Christmas Cow Bells is the first book in the Buttermilk Creek Mystery series by Mollie Cox Bryan. Christmas is a time for new beginnings, so after her big breakup, Brynn MacAlister takes the gouda with the bad. With her three Red Devon cows, she settles in bucolic Shenandoah Springs, eager for a new life as an organic micro-dairy farmer and cheese-maker. Then her dear cow Petunia’s bellows set the whole town on edge. But it isn’t until Brynn’s neighbor, Nancy, dies in a mysterious fire that her feelings about small town life begin to curdle. It seems some folks were not happy with Nancy’s plan to renovate the Old Glebe Church. But is a fear of change a motivation for murder? As a newcomer, Brynn can’t ignore the strange events happening just on the other side of her frosty pasture—and soon on her very own farm. Suddenly Christmas doesn’t feel so festive as everyone demands she muzzle sweet Petunia, and Brynn is wondering if someone wants to silence her—for good .
Christmas Cow Bells is a mystery that had moments where I was glued to the page and others where I started to wander away. I liked the set up and a great deal of the character building. I love the unique cast of characters and getting to know them as Brynn discovers more about them. I liked the mystery aspects, and thought the variety of clues was well done. I think the character depth and growth was well done and kept things interesting, I certainly want to know more about the past and future of several of the secondary characters. I liked the complexity of what was going on behind the scenes, but I think more of how everything tied together could have been explained in the book, or had Brynn figure out more of it for herself. I just felt like there were moments of absolute brilliant writing, and then a couple pages that were less inspired. Perhaps it was because of the necessary world and character building, but I did enjoy a great deal of the read and am not giving up on the series.
Christmas Cow Bells is a mystery that shows some sold potential, but had hot and cold moments for me. I will be trying the next book in the series to see where the author takes it.
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