A harvest festival. A hundred-year-old curse. And a farm dog who knows trouble when he smells it.

Julie Caster only plans to spend two weeks at Thistlewood Farm.

Her brother has broken his leg, the family’s annual harvest festival is days away, and someone needs to keep the pumpkins, cider doughnuts, hayrides, and assorted small-town disasters under control. Then there’s Wes Banks, the land developer determined to buy the family farm whether the Casters want to sell or not.

But when Wes turns up dead beside Thistlewood’s antique cider press, the farm’s oldest legend suddenly doesn’t seem quite so harmless.

Nearly a century ago, Thistlewood’s founder died beside that same press after refusing to sell his land. According to local lore, the farm remembers anyone who tries to take what belongs to it.

Julie doesn’t believe in curses, but Gerald might.

The family’s watchful black-and-tan farm dog has been warning her about the cider shed for days, and now he seems particularly interested in one of the suspects. With her brother under suspicion, festival visitors disappearing, and half of Foss Creek happily resurrecting a century-old murder story, Julie starts sorting rumor from evidence.

Because somebody at the harvest festival had a very real reason to want Wes Banks dead. And if Julie wants to save Thistlewood Farm, she’ll have to uncover the truth before an old curse gets blamed for a brand-new murder.

Amazon