Dead on the Vine: A Finn Family Farm Mystery

After Charlotte Finn, the heroine of the pseudonymous White’s lighthearted series launch, is fired from her high-powered job at a Chicago advertising firm, she heads for Little Acorn, Calif., with high hopes of managing the produce farm that she recently inherited from a great-uncle. “I’ve been to a farmers market, so how hard can this be?” she reasons. Her optimism flags when she learns that the farm is barely breaking even. While showing a real estate agent the property, she and the agent discover the body of a young man with a pitchfork driven through his neck. “I can’t sell the farm without taking a loss, and I can’t raise money from it while this murder is fresh in people’s minds,” concludes Charlotte, so she decides to investigate the murder herself. Though she’s surrounded by well-meaning friends, Charlotte’s real ally is a small, impossibly cute, and intelligent pig she names Horse (because he eats like one). Never mind that the culprit is pretty obvious. Animal lovers won’t want to miss this playful cozy. Agent: Sharon Belcastro, Belcastro Agency. (Apr.)