Fungi Foul Play: A Small Town Colorado Cozy Mystery (Backyard Farming Series)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – Colorado
Morewellson, Ltd. (May 7, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 260 pages

Synopsis

Can Anne help her friend from being charged as a murder suspect?

Newlywed Anne is dismayed at the idea of closing the Inn and tensions run high as Hope leads a mushroom workshop. When fingers point toward Hope for causing a death, Anne must help her friend before she loses everything. Was the death a tragic accident or is someone out to destroy Hope? Or is there an even more sinister plot at hand?

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Fungi Foul Play is Book Seven in the Backyard Farming series. Each book can be read as a standalone. However, if you enjoy getting to know the quirky characters who live in the town, here are the books in the series.

Chicken Culprit
Cordial Killing
Honey Homicide
Christmas Capers
Potager Plot
Duck Disaster
Fungi Foul Play

Character Guest Post

Meow. My name is Mouser. Actually, it’s not. Humans do not possess the wisdom to know better, so they call me that. I am Winston Marshall, the Third, and that is my name, in full. If it brings them pleasure, who am I to interfere and stand in their way? They provide me with food and buy me toys, so I’m willing to indulge them. You could possibly be interested in learning where I live. It is a place within another place. What do I mean by that? Allow me to elaborate on the matter.

First, I “live” or exist in the writer’s imagination, Vikki Walton. But primarily, you’ll find me on the pages of her cozy mystery series. In the first book, Chicken Culprit, I was rescued from a shelter by Kandi. She then introduced me to Anne. I was still a kitten then, but I already knew that there were some occupants in that house that shouldn’t be there. I took care of them swiftly, so that’s how I acquired my name. I have taken the steps to ensure that no mouse would be brave enough to even think about entering my house.

So, Anne grew to enjoy having me around. She is in her forties, however; it is tricky to determine how many years that is in cat years. Ever since she set foot in the town of Carolan Springs, she has been involved in one mysterious situation after another. I often figure them out before she does, but I like the way her mind works. Whenever she’s focused on another mystery, it’s pretty obvious that she’ll pull out the post-it notes. Then she and start jotting down things about means, motive, and opportunity.

Now here comes the exciting part. One particular holiday season, Anne was feeling downcast. She experiences days where her mood is not the best. This is something I have observed in some humans. But she’s better now that she’s drinking some herbal tea her friend gives her. I could tell from her expression that she was bored. She finally brought down some boxes that were red and green. Now, when she opened them, I was powerless to resist the temptation. Those Christmas items were so pretty. There was all this shiny stuff and glass balls to bat at with my paw. What’s a cat to do? If you don’t want me messing with it, don’t put it out for me to play with. But get this, I helped solve a mystery! Yes, me. Winston Marshall the Third. So that was fun. If you want to know more about that mystery, you can check out Christmas Capers. I even got my picture on the book cover! It was about time.

Lately, I’ve noticed that man hanging around more. I think his name is Carson. He seems okay, but when he built me a ledge where I can watch the birds, I decided he could stay. Sometimes at night, I’ll see animals skulking along the tree line of the backyard. It’s at those times that I wish I had more access to the outdoors. Or a friend. But then that would mean sharing. Not sure about that. We’ll see what happens in Fungi Foul Play. I can tell that there’s another mystery scheduled as Anne’s back in sleuthing mode.

Now another thing you might want to know is, does the author have a cat? Sadly, the answer is no. She has a sweet dog, but that doesn’t count in my book. They don’t care when their humans give them silly names and they can’t wait for them to come home. The name Mouser at least has some street creed. But Vikki loves animals. Some years back, she decided to become a global house and pet sitter. Thus far, she has sat across the United States, in the United Kingdom, and in Mexico. Things got a bit crazy for a while, so that put off her travels, but she’s back at them again. She has sat for birds, cats, dogs, and fish. She hasn’t sat with horses or goats, but she’s helped with them as well. That’s one reason you’ll often find animals in her books. Each of us has our own personality as well. In her Backyard Farming series, she’s got me, and some chickens, but those are silly birds. In my humble opinion. There are also some other critters, but, well, let’s be honest. I’m the most important. In her Taylor Texas mystery series, she’s got dogs but mainly lots of horses. And in her Viviane’s adventures, that character is also a global house-sitter, so you’ll find all kinds of animals.

I think that’s enough for now. I hear some birds chirping outside and I need to go check on them. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in Fungi Foul Play. Maybe I’ll get to help solve another mystery again.

About the Author

Vikki Walton writes sassy sleuths and clever clues. Her mysteries are clean so no blushes. She has three cozy series: one set in a fictional town in Colorado, one set in a real town in Texas, and one that takes place at various places around the globe. When not out hiking the beautiful Colorado trails, you can find her pursuing her passions of gardening, traveling, and of course, reading great cozies!

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