunk.  In fact, the reasons behind the crime and the crime behind the crime were total surprises.  Fiona does her good deeds and with the help of a mentor fairy proves she deserves her grown up wings.

It was a delightful bit of whimsy from beginning to end.  I hope we have more of these stories.  Five purrs and two paws up.

The new Fairy Garden Mystery series by Daryl Wood Gerber has such a unique premise that I just devoured it!

The storybook setting is truly a character all its own in "A Sprinkling of Murder." In the charming, dog-friendly coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Courtney Kelly has opened a combination fairy garden store and tea shop called Open Your Imagination. In addition to selling fairy gardens and supplies, Courtney teaches others how to create and personalize their own fairy gardens. Perhaps she has a leg up on other fairy gardeners, though, since she has a friend-slash-muse in the form of the tiny fairy Fiona, who loves showing up at inopportune moments to surprise Courtney and her cat, Pixie. Only those who believe in fairies can actually see Fiona, and it's quite entertaining to observe which characters are believers and which are not.

Before dawn one morning, Courtney is at home in bed when Fiona dashes over to say something horrible has happened at Open Your Imagination. Courtney rushes to her shop and finds the body of the cantankerous Mick Watkins, owner of a neighboring business, lying next to the shop's backyard fountain, and he's been strangled. Courtney is immediately pegged as a prime suspect not only because Mick is found at her business but also because the two had sparred over him wanting to expand his grooming business, Wizard of Paws, into her coveted space. The body is barely cold before Courtney learns that Mick was cheating on his wife, Emily, with a local council member, an entanglement that complicates the investigation from the get-go. Lots of locals had reason to want Mick out of the picture, and not all of them have alibis that check out.

The mystery keeps readers hopping throughout the book, but the real stars of the show here are this magical town, the fairy garden business itself, and the many special teatimes, such as a book club tea held at the shop. A cozy mystery featuring a fairy as a character runs the risk of being too cute to be believable, but Gerber succeeds in making Fiona every bit as real—and with just as many foibles—as the human characters. 

Also, like many cozy mysteries, this one concludes with quite a few of the recipes mentioned in the story, and the author has included several gluten-free versions of the treats as well, which will no doubt be appreciated by those who eat gluten-free foods.

This is such a fun new cozy mystery series! I have always loved fairy gardens and so when I saw this book I had to read it! I adored the fact that one of the main characters is a fairy and that her and the main character make a great sleuthing team! The mystery was well developed and plotted and had enough twists and turns to keep me interested. I loved the setting of Carmel, California! Overall I highly recommend this book and I'm excited to read more books in the series!

The latest new series, "A Fairy Garden Mystery" from Daryl Wood Gerber, published by Kensington Books is out now. A Sprinkling Of Murder This is a fun, offbeat, and enticing read that will have readers wanting more.  

Courtney is a bit on the odd side; she is a fully grown adult who believes in fairies. Not just believes, but talks to them daily, and encourages others to do the same. Other characters are enjoyable and likable. Fiona, the wonderfully mischievous fairy and Joss, Courtney's excellent bookkeeper, and friend are both fantastic characters that take the reader to imaginative places. The location of a garden shop dedicated to fairies is very unusual but makes readers want to start a garden or shop, maybe both. It is distinctly original and easy to picture.

The murder of a fellow shop owner is well written, with plenty of plot twists and suspects. Even though the victim wasn't unlikeable, it was easy to see that some might have had a problem with him and wanted him out of the way. Courtney and her fairy friend help track down the evidence and find the killer. The culprit is not necessarily what readers would expect but once revealed allows them to see the killing and the clues from a new perspective.

To be honest, I had a slight issue with the entire fairy theme until I got into the book. After all, if we can believe in vampires, goblins, gargoyles, and werewolves, why not fairies? I place this book squarely in the fantasy realm of the cozy genre. I have not read many fantasy mysteries, but this one had me curious about others of this type. I am happy to recommend A Sprinkling Of Murder; I can't wait to read the next one.

Courtney Kelly's childhood was filled with magic and fairies until her mother died when she was 10. She lost all interest and moved on with life. But at 29, when she opened her own business building fairy gardens, she began seeing fairies again. And even gained one as a friend. One day, Fiona warns her that something bad is coming....and it does. When a man's lifeless body is discovered in her shop, Courtney finds herself a top suspect. Can she discover the true killer before it's pinned on her?

