Spotlight: IN THE DEAD OF WINTER (The Blue Water Mysteries) by Lyn Farrell

In the Dead of Winter (The Blue Water Mysteries)

 Mystery 1st in Series

 Setting – Michigan

 Publisher ‏ : ‎ Camel Press

 Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 10, 2026 

Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages Paperback 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Victoria Treadwell, dispatcher for the sheriff’s office, is driving to work in a snowstorm when she sees a car fish-tailing behind her. Horrified, she watches at the car swerves off the road. When she heads back to help, she finds the driver bent over the steering wheel and barely breathing. In the back seat is a tiny child in a pink snowsuit. Victoria calls for an ambulance and then dials her boss, Pete Manstead, Undersheriff, of Charlevoix County. The ambulance arrives and the paramedic tries to shock the woman’s heart back into rhythm, but the driver, who they learn is named Carly Yellowwood, is dead. 

From the autopsy, Pete finds Carly died of a drug overdose, although she didn’t use drugs. The coroner lists the cause of death as murder. Pete sends his deputies to visit Carly’s neighbors and learns she has been seeing two men. One is her ex-husband, Joe Yellowwood, a Native American living on the nearby reservation. No one knows the second man. Since Carly Yellowwood was divorced and has a new boyfriend. Pete believes its a crime of passion. Victoria, who hopes to adopt Carly’s motherless child, thinks the motive is far darker.

Purchase Links

 Amazon ~ Bookshop.org ~ B&N

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyn Farquhar—pen name Lyn Farrell—holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University and is an experienced author, having published the seven-book series (the Mae December mysteries) with Epicenter Press and four books in the Rosedale Investigations series. She has also published one women’s fiction book. To date, eight of her books have been picked up by a secondary publisher, Harlequin. Sales to date from both primary and secondary publishers are approaching 50,000. 

Lyn worked for Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine for 35 years before retiring to pursue her dream of becoming a published fiction author. Lyn is the mother of two, has six stepchildren, and twelve grandchildren. She loves gardening, playing with her Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and is always on the lookout for paintings by her famous artist grandfather, Eugene Iverd. 

Author Links 

 Website  ~ Facebook  ~ AMAZONAUTHOR

GIVEAWAY 

One Print Copy of Book In the Dead of Winter (The Blue Water Mysteries) 

by Lyn Farrell 

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Book Review: THE FAMILY MAN - A Rosedale Investigations Mystery by Lynn Farrell

The Family Man (Rosedale Investigations) 

Cozy Mystery 

4th in Series 

Setting – Tennessee 

Camel Press (January 9, 2024) 

About the Book

A woman approaches Rosedale Investigations to report her husband missing. Then another woman arrives to report her husband is missing. When the team sees the photographs of James Browning, they realize it’s the same guy; they have a bigamist on their hands. Detective Wayne Nichols locates Browning’s car at the local airport and learns the man’s been subpoenaed to provide evidence in the trial of a decade-old murder of a police officer-a shooting Browning witnessed. 

A second client, Hilary Broadchurch-Miller believes her brother, Grant, is being blackmailed by Aimee, his yoga instructor. He had earlier pledged to cover the cost of sending Hilary’s sons to college and she’s afraid he might renege on that promise. When Billy Jo interviews Aimee, she denies having an affair and is shocked when accused of blackmail. However, when Billy Jo checks the Venmo app, she discovers Grant has been giving Aimee money for two months. Something is definitely going on.

This one is a page-turner with two wives who don’t know about each other, a man who may or may not have a daughter, and a final 4th of July party where all the strands of the tale come together. 

Review 

The Rosedale Investigations is quite busy with multiple changes coming for those who follow the series. The focus, however, is on the two wives - one with a little boy, and one with a teen-aged daughter. After witnessing a crime, James Browning left his common law wife and daughter and moved. At the funeral of a cousin, he met the widow and her toddler son and they got married. Now, both families live in the same town and he's disappeared. Billy-Jo, Dori, and Wayne chase multiple leads to find him.

At the same time, Billy-Jo, still hoping to become partner, pursues the potential blackmail scheme or surprise daughter of Grant. Along with trying to establish possible paternity, Billy-Jo still has questions about how long it took PD to find her when he'd promised to take care of her. That's a third mystery that is revealed. 

The Family Man is an easy read with interesting mysteries, a diverse smattering of characters, and a plot that includes the members of Rosedale Investigations as well as their clients. The pace is steady and it can be read as a stand-alone - this is my first in the series - although The Family Man is the fourth. Still, I think it's always best to start at the beginning. If you like a cozy mystery with heartfelt moments, you'll enjoy this book.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way. 

About the Author 

Lyn Farrell is the pen name of Lynda Farquhar the author of the Mae December Mystery series as well as the Rosedale Investigations series. 

She is a former Michigan State University professor in the College of Human Medicine, a mother, and a grandmother. 

She loves playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is always on the lookout for her family artist grandfather’s (Eugene Iverd) paintings. He was a Saturday Evening Post cover artist. 

Author Links 

Webpage ~ Facebook ~ 

 Purchase Link 

Amazon 

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