Linda Lovely’s Brie Hooker series debuted with Bones to Pick, and Lovely’s back with the sequel, Picked Off, every bit as filled with humor, wrapped in a great mystery.

Vegan Brie Hooker finds herself living with her Aunt Eva at Udderly Kidding Dairy goat farm in South Carolina. Their barn is hosting a costume fund-raiser for Eva’s friend, Carol Strong, running for Governor. Carol’s hunkey football player son is scheduled to arrive, too, a nice prospect as Brie can’t decide between to equally attractive men, good friends, who both want to date her.

Then an scary incident that night brings injury and makes the barn a crime scene. It sets off a string of events that include a kidnapping, blackmail, and lead to murder.

There’s a serious string of crimes happening, despite the humor Lovely injects to balance the happenings. Brie finds herself using doing her darndest to get to the bottom of things, often putting herself at risk.

Brie’s a gutsy gal, and easy to like, but she’s not a pushover. Smart and strong, Brie somehow manages to to stay on top of the eccentric characters while she gets to the bottom of the nastiness. There are hijinks coupled with real terror and life-threatening action at times.

With the southern setting perfectly drawn, Lovely’s mysteries provide plenty of action with a complex plot. This is the perfect series for summer beach reading.