RANCH AND RED HERRINGS Book Review

Ranch & Red Herrings (Book 1 in Bluegrass Ridge Ranch Mysteries series) by Tonya Kappes, eBook, 295 pages

Synopsis from GoodReads: Murder’s just another scandal waiting on the porch. Georgia “Cussy” Hollingsworth thought she’d left small-town drama behind when she traded Kentucky for city life. But when her beloved uncle dies under suspicious circumstances, she’s pulled straight back to the last place she wanted to be—right into the middle of a horse and cattle ranch she never asked for and a murder she can’t ignore.

The plan was simple: settle his affairs, sell the property, and head home. Instead, Cussy finds herself tangled in long-held grudges, whispered secrets, and neighbors who remember everything—except who had a reason to kill. Now she's balancing farm chores with fact-finding, dodging shady locals, and stumbling across more questions than answers. And with someone clearly trying to scare her off, Cussy has to decide: walk away, or dig in her heels and uncover the truth—before the killer makes her the next loose end to tie up.

Small town. Big secrets. And a reluctant sleuth who’s about to learn that some roots run deeper than she ever imagined.

BOOK REVIEW: I love this author and her ability to create a small town feeling in a book and she delivered in a new way with this new series. Cussy is a former country girl turned city girl who is coming back to the country and experiencing all the nostalgia that she didn't realize she had been missing and feeling left out of. Totally relatable right?

Then we get to the mystery part. Finding out that Uncle Amos was murdered instead of dying of natural causes and being in a small town, of course I can see someone wanting to dig around and find out what actually happened. However given that Cussy hasn't visited Bluegrass Ridge in about 15 years, it did feel off at how familiar and comfortable she was poking around with people she hadn't seen or spoken to since she was in her early teens.

This was a 4 star for me. I've read a lot of this author's work and the way this book read was like it wasn't the first book in the series. I felt like I was missing things that I would have understood if I had read since the beginning but this is the beginning. Does that make sense? Don't get me wrong. We have wonderful characters that I can't wait to get to know more about as the series continues. We have yet another small town with their clicks and special invite only places that makes me cringe in all the good ways. A possible love triangle...I really can't wait to see what happens next at the ranch! This book will be available as an eBook on Amazon on Friday 6.27.2025 and possibly on KU upon release. Mark your calendars and follow the author to get notified when the book is released!

4/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 37/50 complete