I thoroughly enjoyed this Halloween novella in Lynn Cahoon’s Farm-to-Fork series, as we follow Angie and crew to a lock-in at a penitentiary.

I highly recommend this for fans of cozies, and fans of Cahoon’s. I wanted to read a quick, light mystery, and Cahoon delivered.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

This is a four star read- highly recommend.

This is a fun addition to the series "Farm To Fork". I enjoy the series and highly recommend this next in series which follows Deep Fried Revenge. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. Review delayed for fire evacuation .

Angie and her trusty team are at a unusual team building event where they are all locked into cells at a old penitentiary for the night. The setting was sufficiently creepy and well described to make the reader have chills. When a murder occurs of a guard Angie rises to the challenge of solving the murder. The sleuth was fast paced and I liked the red herrings throughout that kept me guessing. A fun addition to this well loved series and I look forward to the next in series.

Angie and her employees are on their quarterly company bonding trip. This one is at a lock-in at an old state penitentiary. Can they all make it through the night with no incidents?

I enjoyed this little novella. I just wish that it was longer. I loved the whole premise and setting. A lock-in in an old prison would be so creepy. I love all the characters and they're all so much fun. I just wish this one was a full-length novel. It would have been so much better if it had taken place over a couple of days and been longer.

*eARC provided in exchange for an honest review*

Middle of the road read for me, wasn't grand wasn't horrible. The farm to table take is very popular in dining, or it was prior to lockdowns, and this book capitalizes on it. It was a quick read that didn't compel you to love it or hate it.

Angie Turner and her team from the County Seat restaurant are participating in a team building event. They are locked in at the "haunted" penitentiary with 4 tour guides and two other couples. What they don't know is that there is a ghost there too! Before the night is over, a guard is dead, the ghost takes possession of one of the team and things get a bit spooky!

Fun little story for Halloween!

I am becoming a huge fan of the cozy mystery genre due to books like this. You can read this as an escape from the everyday in a weekend. A really good mystery.

This book grabbed me from the first page through the recipe at the end. It was a bit of a cozy thriller with a spooky setting and an interesting murder. Especially fun at Halloween but a great read anytime. Worth more than five stars.

Lynn Cahoon writes excellent cozy mysteries. Perfect for a chilly afternoon read...that will keep you up reading later to finish...her Farm to Fork series features a very entertaining cast of characters who always seem to find a body at the wrong time!!! This one throws in the locked room theory with a whole group of suspicious characters to boot. An enjoyable mystery that I did not solve before the ending.

Penned In by Lynn Cahoon is a novella in the Farm-To-Fork series in which the County Seat gang are doing a team-building activity: spending the night together in a haunted prison. Doesn't seem like such a bad idea, until there is a murder. The gang are not the only guests, so they are not alone, not to mention the staff. The haunted part is not the bad part, but obviously the murder puts a damper on things. Especially when the one means of communication disappears. Leave it to the County Seat folks to have the mystery solved by the time the sheriff arrives to release them in the morning. Someone else plans the next team-building...

Good story, good cast of characters, not exactly cozy, but not not. It was a fun and quick read, worth your time, especially if you are a fan of this series. I recommend it.

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

Penned In by Lynn Cahoon is the 4.5th book in the Farm to Fork Mystery series, and another great addition to the series. Angie Turner has organized a team building retreat to Old Idaho Penitentiary, a prison with ghostly murder. During a lock down, a murder is committed, and the sleuthing begins. Once I started this book I could not stop reading it. It was a quick read that kept me guessing. I look forward to the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book for all cozy mystery book lovers, you will not be disappointed. I recommend all of Ms Cahoon's cozy mysteries.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Halloween In a Haunted Prison
This is a good and spooky ghost story from the Farm to Fork Series. Angie, Ian and the crew go to a nighttime tour of a haunted prison intending to spend the night in lockdown. Things do not go as planned. In fact, they go about as horrible as possible.
I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

I love the Farm-to-Fork series. And this one was a little different than the earlier books…a Halloween novella based on an old haunted penitentiary. You are sucked into the mystery from the beginning. I really like the characters from the County Seat Restaurant. Their interactions are those of people who truly care for each other. They are caring, snarky, and encouraging. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lyrical Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

A fun novella to keep in contact with the characters while they are enjoying a team-building experience in a penitentiary. Even the dog was allowed to participate. Intriguing former prisoner tales. Clever ending.

