About the Book
Title: Death in the Cabbage Patch
Series: The Cabbageville Mysteries
Author: RL Buck
Released: October 2022
When Autumn Bridges, the town coroner, meets Matt Cabbage in a near-collision on Main Street, they discover they have much in common. First, they’re next-door neighbors now that Matt owns The Cabbage Patch, his family’s ancestral estate. They’re also single parents of tween girls. And when screams herald the discovery of a corpse on Matt’s first night in the mansion, the two join forces to prove that neither Matt nor his uncle is guilty. The sleepy little town of Cabbageville, Texas, will never be the same.
This light-hearted and delightfully funny cozy mystery keeps you turning pages with its twists and surprises. The easy and clever dialog between Autumn and Matt sparkles in this first book of the Cabbageville Mystery series.
About the Author
R.L. Buck, the author of Death in the Cabbage Patch, A Cabbageville Mystery Book 1, is retired from a long career as a Renaissance trades-Jack. He lives in the Texas Panhandle with his two fur babies (Dak, the rat terrier, and Jackson, the silver poodle mix), neither of which can reach the kibbles bin. Both adore R.L. as the perfect housemate for his roles as Supreme Doler of the Food and Giver of Belly Rubs.
An avid reader and writer of mysteries, horror, fantasy, and SciFi for as long as he can remember, R.L. has written the second book in the Cabbageville Mystery series and started the third. He also has several other works in progress.
R.L. Buck writes clean and entertaining fiction informed by a Christian worldview without preaching or side-stepping themes many Christian writers tend to avoid. He prefers to call himself a Christian who writes rather than a Christian Writer: he displays his faith in his writing, but it is not the sole point of it.
My Impressions
“We do everything we can to protect our circle. Beyond that, if we’re so paranoid we forget to live our lives, what’s the use? You have to let go at some point, and you figure the Almighty’s better equipped to protect your loved ones than you are.”
With a title like Death in the Cabbage Patch, RL Buck had me intrigued in his first novel of his new cozy series, The Cabbageville Mysteries. I found it to be a fun, clean offering. The victim is someone so unlikeable, that we have a smorgasbord of possible suspects.
Buck creates relatable and realistic characters. I did feel like Matt and Autumn became a couple extremely fast. Sukie and Misty add some reason for their parents to spend more time together. It will be interesting to see how they figure into future books.
Buck also populates his novel with some interesting secondary characters. The pastor and Widow Carmichael with her surprising business are both memorable.
I’m sure we’ll see more of cousin Hedda, who is both Autumn’s friend and Matt’s cousin.
I’ll be looking for the next book in the series to see if the mystery can compare to this one.
I received a copy of the book from the author through Early Reviewers in Library Thing. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 