Good book. It starts slow but picks up and is an enjoyable unique read. ( )

The book titled "A Sprinkling of Murder" marks the beginning of a new series that takes place in a garden shop where fairy gardens are featured. It is a well-written cozy mystery with a paranormal twist involving genuine fairies. The story is delightful and lighthearted, with relatable characters, an intriguing mystery, and an enchanting setting. ( )

The endearing book cover of A SPRINKLING OF MURDER, especially the blue-eye kitten, has instantly grabbed my attention.

The fascinating mystery centers around Courtney Kelly who owns Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden business and teashop at the pleasant Carmel-by-the-sea, a feisty cute fairy Fiona and a creamy white Ragdoll kitten Pixie. I fell in love with these pleasant characters in an instant, and the lovely Carmel is just around 15 to 20 minutes' drive from my house!

While everything seems magical and delightful, one night, Courtney’s neighboring dog-grooming business owner is found dead – murdered actually – beside her patio fountain! Inevitably, Courtney is the main suspect!

Daryl Wood Gerber uses her charming imagination to sprinkle A SPRINKLING OF MURDER with some magic powers that make it an enchanting cozy mystery! I enjoyed it tremendously! ( )

Not everyone can see fairies, but Courtney can. She had the ability as a child, lost it for awhile, but regained it. Now she owns a fairy garden shop, and helps others build their own fairy gardens. Whether they can lure a real fairy depends on the person! Courtney’s resident fairy is Fiona, who is a problem fairy of sorts, and needs to learn to behave herself. But she is working on getting her adult wings, finally. Each day is a new and wonderful experience, until, of course, a dead body is found by Fiona in the garden shop. She loses no time in waking Courtney to tell her. Now, Courtney must figure out how to inform the police without saying her fairy told her! It just gets more complicated from then on, and without Fiona’s help, Courtney may just be up a creek without a paddle. It’s a lovely story, and the fairies add just the right amount of magic. The mystery is an intriguing one, and kept me guessing. The characters are delightful, and I must say, Fiona is my favorite. Having a little magic in one’s life is an inspiring thing, and reading about it is a nice escape from the humdrum realities of life. Dream on! ( )

This is the first book in Daryl Wood Gerber’s new cozy mystery series. It is her venture into the fairy realm. As a lover of all things fae, I was a bit nervous. She did amazing with it. Courtney owns a tea shop and garden store where she encourages creativity among her patrons. She sees fairies and in this book has a fairy in training helper, Fiona. After a dead body is discovered in her store, her landlord, Courtney becomes a suspect in his murder. She decides she must clear her name by investigating the murder herself. While that is going on we get to read plenty about fairies and making fairy gardens.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It captured my imagination and now I really want to make a fairy garden of my own. The mystery has enough suspects to keep you on your toes. I won’t go much into that because I’m always afraid of giving away too much. Part of the enjoyment of cozy mysteries is trying to solve the mystery before the big reveal. My lips are sealed and my fingers taped shut. The characters are a mix up ones you love and hope to see more of and those you dislike but know they will probably return because they are town people. That’s fine with me. The troublemakers keep you on your toes.
Ms Gerber has wonderful writing skills. Recently she has written in the thriller mystery genre. I was curious to see if she would be able to write two very different yet similar genres with equal skill. The answer to that is yes. I didn’t see any flaws or mixups in reading this book. It was delightful and cozy from the start to the finish. If you have ever dreamed of fairies I think you will find enough in this book about fairies to enchant you. ( )

Courtney Kelly's childhood was filled with magic and fairies until her mother died when she was 10. She lost all interest and moved on with life. But at 29, when she opened her own business building fairy gardens, she began seeing fairies again. And even gained one as a friend. One day, Fiona warns her that something bad is coming....and it does. When a man's lifeless body is discovered in her shop, Courtney finds herself a top suspect. Can she discover the true killer before it's pinned on her?

Cute start to a new series. This book is a light mix of paranormal and cozy mystery. There's a lot of setup for the series going on in this first book, but it didn't really over-shadow the mystery plot. The mystery moved along at a nice pace and had a few suspects and twists along the way. I liked the idea of the main character creating fairy gardens and having a shop called Open Your Imagination. Cute concept! And I would be a customer if the business were real! ;)

The next book in the series will be out in summer 2021. I will definitely be eager awaiting it. Great start to a new series!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

How I rate books: I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to certain books - was I entertained? Did I want to know what happens next? My criteria is pretty simple.

I freakin’ love cozy mysteries. I’m a chicken when it comes to suspense and scary stories, so the cozy mystery genre is perfect for me.

