3.75 stars. A pleasant and enjoyable cosy mystery set on prairie farmland in Saskatchewan, Canada. I liked Derek and Liz the most as characters - I agree that Jeannie came across at times as quite prickly and bossy, such as when she unilaterally decided that cleaning her tenants’ house would be a good thank you for letting her stay (after telling them they could do better), ignoring Derek’s suggestion that it might look like her taking over. Hopefully this can be toned down somewhat in the next book - and I hope Derek can make a return, because I liked the prospect of that relationship.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Betty Ternier Daniels for the arc!

Grounds for Murder is a quick murder mystery read! This books follows FMC Jeannie who is in her 60s navigating the death of her husband and now the recent death of the realtor who is blackmailing Jeannie into selling her farmland.

Jeannie isn’t a likable character, unfortunately. It doesn’t appeal to me (age group 25-30yr) and I’m having a hard time agreeing that she finds her softness in the end. I hope in the following books, if any, that the author lessens Jeannie’s colder side as mentioned in another review.

This book is under 300 pages and I read it in under an hour. It’s a valuable read if you like slow murder mysteries and better suited for someone who isn’t looking for a lot of character development.

All in all, I give this 3.5 stars.

#GroundsforMurder #NetGalley is the first in a new series by a new to me author.
Jeannie owns her own farm land but after the death of her husband, everyone is pressuring her to sell.
Monica, a persistent realtor is determined to convince Jeannie to sell, but an accident claims Monica's life before she made the sale.
Now it seems someone is after Jeannie, desperate for the land, even if it means killing her to do so.

I liked the story, but I had a hard time liking Jeannie.
She's arrogant, bossy and condescending, and her attitude was very unpleasant.
I'm hoping if there's a next book, the author tones down the MC's personality.

My review is 3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

This is a good first book in a series. The mystery was interestIng and the killer was a surprise. I did get a bit annoyed by the baby boomer vs. millennial conflict at the center of the story. I kept waiting for the mc to throw the annoying tenants out on their rears.