Heather’s Bookshelf: Murder at the Summer Cheese Festival
Author: Jodie Morgan
Released: 09/16/25
Genre: Cozy Mystery
“Whatever happened, she wouldn’t let Maggie down—not when she’d given Laura this chance. Facing challenges head-on was part of any new beginning. Time to prove her mother wrong.”
“Murder at the Summer Cheese Festival” is book 1 of The Silver Springs Mystery Series, but the review here is conducted as a standalone.
Laura Evans recently moved to Silver Springs, a small Vermont town, where she helps run the General Store and restaurant. Escaping the hustle and stress of Boston, her mother doesn’t understand the move, but Laura feels surprisingly at home.
The town’s summer cheese festival is soon to begin and the whole town’s preparing for the event of the year. This’ll be Laura’s first time and she’s excited to get to experience everything. But when someone is murdered in the days leading up to the festival, Laura finds herself in the middle of the investigation.
Conspiracies, theories, and suspects are rampant amongst the locally-made goods and cheeses. The investigation becomes dire when Laura’s boss, Maggie, is named as the prime suspect. Joining forces with her friends, will Laura be able to find the murderer before it’s too late?
Trigger Warning: violence, murder
Overall, I enjoyed this cozy little mystery. It’s an easy read with a likable protagonist surrounded by mouth-watering food descriptions, what’s not to like? Laura is a classic self-deprecating young woman who’s doubting her whole life, restarting where she can and still getting caught up by the criticisms of her mother. Her desire to do well by those who have helped her out is admirable and endearing. There’s several ancillary characters introduced in this story, many as either fellow investigators or suspects. No one especially stands out, however, and future installments of the Silver Springs mysteries will hopefully help to resolve this. The investigation itself feels a little scattered with some repetitive prose that slows the pacing of the story. The ending wraps everything up nicely with a bit of a fun reveal. After the main story, the author includes snippets from articles and recipes that complement the tale. I found this to be a nice touch and hope the author continues this trend in future story installments.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A food centric cozy mystery set in a small Vermont town with a likable protagonist; repetitive prose and an investigation that drags on hinders the pacing
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Jodie Morgan
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