Cute start to a new series. This book is a light mix of paranormal and cozy mystery. There's a lot of setup for the series going on in this first book, but it didn't really over-shadow the mystery plot. The mystery moved along at a nice pace and had a few suspects and twists along the way. I liked the idea of the main character creating fairy gardens and having a shop called Open Your Imagination. Cute concept! And I would be a customer if the business were real! ;) 

The next book in the series will be out in summer 2021. I will definitely be eager awaiting it. Great start to a new series!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber is the first book in a new Fairy Garden Mystery series. 

Courtney owns a fairy garden and teashop business in Carmel, California. She also has a real fairy in her shop named Fiona. When a neighborhood business owner is killed in Courtney's shop, she (and her fairy) must work to clear her name and find the killer. 

It took me a little bit to truly get into the book - it was slow reading for about the first half. I'm not quite a true believer in fairies yet. I probably wouldn't be able to see one if I went into Courtney's shop.  I did like how animals and children can see the fairy. However, Fiona's character was hit or miss - It was like Tinkerbell trying to solve a murder. 

I liked the story aspect surrounding the murder - the townspeople, their back stories, and their current relationships with each other. There are a lot of characters, but it is not hard to keep track of who is who. 

I liked the ending and the way things wrapped up. A well written and satisfying conclusion that made sense. 

Maybe by the next book, I'll be a fairy believer. 

I received this book as an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

In order to see a fairy, one must believe they exist, according to Courtney Kelly, twenty-nine-year-old owner of Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden and tea shop located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Courtney’s first fairy sighting was at the age of five in her mother’s flower garden. Courtney shared a love of fairies with her late mother; her relationship with her father Kipling “Kip” Kelly is somewhat strained since Courtney left his landscaping business to start the shop. 
Courtney doesn’t run the shop alone; Joss Timberlake is Courtney’s assistant. And since Open Your Imagination is a fairy garden shop, there is also a resident fairy. Fiona is her name and she is a fairy-on-probation after irking the queen fairy with one too many pranks. Fiona remains unseen to most of the shop’s patrons, even though a few exhibit evidence they may sense her presence when they bat away what they assume to be an annoying insect buzzing around their heads. 
The shop is a magical place to be, on several levels, until Courtney discovers the body of Mick Watkins, owner of Wizard of Paws, the grooming business in the same courtyard as Courtney’s shop, sprawled in Open Your Imagination’s courtyard in the early hours of the morning. Before the police arrive, Courtney, with Fiona’s help, discovers a secret entrance to the courtyard, adding another mystery to the one lying dead in the shop’s courtyard. 
Detective Dylan Summers and his partner Officer Rodriguez are the first officers to arrive on the scene and before long Courtney realizes she’s a suspect in Mick’s death; Mick’s wife Emily accuses Courtney of killing him. Courtney knows she didn’t do it, but she doesn’t have a good alibi. So, who is the killer? Pauli Petra, the councilwoman rumored to be having an affair with Mick? His wife, Emily? Logan Langford, Courtney and Mick’s landlord? Logan wanted to break Mick’s lease and evict him from the property, but Mick fought back. Courtney, with help from Joss, Courtney’s best friend Meaghan, and Fiona take it upon themselves to solve the murder mystery, much to the dismay of the Carmel Police Department. Will Courtney solve the murder or will the killer silence Courtney first?
I had some trouble getting into the book at first. The police officers came across as a little too harsh and I found it off-putting. But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. At some point, I was pulled into the story and quickly finished it. What I like about Gerber’s book is the way she brings up a “what if” question: what if…minds were opened to the magical in adulthood the same way they were in childhood?
A Sprinkling of Murder is the first book in the new Fairy Garden Mystery series by Daryl Wood Gerber. Gerber is a prolific writer. She has written the Cookbook Nook series and several standalone novels under her real name and has written the Cheese Shop Mystery Series under the pen name of Avery Adams. 
To learn more about Gerber’s work, visit her website here.
To read an excerpt, click here.

An excellent start for a new paranormal cozy series. It's engrossing and entertaining, the plot is enjoyable, the cast of characters interesting and fleshed out, the mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.