Goodnight Moo

Goodnight Moo is the follow up to the wonderful Christmas Cow Bells, the debut novel in the Buttermilk Creek Mystery series by Mollie Cox Bryan. It was so delightful to get to go back to Shenandoah Springs and revisit all of my favorite characters there (human and animal, both!). This time around it is summer in Virginia and Brynn is gearing up for the first-ever cheese contest at the local county fair. When local farm helpers start getting murdered and Brynn's new apprentice Wes is arrested she has to step in to prove his innocence.

I liked this book just as much as the first one. This series deals a lot with real-world problems like cybercrimes, racism, and drugs. Even the tag-line for Bryan's website reads: "Cozy mysteries with an edge." This second book was no exception. There were so many seedy and nasty things going on behind the scenes of this small and sweet town. The mystery was so intricate and so twisty that I could not figure it out. I had so many people in mind as the culprit, but it seemed like each chapter brought on new evidence and I kept changing my mind. It kept me on my toes for the entire book and the ending came together perfectly.

The setting and the characters are so endearing. I love the animal characters just as much as the human ones. There isn't just one adorable cozy companion in this book. We have four (soon to be five when Marigold calves!) adorable cows. One fierce and lovable dog, Freckles. And the sweetest little kitty, Romeo. I love that Brynn has adopted a new cow and has shown her so much love and kindness. Brynn is a perfect protagonist. She is loyal, kind, hard-working, brave, and strong. I love how much she loves her animals and how well she treats them. I love how much she loves her friends and how protective she is of Wes. The town is described so beautifully and even with all of the terrible things that have happened there, it still feels like the kind of place I would want to live.

This is a wonderful series and book two was just as strong as the first. Mollie Cox Bryan is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy authors. And, y'all- I just discovered that she also writes under the name Maggie Blackburn and I am just about to read her arc for Little Bookshop of Murder! I can not wait for more books in this series to come out and to read everything she has written under any penname she may have!

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Loved it! I'm an animal lover by nature so any book that combines my two favorite things - animals and mystery - has to be good and I wasn't wrong. Ms. Bryan does it again, keeping her characters believable and yet very, very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to her next offering.

Oh goodness, I loved this book! Brynn is a favorite character of mine, and I really lost myself in Goodnight Moo.
A strange death takes its toll on Brynn, and her assistance, Wes.
When Wes becomes a suspect in a second death, Brynn finds herself injured, and suffers the effects of a concussion. Brynn's sister Becky comes to help her, and with her help, she slowly unravels the clues to lead the police to the killer.