One Foot in the Grove by Kelly Lane is the first book in the NEW “Olive Oil Grove” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, January 2016.

In the sweet Southern town of Abundance, Georgia, home of the Knox family’s olive farm, gossip isn’t the only thing that can kill you. . .

After leaving a man at the altar for the second time in her life, Eva Knox decides to head home to her family’s plantation to regroup and soak in some Southern charm. But hiding from her woes is a slipperier proposition than Eva imagined. For one thing, most people in town still haven’t forgiven her for leaving local boy Buck Tanner at the altar and hightailing it up north eighteen years ago. For another, a death on her family’s farm soon makes her the lead suspect in a murder case—and the sheriff investigating is none other than Eva’s old flame Buck.

With the police putting the squeeze on her, it’s up to Eva and her sisters, Pep and Daphne, to figure out who could have possibly left a dead body in their olive grove. And they’ll have to catch the greasy killer quickly—because it looks like Eva has been picked as the murderer’s next victim. . .

This was very enjoyable. The pacing was nice, the tone was comfortable and the action was just right – enough to keep me entertained at all what was happening. The mystery was quite intriguing as I didn’t know which way to go with the multiple subplots that eventually became intertwined that enhanced the telling of this fresh new drama. I like that there were too few suspects, but yet the author kept me wondering who indeed did the deed and with the directions the author took to reveal the killer’s identity, it was very plausible. Eva is a likable heroine who seems to find herself in situations that can be quite harmful, but uses her ingenuity to get out of it. I like the other supporting characters, especially her sister Pep and Buck. With engaging dialogue and southern charm, this was a great read and I look forward to more adventures with Eva and her friends in Abundance, Georgia in this delightfully charming new series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a copy of this book from the publisher.