Review: Murder at Barclay Meadow by Wendy Sand Eckel

Murder at Barclay Meadow by Wendy Sand Eckel is a debut novel released July 28, 2015 by Minotaur Books. It's to be the first in a series of Rosalie Hart mysteries. These mysteries fall into the cozy category. Rosalie is very much an amateur when it comes to solving crimes.

Rosalie Hart is unhappy at the beginning of the book. Her husband has requested a divorce because he has fallen in love with another woman. Rosalie leaves the house and moves into her aunt's house on the eastern shore of Maryland. It's a small town and tends to be insular. Everyone knows everybody else's business. This works both for her and against her as she becomes involved in solving the mystery of the body that washes up on her property from the river.

Rosalie takes a class on writing memoirs. The small group of students band together to form a group on Facebook called the What ifs. Together they decide to help Rosalie solve the mystery of Megan, the girl who washed up on the shore of the river.

It's interesting how the author uses Facebook for both Rosalie's group of friends keeping in touch and for Rosalie to keep in touch with her daughter Annie. Considering how many people use it the same way all the time, it makes the characters seem more real.

The one character I didn't like was the Sheriff. I think he was written that way on purpose. In which case, the author did a bang up job on him.

Another interesting aspect of the book is how much of it is spent developing the character of Rosalie Hart. There are parts where that is the main focus, almost to the point of being considered chick lit. But then the mystery takes over again.

The pace is fairly steady. It gets faster towards the end. Eckel keeps you guessing about who amongst the pool of suspects they've been gathering information on is actually the killer. 

I really liked the character of Tyler and I hope there will be more of him in the second book in the series. 

I gave this book 4 stars for balancing the mystery and the character development of Rosalie, and for a good mystery.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Teaser Tuesday: Murder At Barclay Meadow by Wendy Sand Eckel

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, just do the following:

• Grab your current read and open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and the author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.

Expected publication: July 28th 2015
by Minotaur Books

Night had crept up the lawn, making shadows of the men as they worked. The lights on their vehicles bathed the house in manic red and blue flashes like a disco. 
- location 57 on my Kindle

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

Rosalie Hart’s world has been upended. After her husband confesses to an affair, she exiles herself to her late aunt’s farmhouse on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With its fields untended and the house itself in disrepair, Barclay Meadow couldn’t be more different than the tidy D.C. suburb she used to call home. Just when Rosalie feels convinced things couldn’t get any worse, she finds a body floating in her marsh grasses. When the sheriff declares the death an accident, she becomes suspicious. The dead girl, Megan, reminds her of her own daughter, and she feels a responsibility to find out the truth.

Rosalie confides her doubts to her friends in her creative writing class, and they ask to join her investigation, beginning the search in earnest. Meanwhile, Rosalie works on restoring Barclay Meadow to its former glory—with help from the rugged Tyler Wells, a farmer who once leased the land. When Rosalie discovers her aunt’s favorite bread recipe on a yellowed index card, she begins baking, and with her deep love for nourishing others rekindled, she starts to feel alive again. But as she zeroes in on the truth about what happened to Megan, she begins getting ominous threats. Determined to get justice for Megan and protect the new home she’s begun to build for herself, Rosalie races to catch the killer in this deftly plotted and heartwarming debut perfect for fans of Jessica Beck and Carolyn Hart.

So, it's a murder mystery, "a cozy debut." And I can tell you this much, the sheriff is not at all happy with her sleuthing ways. Much of the writing is like the teaser, at least so far. I'm about 40% through. Would you keep reading? Does this style suit you? 

And please drop a note in the comments and let us know about your teaser so we can check it out. Happy Reading!