Starred review from January 23, 2017
Tyson’s first-rate second Greenhouse mystery (after 2016’s A Muddied Murder) stars big-city lawyer turned small-town organic farmer Megan Sawyer, a kind, intelligent, and spirited woman with great integrity. In short, she’s the sort of person cozy readers warm to and root for. Winsome, Pa., Megan’s hometown, is in the midst of frantic preparations for Oktoberfest, a week-long festival celebrating local produce and pure country living. All is going smoothly, until Megan’s at times cantankerous grandmother discovers a body at a solar farm. Bobby King, the young police chief, wants to avoid a murder investigation and does his best to dismiss Megan’s growing concerns about the death, but when another corpse is found, Bobby realizes he needs to take Megan seriously. Tyson populates the cast with a smug-but-attractive PR consultant, a temperamental-but-gifted chef, a shrewd and sexy Scottish vet, and assorted townspeople, whose motives are complex and believable. It’s a pleasure to spend time in their company.