The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert

I have read other ‘cozy’ mysteries before and I especially like cozies with animal counterparts (example: the Sneaky Pie Brown series). There are a few mystery series that are based on the premise of a well known author secretly being a sleuth so needless to say, I was intrigued by the concept of the book when I stumbled upon it in a local bookstore. Though this book is based on a real life author, it is not a biography. Potter and her friends (along with some of the local animals) mean to discover who the thief is and if Mrs Tolliver met her demise in an unsavory manor. A painting from the dead Mrs Tolliver’s house, the parish church register, and the local school roof repair money. The local gossip is that she was poisoned, though it is uncertain if it was intentional or accidental.īut soon, things start disappearing. While Potter and her furry friends arrive they hear the unfortunate news that a local woman, Mrs Tolliver, has just passed away and the circumstances are slightly suspicious. In 1905, it was almost unheard of for a women to purchase anything on her own, let alone a farm! But Potter is nothing if not determined to make a go of it.

Instead of the welcome they expect from a country village, Potter and her four legged friends are met with trepidation and pessimism. The beloved children’s book author has recently lot her fiance and with the success of her books, she finally has the means to afford a quiet country home: Hill Top Farm. It is far removed from the hustle and bustle of London which is precisely why Beatrix Potter means to make Sawrey home.

Here in this cozy country village, life is different. England’s charming Lake District is the home to the quaint village of Sawrey.

The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert