Have you ever read a book and gotten so frustrated at the absolute stupidity and ridiculousness of a character that you want to throw something? Is the character fictional? YES. Does that make me the ridiculous one for raging at a fictional character? Likely. Does that change the fact that I still want to throw something at her? No freaking way.

Kate Wells’ Malvern Farm series is a fantastic cozy-ish mystery featuring Jude Gray, a woman who took over Malvern Farm after her husband of ten years died from cancer. In that time, she’s gone from a school teacher to a full-on farm wife and loved every part of her life there. The series starts when she finds the body of her best friend hanging from a tree on her farm, but she’s not convinced that it’s a suicide, in spite of all the evidence pointing that way. Each book brings a new murder to be solved, and Jude is right in the thick of it along with her new best friend, Binnie, a police constable. The frustration begins in book two, when a mysterious stranger, Marco, enters the scene. Their friendship morphs into something more, but Jude is not quite ready for romance. She’s also a very nosy woman who far overreaches her place in each of the mysteries. No real police force would allow her interference. I can cope with this because it’s normal creative license stuff that every book and television show does. My issue is how utterly stupid she is when it comes to Marco. She’s not ready. It’s too soon. Does he really like her? Are the warm fuzzies she gets whenever he’s around her love or just lint? I’m on book 5, and she’s lost him to someone else!!!!  I’m in my car yelling at her (I’m listening to it, calm down) to WAKE UP!!! Anyway, I highly recommend these books for their fantastic entertainment value! No, seriously…the stories are great and the murders, diabolical.