Penned In is a fun Halloween-themed novella in Lynn Cahoon’s Farm to Fork cozy mystery series. As a team-building exercise, Angie Turner, Felicia Williams, and the employees of the County Seat restaurant are spending the night locked inside the Old Idaho Penitentiary, a remote locale that is rumored to be haunted. Accompanying them on this adventure are two other couples, a group of relatives, and a few actors who serve as the prison’s “guards.” With their cellphones confiscated and the prison doors locked, the group is seemingly cut off from the outside world. What starts off as a spooky activity, however, turns frighteningly real when one of the “guards” is murdered. Angie and her cohorts must come together as a team to find a killer . . . before the killer finds one of them.

Having a collaborative event set in a haunted prison is a terrific idea, and Ms. Cahoon pulls it off fabulously. The locked-room mystery is intriguing, and the suspects plentiful. And despite this being a novella, each of the restaurant’s employees plays a role in the solution. The only reservation I have about this book is that there is an unnecessary paranormal element thrown in that, for me at least, undermines the strength of the mystery. However, if you are a fan of the Farm to Fork series, that little glitch should not deter you from this entertaining tale.

Note: I received an ARC of Penned In from NetGalley and Kensington Books. The above is my honest review.

A solid tie-in "Farm-to-Fork Mystery" novella with a spooky Halloween vibe!

For their quarterly out-of-the-office team-building meeting, Angie Turner, boyfriend Ian MacNeal, and the chefs and staff of "The County Seat" are participating in a special Halloween all-night lock-in at the Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise. Now a museum and event center with tour guides dressed up as guards, the old building is known to house a ghost or two of former inmates. On this night, in particular, the spirit of Lyda Southard, a female inmate whose baby was taken from her at its birth never to be seen again, is rumored to appear.

The group gets the grand tour, but as they settle into their assigned cells for the night, one of the “guards” is found dead at the entrance to the prison library. With the master door key and the only cellphone in the place missing, no one can summon help. Although the doors will automatically unlock at 6 a.m., Angie, Ian, Dom, and the rest of "The County Seat" staff are locked in with a murderer.

PENNED IN is a short and fun Halloween-themed novella featuring the recurring characters from author Lynn Cahoon’s "Farm-to-Fork Mystery" series. With each glimpse, we learn a little bit more about these familiar faces away from their work setting. The action is quick, and the mystery begins almost immediately with plenty of suspects to consider.

I recommend this to readers familiar with the series, but those that want a taste of what "The County Seat’s" cooking will like what "Penned In" offers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from NetGalley.

I really enjoy the Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. The author added a bit of paranormal intrigue into this novella. The usual gang come together and attract trouble like a magnet. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, Lynn Cahoon is always a winner.

Know that this is a novella not a full length book but it will keep you guessing ! Anyone who has been on a work offsite knows how dreadful they can be but this- geez! First off, Angie's team at the County Seat restaurant is at the Old Idaho Penitentiary, where they will be treated like prisoners (I've felt that way at offsites but can't understand how this would be team building). Unfortunately shortly after they arrive, one of the "guards" is murdered, making this a locked prison mystery. Angie, her boyfriend Ian, and her friends know they didn't do it but who did- which one of the other workers? Or, was it the ghost? No spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Given its length this is a quick read - perfect entertainment for a lazy afternoon.

In this Halloween themed novella, Angie Turner and her County Seat restaurant crew have scheduled a 24 hr stay in the haunted prison of Boise as a team-building exercise along with a small number of other patrons. (Sorry—I know that place and there is no way would I want to be locked in overnight; so many stories and it does give off creepy vibes.)

