Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About by Joyce and Jim Lavene is the first book in the NEW “Pumpkin Patch” mystery series. Publisher: J Lavene, August 2015

Richmond attorney Sarah Tucker returns to sell her family’s abandoned farm in Misty River, Virginia despite unanswered questions about her grandparents’ disappearance sixteen years earlier. Sarah was only twelve when she went to visit and found her grandparents had vanished. No amount of searching has brought answers.

Now Sarah is faced with other issues when a man is killed who claimed to have information about what happened to her grandparents. She learns of a Confederate chest of gold that is said to be buried on the property, and treasure hunters who are willing to do anything to get their hands on it.

Were her grandparents murdered for the gold? Sarah can’t sell the land and go back to her life until she has answers. But the cost of the answers may be her life.

Once again the Lavenes have penned a light-hearted drama that was very enjoyable and hard to put down. The pacing had an evenly flow so that each scene took me in the direction I needed to be to solve the puzzling mystery of Sarah’s missing grandparents and who is killing the potential buyers. I like how this whodunit was set-up keeping me intrigued with all the goings on in Misty River as someone desperately wants to stop the sale of the land. A suspect here; a suspect there; a suspect everywhere as the author did a good job at planting the seeds on the few with some red herrings to keep me plodding along until it was apparent as to who the killer was that came at a discovery. Sarah is a great heroine and I can’t wait to learn more about her. She is surrounded by a good supporting cast that includes Jack, Kathy, and her mother. The dialogue was engaging and I especially enjoyed the witty repartee between Sarah and Jack. With a lead in the disappearance of her grandparents, I can’t wait to see where we go next with that and the adventures that await Sarah and her friends.

previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog