Savanna Shepherd is an elementary school art teacher in Carson. She arranged for the Art in the Park event to be held in Carson. As the plans begin to solidify for the event, things in the town seem to be falling apart. Someone beheads their town statue. Someone kills a councilman. Savanna and her sisters Skylar and Sydney work to figure out what is going on before the event is ruined. This book was exactly what I have come to expect from Hallmark, a little mystery and a little romance.

This is the second book by Hallmark Publishing in their new cozy mystery series, The Shepherd Sisters. After reading the first one last year, I was really excited to get back to visiting the sisters and their small Michigan town. This outing focused more on Savanna and the art festival she was helping to plan in town. She has now been back for a few more months and has settled in nicely to her hometown. I enjoyed catching back up with the characters at the beginning and we were introduced to few new ones in this story. However, I found the mystery lacking and felt it dragged in the middle. Though I read a lot of cozies, I got annoyed with Savanna and her interactions with Detective Jordan in solving this mystery. He seemed to welcome her input and even let her collect evidence! I also struggled with the ending. Ms. Gardner's solution to the mystery felt rushed and anti-climatic that I wasn't sure if I had missed something. Depending on the plot in the next book, I will probably check it out and hope for improvement!

I enjoyed the book! I’m not sure I would be on the lookout for the next one in the series, but I’d certainly pick it up if I saw it. Knowing it comes from Hallmark, I could definitely see this as one of their movies, Actually, why don’t they make a movie out of this??? And now I want to try some of the other Hallmark cozies!

Excitement is in the air for the Shepherd sisters and the town of Carson. The Art in the Park festival signals summer for the residents, but something sinister lurks beneath the surface. Someone hijacked the celebration plans and ruined an important landmark.

Once again, Savanna stumbles upon a body and rattles the town. When a friend is arrested, she investigates a slew of leads and suspects, which lands Savanna dead center as a target. Following clues and her instinct is gravely dangerous in Carson.

Twisting plots and likeable characters in this clean, cozy series provide enjoyable reading. Readers will laugh out loud and cringe, too. I hope to see much more from author Tracy Gardner.

I received a complimentary copy of the book without obligation. This review is my opinion.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Hallmark Publishing, in return for an honest review. While the second book in this series, it is easily read as a standalone. The three Shepherd sisters, Savanna, Skylar and Sydney, are enjoying a summer together again in their hometown of Carson, Michigan. Skylar is an attorney; Sydney owns a dog grooming & bakery business and Savanna now teaches elementary school art. Savanna’s community support includes co-chairing a committee bringing an annual Michigan Art in the Park festival to Carson for the first time. Unfortunately, the preparations are marred when a statue in the park is vandalized, followed by altercations at a banquet for all the businesses and interest groups supporting the upcoming festival. When Savanna’s co-chair is found murdered in his home by Savanna and the police arrest a good friend, the Shepherd sisters bring their respective talents to solve the crime and clear their friend’s name. The story includes potential romantic interests for Savanna and Sydney.
The author writes well and sets the scene for the various interactions. The dealings between the sisters, their families and those around them are gentle and kind. I have one caveat to my liking of this book. I truly wish Ms. Gardner and Hallmark Publishing had not started the three sisters’ names with the same letter. It took a long time and lots of flipping back and forth for me to distinguish which sister was which and which owned which business, etc. Because this is now the second book in the series, that can’t be changed. Unfortunately, this disrupted my enjoyment of what is, otherwise, a good cozy mystery story.

This is the 2nd installment of the Shepherd Sisters Mystery series. Savanna Shepherd is finishing up her first school year as an elementary art teacher after moving back home last year following the break up with her fiancé and quitting her job. She has landed on her feet and is thriving. She loves being home in Carson on Lake Michigan and she can not enjoy her summer break as she has pushed is working on a committee that brought Art in The Park festival to her hometown. As Savanna and her co-committee members John Bellamy (councilman and mayoral candidate) and Britt to meet up with the Festival board when Savanna notices a statue of one of the founding Carson’s vandalized. They assure the festival board that Carson wants the Festival and the police will get to the bottom of it. At the banquet that night with all the business sponsors there was a couple of altercations with John that Savanna observes but thinks nothing really of it until the next evening when she discovers him dead in his own house. Everyone wants Savanna to stay out of this including Dr. Aiden Gallagher who is worried about her. When a family friend is arrested for the death and Skylar is representing him, the Shepherd sisters help out to find out who is the culprit. As they do some digging, Savanna finds John was not the nice guy she thought he was and there is another community who is not happy that Carson was awarded the festival. I love Savanna and her sisters and how they all get along and chip in to help each other out no matter what. The Shepherd family dinners warm my heart and it makes you want to visit Carson (except for the murders of course). Author describes Michigan to perfection including our love of Vernors! The next installment will be an automatic buy for me I love this series that much.