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    Diggin' up the Dirt
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    Diggin' up the Dirt
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    Diggin' up the Dirt
    Ebook252 pages6 hours

    Diggin' up the Dirt

    By Tonya Kappes

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Everyone in Cottonwood loves the new bakery, Sweet Shop. Until a Cottonwood resident is found dead with a half-eaten donut in her hand.Sheriff Kenni Lowry has her hands full. With a new murder in town and a new deputy to train, she’s not sure if she’s ever gonna get this booger solved.Sheriff Elmer Sims comes to the rescue, stepping up as Kenni’s ghost deputy. As the ex-dead-now-ghost deputy and Kenni’s Poppa, there’s clues beyond the sprinkles in the donut that only he can see. Add to Kenni’s stress, Finn Vincent’s, Kenni’s hunky boyfriend and new sheriff of Clay’s Ferry, parents have come to town to meet Kenni and her parents. And Kenni’s mama ain’t too happy. As they say in the South, nobody’s happy if mama ain’t happy.With Poppa’s keen insight and Kenni’s determination, Kenni focuses all her attention on bringing the killer to justice before the yeast rises and another dead body turns up.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHenery Press
    Release dateMay 7, 2019
    ISBN9781635114843
    Author

    Tonya Kappes

    Tonya Kappes has written more than fifteen novels and four novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two very spoiled schnauzers, and one ex-stray cat in northern Kentucky. Now that her boys are teenagers, Tonya writes full-time but can be found at all of her guys' high-school games with a pencil and paper in hand. Come on over and FAN Tonya on Goodreads.

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    Reviews for Diggin' up the Dirt

