Apples: A Carolina Cozy Mystery

by Blake Rivers

258 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2025

About the author

Hi, I'm Blake and as you may have guessed by now, I'm a writer. Yup, that’s right, I write books and I wrote my first novel, The Assassin Princess, in 2011 when I was twenty-eight. Two sequels followed, A Step into Darkscape and The Assassin's Codaci. This magical fantasy series started as a story written about my girlfriend, at the time, an artist who dreamed of being a fierce warrior in another world, who kicked butt and swung a sword to battle the enemy. It grew and became The Assassin Princess, a tale of an artist who is kidnapped and taken to a strange land full of magic, talking unicorns and dragons. It goes dark, exploring jealously, greed and hunger; it goes light and reaches for the best in even the most flawed of characters. But in essence, it still remains about her at its heart.

I started writing when I was seven years old. Back then it was mostly poems about whatever interested me at the time, be it the seasons or the planets, or my love for libraries and books. I also turned my hand to a few short stories, all hand written and lost over time.

I don’t remember why I started writing, but I do remember what inspired me to do it. It was Yuri, writing his poems to Lara in the frozen house in the film Dr Zhivago, and the beautiful music played, Lara’s Theme; it was the sound of the typewriter at the very start of the film Misery, where Paul Sheldon finishes his latest book.

These still inspire me to this day, along with whole host of other influences: the novels by Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas, J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell to name a few. Any movie that shows a typewriter.

Reviews

[Mrs K.Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apples is an Excellent story about an Apple Butter Festival and there is a surprising event. Marcus Chen was providing Baking for the event and the Apple Butter Competition when Ernest Owner of the Orchard collapsed after the tasting apple butter. Luckily Marcus has knowledge about toxins and medical assistance was received. Sheriff McKenzie starts to investigate the mystery with the assistance of Marcus as he has special knowledge. Can they protect the orchard with the heritage trees from destruction?
I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend that you read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cozy mystery offers a refreshing twist with Marcus, a male pastry chef, taking center stage as the main character—a welcome change from the norm in the genre. I really enjoyed seeing the story unfold from his perspective, especially as he's drawn into the events of a local festival. The motive behind the mystery was also quite unique and thoughtfully developed, adding depth to the plot. Overall, I found this an engaging and enjoyable read, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series. I received an advance reader copy of this book, and this review reflects my honest opinion.

[Bibliophile Foodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story takes place at an apple festival, which felt cozy and perfect for autumn. Marcus Chen, a pastry chef, is there to showcase his baking, but things take a dark turn when the orchard owner suddenly collapses.

What I liked most was how Marcus got involved in solving the mystery. He’s not a detective, but his knowledge of food and ingredients helps him notice things others miss. It was interesting to see how he used his skills to figure out what really happened.

The mystery itself was clever.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had potential to be good but I just couldn't get past the repeating of itself over and over. I loved learning about different varieties of apples, and even the descriptions of them made me want to seek them out to try them. However, it seemed like same thing was repeated over and over and over. I, unfortunately, got to the point of just wanting to stop reading it. I did finish it though. I also wish that the main character was a detective rather than just an average Joe who was included in an investigation by the police or he was investigating on his own.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apples is A Carolina Cozy Mystery by Blake Rivers. I thought the story was interesting and Marcus is a great main character. Ernest owns an Orchard. Ernest fruit trees are unique… his tree grafting ability is legendary. But, who wants him dead? Can Marcus figure this mystery? Apples is excellent! I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.