Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for opportunity to read "Killer at the County Show" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the 5th book in the wonderful Malvern Farm Mystery series. Jude Gray is expanding into the world of showing her pedigree Kerry Hill lambs - Henry and Helen - at the Three Counties Show. What she finds is in-fighting, a "farmer" who spends more time on social media than in the pens, cheating, and of course, a murder.

There is no shortage of suspects, lies, cover-ups, plot twists, secrets and as always Jude in danger for running a parallel investigation to DR Binnie Khatri. My favourite character is always Granny Margot who is sharp as a tack and loves a good mystery to unravel.

3.8 Stars
One Liner: A good mystery

Jude Gray enters the Three Counties Show with her cute Kerry Hill sheep only to find that it’s full of drama and tension. When a competitor’s body is found with a long list of suspects, she has to step up and find the killer before it’s too late. Of course, with everyone hiding secrets, this could be her toughest case yet!
The story comes in Jude’s third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
This is the fifth book in the series and can be read as a standalone, except for the sad love track (more on this later).
I read this series to learn something new about current farming practices and difficulties in other countries, namely the UK. It doesn’t shy away from showing the hard work required to run a farm and keep it at least borderline profitable in today’s times. As always, the book scores high marks in this aspect.
The mystery starts well. The dead man is not someone you’d want to be associated with, so it’s no surprise that the list of suspects is long and includes almost everyone who was around him at that time. Binnie makes a grand entry and is as efficient as ever. I liked her from the first book (in fact, I like her more than Jude, the MC).
The topic of discussion here is rewilding – the concept of letting nature take over fields in an attempt to bring back lost animal/ insect species and strengthen the ecosystem again. While it sounds idealistic in theory, the practicalities are different. Not every land is suitable for rewilding. A wrong choice could cause more harm than good and destroy farmlands that are still useful for cultivation.
There are some developments in the personal tracks, and that is where I have a huge issue. I’ve grumbled about Jude’s ‘should I or should I not’ debate with Marco. Here, it gets even worse with deliberate miscommunication and immaturity. Please, act your age and have a proper discussion like adults. I don’t want something like this to put me off a good series. But if this stretches for more books, I will have to rethink my options.
Of course, as always, Jude rushes into danger to solve the case, and this time, she might have gone a bit too far! Still, you can trust her to solve the case. If only she used the same brain to deal with her personal life!
To summarize, Killer at the County Show is a good mystery set in the countryside and deals with quite a few themes. The pacing is on the slower side, as it often is in this series.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the latest 'Malvern Farm Mystery', featuring Jude Gray by Kate Wells. I have read and enjoyed all of the previous books in the series, and anticipated nothing less from this one - and I was not disappointed.

Jude has decided to show her Kerry Hills sheep at the Three Counties Show for the first time, but she never expected all of the drama that would ensue, culminating in the murder of one of the farmers! And oh, what a tangled web has been weaved, encompassing a number of the exhibitors.

Jude, of course, is hot on the trail of the killer, but her investigations (in aid, of course, of her good friend Detective 'Binnie' Khautri) lead her to any number of possible culprits and motives - illegal activities, blackmail and more; and when another body turns up, the plot definitely thickens.

This is the fifth book in the series, and with each one, Ms. Wells has fleshed out all of her major characters, and added some new ones into the mix. Like all of the previous books, this one is certainly enjoyable and a very good 'cozy' mystery. Recommended.

Jude Gray is a rather young widow who has carried on with the sheep farm she and her husband began and has decided to enter the big livestock show. After witnessing a dustup between neighbors, she discovered the body of one of the men. Yup, the one who was unscrupulous in business and a self-entitled womanizer as well. Of course, there is no shortage of suspects and she adds her investigation to the official one in order to try to preserve the integrity of the community. Her investigation runs into snags, lies, secrets, convoluted logic, and some amazing plot twists. Terrific addition to an addictive series.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected digital galley from Boldwood Books via NetGalley
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Another great mystery in this series. It was great to catch up with the usual suspects but the new setting allowed for new people and lots of new details about sheep showing to be introduced. The mystery was a good one although I did spot some of the answers some where a surprise. I was a bit disappointed in the romance element it seemed a bit of a waste of time and was not really necessary to the story and an after thought. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Kate Wells has done it again! All the elements I love about this series are there - our brilliant heroine Jude Gray and her cast of friends and family; a new set of suspects - each with convincing motives and backstories; a satisfying new setting of the county show, with lots of immersive farming-related details; a proper knotty plot to unravel that is neither too easy nor too hard for the reader - the perfect 'Cinderella' zone of cozy crime.

I especially enjoyed the satirical depiction of Zander Pettiford, a musician and influencer-turned-hobbyist-farmer and rewilder. The story makes it clear there are sound arguments for rewilding, but that people who don't understand farming need to examine the topic in depth before jumping to conclusions about land use.

I wasn't entirely convinced by Jude's will-they, won't-they romance with Marco this time, as it didn't seem to have the required time on the page to show her feelings persuasively, but I can see the advantage of having it there in the background too - I just want her to have a happy ending!