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Diggin’ Up Dirt by Tonya Kappes has readers returning to Cottonwood, Kentucky. Kenni Lowry is nervous about meeting Finn Vincent’s parents for the first time. They will be arriving in town in their RV that afternoon. In the meantime, Kenni is attending the funeral of Woody Moss who passed away at Cottonwood Acres Rehabilitation Center. His grandson, Rich Moss was released from prison early on good behavior to attend the event, but Kenni catches him threatening a woman. Kenni gets a call from her mama who is at the home of Lenora Moss for the visitation. While at the funeral home, someone burgled the Moss home and stole Woody’s cufflinks. That evening at the Lowry residence, the two families meet, and things are going well until Preacher Bing arrives to say a blessing. Vivian Lowry is a Southern Baptist while the Vincent’s are Catholics. Heated words are exchanged, and doors are slammed (oh dear). The next morning, Kenni is awakened early when Vivian is out walking and comes across the body of Avon Myers. When Poppa shows up in her vehicle on the way to the crime scene, Kenni knows she has a new murder case to solve. As if Kenni does not have enough on her plate, she talks to Finn and learns that he has career goals that could take him away from Cottonwood. Kenni is in for a busy week with her mother on the warpath, a string of burglaries, a murder, a missing ex-convict, Finn’s visiting parents, relationship trouble plus dealing with the city council on hiring a new deputy. Thank goodness Kenni has her Poppa and her hound dog, Duke for comfort.Diggin’ Up Dirt is the seventh A Kenni Lowry Mystery and it can be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading the series in order. It will help you understand Kenni, her relationship with her mother, and why Poppa appears when a murder takes place. Tonya Kappes has a light, breezy writing style that quickly draws readers into her stories. Cottonwood is a small Southern town with quirky characters. There are no secrets in this town where gossip runs faster than maple syrup on hot pancakes. I was happy to see Poppa return because I enjoy his commentary and the humor he adds to the tale. He also helps Kenni in solving the case and provides her insight into her relationship with Finn (plus how to deal with her interfering mother). Duke is a lively addition. Duke reminds me of my Doozy with his love of food. Duke can see Poppa and the two of them pull some shenanigans that puzzle people (since they only see Duke). I wonder if Kenni will ever tell Finn about seeing Poppa (should be an interesting conversation). We get to see Finn and Kenni deal with deeper issues in Diggin’ Up Dirt. They have a nice relationship, but they have yet to discuss serious matters. The mystery was intriguing since it was more complex than previous whodunits. There are good clues to aid readers in solving the crimes. Avid mystery readers will find it a piece of cake to solve. There is mild foul language in the book. I am giving Diggin’ Up Dirt 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it).
    • 5/5
      Kenni Lowry is doing her duty as sheriff in Cottonwood, Kentucky - a small southern town - by attending the funeral of one of the locals, Woody Moss. It's there that she overhears and sees Woody's grandson Rich, a bad apple if there ever was one, arguing with Avon Meyers, who was Woody's physical therapist. Once she assures herself everything is fine, she leaves, because right now she has another problem:Her boyfriend, Deputy Finn Vincent, has just informed her that his parents have arrived in town to meet Kenni and her parents. What should be a meet-and-greet supper at her parents' home turns into much more when both sets discover that they're different religions, and in a small community like Cottonwood, that's not a good thing; and leads to a verbal confrontation that doesn't end well.But Kenni soon has to put the problems with the parents aside when she finds out a young woman has been murdered - even before anyone knows it's a murder. How? Because her deceased grandfather, 'Poppa', who was sheriff before her, shows up in her truck as she's heading to the scene. Her Poppa's ghost only appears when there's a murder to solve, so they're together again to solve the murder of Avon, who was found dead by a single gunshot at close range.Then after having a conversation with Finn he tells her he doesn't want to be a deputy his entire life, and after an incident or two she's convinced he wants her job, which both angers and saddens her. This, of course, only adds to her problems, along with the fact that she has a new part-time deputy she'd like to make full-time.So Kenni has her hands full, trying to juggle her relationship with Finn, her parents, his parents, and the murder of a young woman. It's not an easy task for a sheriff, especially since she's the only one (besides her dog Duke) who can see and hear her Poppa. But without him, her job in finding a killer might just get a lot harder with few clues and a disappearing suspect...I have to say that I love this series. Kenni is a complicated woman. She's constantly fighting against her mama's ideas of what she should be, is running a two (maybe three) person department that's in the back of a restaurant, and trying to juggle a relationship that's still in the stages of 'where do we go from here?' It's not an easy job, but she does her best, not to mention constantly worrying about whether she's going to be reelected or not when the time comes.But when Avon is found dead in a park, she has to figure out who put her there, and who hated her enough to want her dead. What seems like an open and shut case turns out not to be so, but the clues, such as they are, eventually lead down a different path entirely, and even that path might be more confusing than not.It's a tale that's full of both Kenni trying to do her job and trying to handle her personal life without having them both come together at the same time, which is nearly impossible when you have a mother like hers; Vivian doesn't have boundaries where Kenni's concerned, and is trying her darnedest to get her daughter married so she can have grandbabies (I can't even imagine a mother who would hound you about this). It helps that although Viv has a one-track mind, she's also a very likable character. I've actually warmed up to her quite a bit, because for all her faults, she fiercely loves her daughter and will go to any lengths to make sure she's happy. There's a mama bear protection there that's enviable to a lot of people.The mystery is done very well; the subplots are woven in together so nicely that what seems like random acts come together in a deliberate way, and it all leads to a story that is entertaining to read. As always, the characters are delightful and the community a tight knit one; they're a quirky bunch that have each other's back in all situations.When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed it's a surprise, but that's how it should be. I have to say that it's always a pleasure to visit with the townsfolk of Cottonwood, I enjoyed it immensely, and look forward to the next book. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Kenni and Finn are getting serious, and it’s time to introduce the parents to each other. Finn’s parents arrive from Chicago for a get-together dinner at Kenni’s parent’s home. They don’t even get to the first course before trouble erupts. When they begin saying grace before the meal, it becomes quite evident that her Baptist parents and his Catholic parents have issues regarding religion. Angry words lead to his parents storming out. Well, Kenni and Finn will have to figure it out, but a murder takes priority. It’s a good mystery, and will take some serious detective work to catch the killer. Luckily, Kenni has her ghostly Poppa to help her. It’s a fun read, with a little bit of everything to keep readers entertained and wanting more of the series.