This past spring I was walking around an arts and crafts show on the beautiful campus of Michigan State University when I came across a booth for the Buttonwood Press book publishing company. The author, Richard Baldwin was there selling and signing copies of his novels, so naturally I had to buy a couple and get him to sign them.
Murder at the Cherry Festival is his most current novel I believe. It features Lou Searing, a private investigator that has appeared in a series of mystery novels Baldwin has written. In this particular novel, the Grand Marshall of the Cherry Festival in Traverse City is murdered and the local police hire Lou to help with the investigation. There are some twists and turns that lead to Lou being in danger, which make it an even more exciting read.
I found this novel to be an entertaining and easy read. There weren't many complicated scenes and it was simply written. Sometimes the point of view seemed to shift suddenly within the same passage without a break and that made it a little confusing, but that is just a small complaint. The only other thing that I was a little disappointed in was that the murderer was easy to figure out almost from the beginning.
However, being from Michigan, I was excited to read a novel placed in an area that I am familiar with and I love supporting local businesses. If you are looking for a novel that won't make you think too hard, but is entertaining and fun to read then this book is for you. If you need something that is a little more streamlined and dark, then this book is not for you. As for me, I am looking forward to reading the other novel I picked up by Richard Baldwin.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
I bought this book from the author at a craft show; I was not asked to do a review of this novel.
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