One Liner: A good mystery
 

Jude Gray enters the Three Counties Show with her cute Kerry Hill sheep only to find that it’s full of drama and tension. When a competitor’s body is found with a long list of suspects, she has to step up and find the killer before it’s too late. Of course, with everyone hiding secrets, this could be her toughest case yet! 

The story comes in Jude’s third-person POV. 

This is the fifth book in the series and can be read as a standalone, except for the sad love track (more on this later). 

I read this series to learn something new about current farming practices and difficulties in other countries, namely the UK. It doesn’t shy away from showing the hard work required to run a farm and keep it at least borderline profitable in today’s times. As always, the book scores high marks in this aspect. 

The mystery starts well. The dead man is not someone you’d want to be associated with, so it’s no surprise that the list of suspects is long and includes almost everyone who was around him at that time. Binnie makes a grand entry and is as efficient as ever. I liked her from the first book (in fact, I like her more than Jude, the MC). 

The topic of discussion here is rewilding – the concept of letting nature take over fields in an attempt to bring back lost animal/ insect species and strengthen the ecosystem again. While it sounds idealistic in theory, the practicalities are different. Not every land is suitable for rewilding. A wrong choice could cause more harm than good and destroy farmlands that are still useful for cultivation. 

There are some developments in the personal tracks, and that is where I have a huge issue. I’ve grumbled about Jude’s ‘should I or should I not’ debate with Marco. Here, it gets even worse with deliberate miscommunication and immaturity. Please, act your age and have a proper discussion like adults. I don’t want something like this to put me off a good series. But if this stretches for more books, I will have to rethink my options. 

Of course, as always, Jude rushes into danger to solve the case, and this time, she might have gone a bit too far! Still, you can trust her to solve the case. If only she used the same brain to deal with her personal life! 

To summarize, Killer at the County Show is a good mystery set in the countryside and deals with quite a few themes. The pacing is on the slower side, as it often is in this series. 

Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

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