Rating: 
Summary: Welcome to Scumble River
Review: Skye Denison has reluctantly returned home to Scumble River, the only place she's been able to get a job as a school psychologist. She arrives in time for the annual Chokeberry Days festival, and finds the dead body of the celebrity who had come to make a special appearance. But, the victim is not the sweet television host she appeared to be, and her secret past make Skye's brother the chief suspect. Can Skye cut through the resentment she left behind to find the real killer?I went into this book with high hopes based on the word of mouth the book was getting. However, I was mildly disappointed when I read it. Many of the supporting characters, including suspects, are little more the caricatures. The story is not a plot but little more then a series of events with a conclusion. Still, I was intrigued enough by the main characters to book a return trip to Scumble River. This book, from a first time author, does show some promise. Hopefully, the author will improve as the series progresses.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Scumble River
Review: Skye Denison has reluctantly returned home to Scumble River, the only place she's been able to get a job as a school psychologist. She arrives in time for the annual Chokeberry Days festival, and finds the dead body of the celebrity who had come to make a special appearance. But, the victim is not the sweet television host she appeared to be, and her secret past make Skye's brother the chief suspect. Can Skye cut through the resentment she left behind to find the real killer? I went into this book with high hopes based on the word of mouth the book was getting. However, I was mildly disappointed when I read it. Many of the supporting characters, including suspects, are little more the caricatures. The story is not a plot but little more then a series of events with a conclusion. Still, I was intrigued enough by the main characters to book a return trip to Scumble River. This book, from a first time author, does show some promise. Hopefully, the author will improve as the series progresses.
Rating: 
Summary: great humor, great heroine, lots of fun
Review: Skye Denison is a terrific heroine, and the town of Scumble River never fails to entertain. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!
Rating:
Summary: This debut is a winner
Review: Skye Denison is not only one of the newest sleuths to hit the block this year but also one of the best. I found this book filled with wry humor that bounced along in the quaint small town setting. A page turner, this book features a determined school psychologist, a cast of wacky townspeople, all who could be guilty of murdering that small town honey. Great job, Ms. Swanson!
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable debut novel
Review: Skye Denison swore that she would never go back to the small town in Illinois where she grew up, but a job loss and a broken engagement changed her mind. Soon she finds herself involved in Scrumble River activities, such as the Chokeberry Days Festival. All is well until a visiting celebrity is found dead. The victim is a young woman who grew up in Scrumble River, and the #1 suspect is Skye's brother Vince. When she puts her investigative powers to work, Skye discovers that the victim had a lot of enemies. In between her job as a school psychologist and her budding romance with a local man, Skye finally discovers the identity of the murderer when she is kidnapped and threatened by the perpetrator. Denise Swanson's small-town Midwestern setting is enjoyable and her characters are interesting and well-drawn. This debut novel encourages me to want to read the rest of the series.
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Summary: Clever and witty!
Review: Skye Denison's adventures in this first Scumble River mystery by Denise Swanson, are very amusing and entertaining. I judge a book by how quickly I want to go to bed and read it. MURDER OF A SMALL-TOWN HONEY kept me reading--before my bedtime through after bedtme. I didn't want to stop reading it. An added clever touch are the chapter titles--you have to see them to believe them. Skye is a fully-dimensional person and takes you with her throughout the book. Very human, very relatable, and highly recommended.
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Summary: Small Town Humor
Review: Skye Dennison is a school psychologist who has returned to her home town, and Mom's cooking, just in time for the annual Chokeberry Days Festival. It's immediately obvious to Skye that the town is separated on the future of the festival. To make matters worse, Skye stumbles onto the body of Mrs. Gumtree. Although the Chief focuses on Skye's brother as his #1 suspect, Skye starts making her own list of suspects, and now she becomes a target. This is a delightful little cozy with good hometown humor.
Rating: 
Summary: It was okay
Review: The cover of this book caught my eye and even though I hadn't heard anything about the author I decided to give it a try.
It was a light, easy and mildly entertaining read. When I read mysteries I never try to guess who did it. I prefer to just enjoy the unfolding story. However, I figured out who did it without even trying. The story wasn't very original and the motive behind the murder was so (for lack of a better word) lame.
I may give Ms. Swanson another try just to see if she has improved.
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Summary: A likeable heroine I can identify with
Review: The first in a new mystery series, MURDER OF A SMALL-TOWN HONEY is a charming look at small town life. We meet Skye Denison as she is judging the chokeberry jelly contest at the Chokeberry Days festival in her home town of Scummy, er, Scumble River. A woman is killed at the festival, and Skye's brother is the main suspect. To protect her brother, Skye investigates and discovers there are some secrets in a small town afer all. Skye is a likeable protagonist, but there is much about her past life we don't know. We do know she was fired from her previous job in a big city, she was jilted by her fiance, and she's totally broke, but we never learn exactly why all these things occurred. Skye starts rebuilding her life, and I'm rooting for her all the way. I'm looking forward to the next in this series.
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Summary: What a very strange book this is!
Review: The reviews of this book led me to try it. And after having read it in its entirety, I think it most resembles a book written by a committee. Each individual member has his or her own plan for what's going to happen, and adheres to that regardless of what came before or after their section. Consequently, the book isn't quite sure of what it really wants to be.
There are humorous parts, to be sure, and others that are so dry, they read like a catalog. Also, at times, I felt that the author went a tad overboard using caricature as a means of describing characters. They're almost too buffoonish to be real. And of all things, I tumbled to the 'whodunit' almost immediately, which was a major surprise, as I almost never figure it out before the author tells us who's the bad guy. Or gal. On the other hand, the small-town ambience of Scumble River seems absolutely right, as well as the Chokeberry Days Festival that happens every year with its carnival, and cooking contests. If you've ever been to such a small town festival, it will seem exactly right to you. Will I try the next book in the series? Probably. At least, one more.
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