Anyway, in addition to the team, there are four “guards” (actors) as well as other guests. Angie is allowed to include Dom, her trusty St Bernard. It’s a cozy. Someone is gonna die. And it’s a prison after all…

I’m not sure how much team building actually got done, although we got to be privy to some support character personalities and their work together as they solved the whodunit. The fun part (for me) was the paranormal element—that of the story of a female ghost (so many stories there). The ghost and Angie communed and Angie (with the help of her crew) followed the clues. There can’t be that many suspects—right? But it won’t be as easy as you think to solve.

This is a great setting for a Halloween mystery. It’s has some interesting characters and the mystery moves along. A fast read and fun cozy. 3.5 stars rounded up

Penned In by Lynn Cahoon has Angie Turner and the gang from the County Seat heading off for a team building exercise at a historic penitentiary. After a tour of the facility and learning the local history, they will be locked in for the night. Shortly after being assigned their cells, Angie finds one of the four guards dead. One of the people locked in with them is the killer. Can Angie and the chefs identify the bad guy, or will they end up the next spirits haunting the facility?

Penned In is A Farm-to-Fork Mystery novella. I do not recommend reading it on its own if you are unfamiliar with the series (come back and read it after you finish the others). I enjoyed reading Penned In. It was a delightful Halloween mini cozy mystery. All our favorite characters are back including the large and lovable, Dom as well as Precious, the Houdini goat. Each quarter the chefs from the County Seat do a team building exercise. It was Matt’s turn to pick the venue and he chose an old, supposedly haunted penitentiary. They are not allowed to bring in cell phones or other niceties (like food). I cannot imagine being locked in with a killer. This was a unique take on a locked room mystery. Penned In is a fun story to read with a delightful whodunit. There is a recipe for Chocolate chip muffins included. Penned In has a party penned in at the penitentiary, the darling Dom, a gone guard, and haunted happenings.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie

t takes a unique talent to pack an entire novel-length cozy mystery into a novella, and Lynn Cahoon is up to the challenge in this night before Halloween tale. I have enjoyed full-length novels in The Farm-to-Fork Mystery series and like the restaurant, characters, overall setting. While I am familiar with the characters, the author includes a sufficient overview of Angie, her staff, her boyfriend Ian, and lovable Saint Bernard, Dom. I did miss seeing the restaurant this time, but the setting more than makes up for it. I did not figure out who the bad guy was in this fast-paced tale but did enjoy each step of the way!

It is time for the quarterly staff team-building event, and Matt has chosen the location and made reservations. The County Seat, Angie and Felicia’s upscale restaurant, pays for the costs and the wages of the staff while “inside”. And indeed, they are inside this time! They will be locked “inside” the Old Idaho Penitentiary in Boise, where people can be “sentenced” for a night. The County Seat team and Ian will spend the night in lockup with seven other “residents” and four folks playing guard duty. It is the night before Halloween, a night when ghosts of the past are reputed to be the most active. The most notable former resident who might be wandering is Lyda Southard, and this is the night she typically makes her presence known.

The “residents” are trying to relax in their respective cells and hear a scream. When the group tracks down the source, they find one of the guards outside the library in a pool of blood. Pat, one of the two guards that were arguing earlier in the evening, was dead, murdered. They attempted to find the other guards and located two. Unfortunately, only one cell phone and key was allotted per shift. Both had been on the dead guard earlier but could not be found. Worst case, they would have to wait until the gates automatically open at 6 AM, leaving them still locked in the old west prison for the rest of the night with a killer.

The characters are defined perfectly. Favorites are Angie, in part due to love of her pets and care for people in her employ, and Estebe, because of his desire to protect the staff, including Hope, the newest prep cook and their former dishwasher. The guards and other guests, including two couples who were just married that day, are among the mysteries.

Plot twists and turns keep the suspect list a moving target! On one hand, our County Seat friends simply want to finish the night and leave; on the other hand, at least one killer is locked in with them. When it seems like Nancy, another chef, has been taken over by the ghost of Lyda, is there an unseen something involved? I did not figure out the real bad guy, or even have an adequate suspect list, and had quite the surprise at the end, in more ways than one! I highly recommend this exciting Halloween tale!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*