The Pickled Piper is the first book in the A Pickled & Preserved Mystery series.

After breaking up with her boyfriend Scott, Piper Lamb moves to Cloverdale, NY to be near her Aunt Judy and Uncle Frank. She has opened a shop, Piper's Pickling, catering to pickling and canning people. As Piper and her part-time employee, Amy are getting the P & P booth set for the opening of The Cloverdale Fair, they witness a heated argument between Alan Rosemont and Nate Purdy, that almost comes to blows. The next morning, Ben an auxiliary cop, and Piper find the body of Rosemont in Piper's pickle barrel at her booth. Based on the confrontation the night before, Nate becomes the prime suspect, but, Amy, who has been dating Nate, is sure of innocence. Piper and some of her friends begin their own investigation, Ben has the sheriff ear and appears that the police are looking at any one else.

It is soon learned that between his abrasive personality and his bagpipe playing the are quite a few suspects that the police should be looking into. The local librarian, Lyella Pfiefle and her overprotective husband. Rosemont had the library repainted a bright pink, which Lyella was quite upset about. Rosemont didn't have the best of business ethics and cheated Dorothy Taylor out of some items that she had in her attic. Her son Robby was in town the evening that Rosemont was killed. And the plumber, Ralph Farber, who lived next door to Rosemont and had to endure Rosemont's bagpipe playing all the time. And there is also Charlotte Horsch, who owns Charlotte's Chocolate and Confections, who goes out of her way to drop hints that Nate is the killer, maybe she is covering her tracks.

Piper has the front of her shop defaced with white paint, the air let out of her car's tires and somebody has started a fire at the back of her store, so she needs to get busy and find the murderer before she is the next victim.

I'm really looking forward to reading more of this series. The book has a wonderful cast of characters, who one would love to have as their friends. And for those who love to have a character to hate, there is of course Charlotte. Plus there is Will Burchett, the attractive owner of a Christmas Tree farm, who might be able to bring Piper out of her doldrums from her last relationship. ( )

I'm not rating this one because I couldn't even get to page 60 before closing it with a "nope, can't do it". By page 32 there were so many implausibilities my suspension of belief snapped from the tension of over-stretching. It's been rated highly by others, so I might try to read it again at a later date; I love the setting of a pickle shop and would love to read more about it, but the writing was just not working for me.

“The Pickled Piper” by Mary Ellen Hughes

Piper Lamb is starting new. After leaving her fiancé—well, actually he left her to travel the world to ‘find himself,’ which gave Piper the out she needed—she moves and sets up shop in Cloverdale. Thinking she’d have a quiet life running her pickling shop, Piper’s world is anything but quiet.

She decides to join other shop owners and sets up a pickling booth at the town’s fair and does pretty well. Until a dead body—Alan Rosemont’s—is found in her pickle barrel. To say that it kind of sours her pickling is yes, a pun and probably crass, but it’s also the least of her worries.

Her only and faithful employee Amy is seeing Nate, who gets accused of murdering Alan. Piper tries to help Amy by helping Nate prove his innocence. But apparently, someone doesn’t want Piper figuring out too much. She becomes the target of some annoying and then deadly warnings.

Then it gets worse for Nate when more dead bodies are found. Piper figures they have to relate to each other and doesn’t stop trying to convince the sheriff and everyone else that Nate is not guilty.
Running a pickling shop and hunting down a killer keep her busy during the day. But so does trying to make her ex-fiancé understand they are over while getting cozy with a new man.

You’ll smile, you’ll root for Nate, you’ll tell Piper to move on with her new life and leave the old behind, and you’ll turn the pages while tension mounts up as one person after another becomes suspect—at least in Piper’s eyes. And you will not, assuredly, figure out who the actual murderer is until after Piper does.

Lots of fun. It makes for a great beach read!

Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “The Other Side: Melinda’s Story” ( )

A great start for a new series. ( )

I have to start by saying, this is one of the best new books I have read this year! I couldn't put it down. THE PICKLED PIPER hooked me on page one and just kept pulling me in!

Piper Lamb has opened her dream store, Piper's Picklings in the small town of Cloverdale where she sells not only the multitude of delightful items that she has pickled and preserved herself, but also pickling spices, supplies, and cookbooks. And she can't think of a better way to promote her business than setting up her wares at the Cloverdale fair. Well, it was a great idea until Alan Rosemont, a local town councilman is found head first and dead inside her old-fashioned pickle barrel with Piper's assistant's boyfriend the prime suspect!

Right away I felt Piper, her Aunt Judy and Uncle Frank, her assistant Amy, and the rest of the cast of characters were close friends. Like I had always spent my days in Piper's shop.

Author Mary Ellen Hughes writes with a simple flair that makes reading a real joy. Her characters are very likeable and fun, the setting enjoyable and the mystery first class. I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong. Then I suspected someone of something else...I was wrong. When the reveal of the killer came, it all made prefect sense.

Another sweet and spicy surprise was how interesting I found the process of pickling. It's not something I've ever had an interest in, but as I read this treat of a book I found myself wishing I had paid more attention to my mother when she made and canned her pickle relish.

Congratulations to Ms. Hughes on this wonderful first book of what is sure to be a hit series! My appetite has certainly been wetted for more!

Lisa Ks Book Reviews ( )