Bonus: It usually comes with a substantial side dish of puns... and recipes! Such fun!

I gave Sprinkling 3.5 stars so I round up to four. The plot was a little different from the outline of other cozy mysteries, and I appreciate that.

I love that romance was not the main focus of the book, but rather self-improvement — both with Fiona and Courtney.

There were a lot of characters in the book. When I opened it up and saw the cast of characters listed in the beginning, I knew it was possible that I would forget who was who. And I did! That made for some confusion as I was reading, but not enough to be a dealbreaker.

Allow me to nerd out journalistically: If a councilperson ever had a secret town meeting, that’s something that journalist needed to know, because it wholeheartedly violates freedom of information rules.

Overall, a fun and quick to read cozy mystery.

Love: The quotes that start each chapter, the unique concept and emphasis on female friendships

Not-so-love: So many characters to keep track of! I think this might have been done to keep us guessing ‘whodunnit’ throughout the book...

Looking forward to the next book in the series and I’ll definitely be checking out the author’s other books!

✨✨✨✨ ( )

A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber
Book #1: Fairy Garden Mystery Series
Source: NetGalley and Kensington
Rating: 2½/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: Once again, I find myself in the minority when it comes to star ratings on a book. I struggled through this book from page one to the very end and that made me angry because I really wanted to love this read. It has everything I normally love in a cozy mystery and even has a dash of the paranormal, but somehow none of this came together for me. I found most of the characters to be rather flat, the plot to be rather cliché, and the addition of the fairies to somehow be beyond the real of possibility, even in a fiction book. To be completely honest, I am not sure why this read didn’t work for me, but as I finally made it to the end, I realized, I won’t be giving the series a second chance. I think this may simply be an instance of “not for me” but I can absolutely see how this book is appealing to other readers. ( )

A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber is the debut of A Fairy Garden Mystery series. Courtney Kelly owns Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden and tea shop, in Carmel-by-the-Sea. She has a sweet cat named Pixie who comes to work with her. Open Your Imagination has its own resident fairy named Fiona. Only those who truly believe can see her. Courtney is awakened during the night by Fiona about danger at the shop. She arrives to find Mick Watkins, owner of Wizard of Paws, dead by the fountain on her patio. Detective Dylan Summers considers Courtney a person of interest since her alibi of being online in the Fairy Garden Girls Dig It chat room cannot be confirmed. Courtney, with help from Fiona and a few friends, digs into the case to prove her innocence and find the guilty party. A Sprinkling of Murder is an enchanting cozy mystery. I thought the story was well-written with delightful characters. I enjoyed the descriptions of Carmel-by-the-Sea with the cute cottages and variety of shops. It really is a fairy tale town and perfect for a shop featuring fairy gardens. I liked that this series has the unique concept of fairy gardens. I just loved the vivid descriptions of these diminutive, creative creations and cannot wait to create one in my front yard. Courtney Kelly is a friendly character with a rich imagination and a green thumb. She is also smart and determined. Courtney is a good sleuth because she pays attention to details and is good at deduction. She comes up with some good theories regarding the crime. Her cat, Pixie is a adorable, but my favorite character is Fiona, a righteous fairy. Fiona is one spunky fairy who adds humor and whimsy to the story with her antics. I hope we learn more about fairies and their world in future books. The mystery was well thought out with a variety of suspects. Courtney asked good questions and kept Detective Summers in the loop (though he did not appreciate her theorizing). I enjoyed reading A sprinkling of Murder and I am looking forward to devouring future books in A Fairy Garden Mystery series. There are recipes at the end including one for the caramel blondies featured in the story (there is a gluten free recipe too). A Sprinkling of Murder is a whimsical cozy mystery with a fierce fairy, a cute cat, fun fairy gardens, a murdered Mick, a defensive dad, and a prying planter. ( )

Courtney left her father's landscaping business to create her dream: a fairy garden business in Carmel. So far she's doing well enough to hire an employee, elfin Joss. She also offers classes on how to make your own fairy garden as well as others. Her business is thriving and so is she. One morning her neighboring business owner Mich Watkins enters, and she's afraid he's going to start trouble, but he doesn't; in fact, it seems as if he's looking for someone. But he tells her that their landlord is on the warpath and wanting the tenants out because he wants to sell their shops to a developer -- and Courtney wonders if it's true.

