The Death of a Maven (The Haunted Farmhouse Mysteries, #1)
by Kathryn Johnson 

3 out of 5 stars

Verity’s friends gather at her farmhouse to comfort her on the anniversary of her husband’s death. When one of them is found dead the next day, the cops say suicide, but Verity thinks it must be murder. Verity and her friends begin to look into the victim’s death, determined to find some proof that she didn’t kill herself. The victim’s family asks Verity to help go through the deceased’s possessions and Verity begins reading the old journals that could contain the secret to her death. Verity discovers that her old farmhouse is also home to two ghosts who are unable to move on after hundreds of years. They watch over Verity and the dairy farm and eagerly join in the investigation.

This mystery was a lot of fun! I loved Verity’s gaggle of girlfriends and the funny shenanigans of the Civil War ghosts. They have such cute dialogue as they discuss the clues. Each of Verity’s friends has a very distinct and memorable personality, and it was a delightful getting to know each of them. Verity herself is a great main character. She’s vulnerable and plucky and tough. I really connected with her because she is so kind to everyone. She sees their flaws and loves them anyway.

The mystery itself is good, and I enjoyed following all the clues. But I wish the mystery had been even more complex and intriguing, because I figured out who the murderer was on page 192 (over a hundred pages before it was revealed), but it was still fun to see how Verity figures it out.

I liked that this is a cozy mystery and has a mostly light-hearted feel to it, but there are some more serious subjects as well. The violence is very minimal, and there is no spice. However, there is a lot of profanity in the book. I counted over 36 instances of profanity, so that annoyed me quite a lot.

The writing is excellent, but a little too repetitive. It seems like a lot of the same subjects and clues are canvased over and over. The writing could have been more concise and the book could have been about a hundred pages thinner.
However, I really loved the descriptions of all the food the ladies eat at their gatherings! And I liked hearing about the daily chores around the farm, and the route for the dairy deliveries. It was really sweet to see how Verity is so grateful for a simple country life. She really takes time to appreciate the loveliness in life.

Overall, a fun book that I enjoyed reading!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and have not been influenced by anyone.

This book has been screened on the Screen It First website: https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-death-of-a-maven-the-haunted-farmhouse-mysteries-1-2593381