Book Review: Murder at the Mushroom Festival by Janet Finsilver (Kelly Jackson #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, engaging mystery

Cons: A niggle or two, but nothing major

The Bottom Line:

Festival Murder

Keeps Kelly and friends busy

In fun mystery

Murder is Mushrooming

I was ahead enough in my reading schedule that I used a recent vacation to catch up on some of the other books I’ve been meaning to read. One of those was Murder at the Mushroom Festival, the fourth Kelly Jackson mystery from Janet Finsilver. 

If you are new to the series, Kelly runs a bed and breakfast in Redwood Cove, California, a fictional city in Mendocino County. I grew up not too far away from the setting, so I always enjoy getting back to the area. 

This book finds the community getting ready for the annual mushroom festival. It includes a mushroom hunting contest that is bring out the worst in some of the residence. Kelly witnesses several fights, including between the people attending a mushroom class she is hosting at her bed and breakfast. However, she is still surprised when a dead body is found. As she and the Silver Sentinels, a group that works to solve problems in the community, start to investigate, they find motives beyond the mushroom festival. Can they figure out what is happening?

Usually, I can figure out who the victim is fairly early. It’s just spotting the killer that usually eludes me. In this case, I actually picked someone else as the murder victim early on. I always enjoy it when I’m fooled in this part of the story. 

The mystery is good. There were enough surprises along the way to keep me engaged. I wasn’t sure who the killer was until Kelly found the incriminating evidence. There are enough suspects and motives to keep you guessing. 

I really enjoy the characters. The Silver Sentinels are a fun lot, although we don’t see as much of them as we have in past books. Kelly is a great main character, and I enjoy watching the other relationships in the book deepen. I also really liked watching how the suspects changes as the book progressed. 

Given the Kelly runs a bed and breakfast, there’s always plenty of talk about food. While I consider these culinary cozies, we don’t get any recipes at the end of the book. Keep that in mind and you’ll be fine. 

This series continues to be fun. If you are looking for a light mystery with a core cast of characters you can’t help but love, you’ll be glad you picked Murder at the Mushroom Festival. 

And check out the rest of the Kelly Jackson Mysteries.