I’ve read a few cosies this year but this organic food venture takes the biscuit for being right up to date. GOODNIGHT MOO features Brynn MacAlister who moved to an artisan farming valley, Shenandoah Springs in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, to start her micro-dairy farm – three cows and counting. She specialises in craft cheese, with a chemistry degree, and came up with the idea for the first annual cheesemakers contest at this year's summer fair.

That’s the setup but we swiftly see problems develop. The air conditioning in the cheese tent at the week-long fair threatens to ruin the fun. The fun gets too serious and someone gets shot. Someone else gets run over by a tractor with a spooky mind of its own – that’s the story its driver is telling, anyway. When he gets arrested, he says he didn’t do it. And a rash of ransomware is running through the valley. Oh, I love it. I went to tell my husband how much I loved it. The combination of artisan food, concern for farm animals and computer issues is brilliant. I didn’t even mention the Highland cow Jewel, in need of a foster home.

This tale is second in the Buttermilk Creek Mystery series by Mollie Cox Bryan. Buttermilk Creek is Brynn’s farm, where she lives in the old rectory, and we hear about a sad incident earlier in the year, after the church went on fire. We also get to meet a lot of friends, relatives and somewhat stiff neighbours who aren’t sure yet about a newcomer in their midst. As Brynn remarks, we value rural communities because the pace of life is slower and change doesn’t overtake towns. But this means moving to Shenandoah Springs can feel awkward without immediate acceptance.  

Mollie Cox Bryan also takes a brave step in giving her heroine a concussion which seriously impairs her ability to investigate. Not that it stops Brynn. Her sister Becky and assistant Wes Scors are worried for her but take on running everything from the festival to the farm. The weather plays a major part – from searing heat and crispy grass, to repeated thunderstorms. The detail is wonderful and helps me feel as if I’m on the spot. If you enjoy eating artisan cheese, home made blackberry bread or other goodies, read the recipes for the food our characters tuck into each day. CHRISTMAS COW BELLS is the first book in this series and GOODNIGHT MOO will be hard to beat.