But Courtney has a secret of her own -- she has her very own fairy, Fiona. Fiona, unfortunately, is on probation for some unnamed act and hasn't earned her full set of wings. Fiona is also a righteous fairy (there are four different types), which means she needs to bring resolution to embattled souls. What this means Courtney has no idea, but she's grateful for Fiona's help -- that is, until Fiona tells her early the next morning that she needs to get to her shop right away. Courtney finds the body of Mick in her garden, dead.

After calling the police she figures out how Mick got in, but not why. What's worse is that Courtney is now a suspect in the murder, and the detective on the case doesn't think her alibi is strong enough. So with Fiona's help, and that of her friends Joss and Meghan, Courtney is on the trail of a killer...

This is the first in a new series and I honestly didn't know what to expect. I will say upfront that I don't read books about witches and such; I'm just not interested enough to invest my time. But this book had a beautiful cover (yes, I am sometimes swayed by them), so I decided to take a chance and am glad that I did.

The concept of one having their own personal fairy is a new idea for a book, and quite an intriguing one. Also the fact that the fairy is quite adept at helping solve a murder without going against her own rules. I found the mystery was done nicely, with a few clues here and there, but also giving Courtney the chance to seek them on her own.

I do like Courtney's character. She never puts herself in harms' way. and she's more concerned with getting herself off the hot seat than putting someone else in it. She's not going around accusing every person she meets of murder, and that's a good thing.

The descriptions of fairy gardens were done well enough that it is explained what they are; and perhaps someone who reads the book might want to create one of their own. While this book was peopled with many characters throughout, it wasn't difficult to keep them straight, and there were a few red herrings thrown in for us to sift through. While I had figured out the murderer early on (I read a lot of mysteries) it was still fun getting through the journey until we got to the end of it and Courtney, with help of course, figured it out and put everything together.

In the end, it all came together nicely and while there was no nail-biting climax, it was still done well enough that I want to read the next in the series. Highly recommended. ( )

I believe in Fairies. I believe in Magic. But I needed Fiona, the resident fairy in-training, to sprinkle fairy dust all over me to believe in this story. I stepped into “Open Your Imagination” fairy garden and tea shop with the belief of a child, with my eyes turned to the sky and my imagination wide open. It didn’t work.

Trying desperately to suspend all cynicism while the protagonist muddled through a murder investigation and watching her unbelievable novice sleuthing was nothing short of “are you kidding me?” I had difficulty finding anything resembling reality in the murder investigation by any of the players. The ever-present, unimportant and distracting descriptions of tea, cookies, cakes, sneakers, and coveralls was an eye roll and a half. Too many characters, too much description, too much supposing and too little believable. The recipes however were a big happy surprise.

I am obviously in the minority in my opinion and the fault probably lies with my expectations. I do want to thank NetGalley and Kensington for a copy. ( )

A Sprinkling of Murders is a fabulous start to A Fairy Garden Mystery series by Daryl Wood Gerber! I had just finished a different cozy mystery that was just okay and what makes the difference between that one and a great cozy is showing not telling when it comes to the story, characters I could see myself being friends with in real life and wanting to come back book after book to read what is going on in their lives, and a hobby or town that is talked about in detail. Gerber does all three of those things perfectly in A Sprinkling of Murder.

Getting to know Courtney, her friends, the fairies, and the pets (there were as many pets as people… if not more!) was very enjoyable. Courtney has a great community in her little village and the fairies and fur babies added another level to it all.

There was no jumping right into the story with a love interest which is a nice change of pace. And even better, for a moment I thought there might be a love triangle, but I was happy to see that potential mate was already with someone else by the end of the book. Courtney isn’t hooking up with a police officer or someone on the newspaper staff so I’m looking forward to seeing how Gerber deals with that in future books, since so many authors have their amateaur sleuth getting help from people in those professions in their book series.

One of the things that draws people to cozies is the hobby or cooking that the series centers around, and learning how to make fairy gardens is such a fun concept. I am super excited to take the knowledge I gather from A Sprinkling of Murder and make one (or many!) for my backyard. ( )

Courtney Kelly is the owner of the fairy garden/tea shop Open Your Imagination where she shares her love and belief of fairies. Some people want to believe or think that they believe, but only certain staff members are privileged enough to actually see Fiona, a fairy currently on probation by order of the fairy Queen. Fiona, to get off probation must work to help others, so when Courtney finds her neighbor murdered in her courtyard, Fiona and Courtney work together to figure why and who.

What a wonderful start for this new series! I love the characters and the delightful way that the magical essence of feisty Fiona is "sprinkled" throughout! Can Courtney solve the murder before the police arrest her?

Can't wait for the next sighting of Fiona! ( )