Ranch Dressing: A Samantha Kidd Mystery

In this solid cozy from Vallere (Gilt Trip), former fashion buyer Samantha Kidd probes a murder at a New Jersey dude ranch. Samantha and her husband, Nick, have traveled from Philadelphia to join her father-in-law, Nick Sr., at the Down Home Ranch for a weeklong stay. Nick Sr. is toying with the idea of purchasing the property from its current owner, Joey Baldwin. Samantha hopes to take it easy, but her plan goes awry when she discovers Baldwin’s bludgeoned corpse in an empty horse stable. The situation triggers Samantha’s investigative instincts, and, despite the local sheriff’s warning to stay out of the case, she starts investigating staff members, Baldwin’s widow, and other suspects. Vallere approaches the material—and Samantha’s narration—with a light touch; the gumshoe makes her grim discovery because she learned from “six seasons of Yellowstone” that horses shouldn’t be wandering a farm alone at night. When the solution comes, it’s clever and satisfying. Readers in the mood for a low-stakes whodunit will be charmed. (Self-published)