Fruit of All Evil by Paige Shelton

 Fruit of All Evil is the second book in the Farmers' Market Mystery Series

"Becca Robbins sells her farm-made jams and preserves at the local farmers' market to make a living. But when a local lovely decides to tie the knot at the same market, someone else decides  to make a killing - and only Becca has the down-home know-how to shut the lid on a canny killer."

When we last visited Bailey's Market, Becca had just finished helping Officer Sam Brion solve a local murder. And If Becca showed us anything in her debut novel, Farm Fresh Murder, its that she has a knack for solving crimes.  The only difference this time around is Officer Brion can actually use her help; whether or not it's intentional.

In Fruit of All Evil by Paige Shelton, Bailey's Market is full of excitement as it prepares for the upcoming marriage of one of its vendors, Linda McMahon, to the charmingly strong, soon-to-be shipped out of the country, Navy SEAL, Drew Forsythe. Becca, chosen as Linda's "number one" girl for the wedding preparation, finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when the groom-to-be's mother, Madeline Forsythe, a very disliked bank owner, is found dead in her home on the night of the wedding rehearsal dinner.

The investigation is only a couple of hours old when we find Becca sneaking through the police station, crawling in and out of windows, walking on ledges, and making her way to the jails cells, only to find her friend Linda waiting for interrogation. A friendly chit chat leaves Becca searching  for more answers. And with the suspect list ranging from family members to upset bank clients that have been receiving fraudulent foreclosure notices, Becca finds herself in one jam after another as she races to find the killer before the wedding has to be permanently postponed.

The second book  in the series gives us another great look inside the characters that reside at Bailey's Farmers Market.  You'll read about Becca's romance with Ian, yet wonder if there shouldn't be something more between her and Officer Sam Brion.  My favorite part of this book is that it took us outside the Farmers Market and into the surrounding areas that make up this wonderful life in the country. There's a Dairy Farm in this book, which means, there are cows! I love cows! And I loved this book  because a little calf helps Becca uncover some of the Forsythe family secrets and possibly assists with solving the crime. 

I love me those cows!  And I love Bailey's Market!

P.S. This book comes complete with recipes...Ian's Lavender Cookies, Mama Maria's Peach Delight, and George's Quiche Jeanine to name just a few. Yummy stuff! 

Fruit of All Evil is scheduled for release on March 1, 2011.

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Paige Shelton

I moved around a lot as a kid but went to high school and college in Des Moines, Iowa. I moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1988.

After college, I spent many years working in advertising, mostly for the local Salt Lake newspapers. My attempts to become a published writer began in 1997, but it wasn’t until 2008 that the first contracts with my agent and Berkley Publishing were signed. My pile of rejections is quite impressive.

Along the way, I got married to a terrific guy and we had a son who is now fifteen and still fun to be around, even though his messy bedroom could inspire a horror novel.

My writing partner is my nine pound dog, Gizmo. She’s adorable.

I read just about anything and everything, and I watch way too much TV. Every year I say I’m not going to be pulled into American Idol, but somehow it just happens.

Some people have asked about my road to becoming a published author. My agent was kind enough to lend me her blog to post the story. You can read about that here.

You can find  more information about Paige Shelton on her website at http://paigeshelton.com/index.html.