Red Delicious Death

Orchard Mystery #3

by Sheila Connolly

In this latest Orchard mystery, amateur sleuth Meg Corey takes a bite out of crime...

Some baby-faced chefs, fresh out of cooking school, are looking to open a restaurant in Granford. They plan on using local foods-great news for city girl banker-turned orchard owner Meg Corey. Yet when one of the chefs is found dead, face-down in a farmer's pig wallow, plans come to a screeching halt. And Meg soon discovers they may have a locally grown killer on their hands.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Sheila Connolly taught art history, structured and marketed municipal bonds for major cities, worked as a staff member on two statewide political campaigns, and served as a fundraiser for several non-profit organizations. She also managed her own consulting company providing genealogical research services.

She was a member of Sisters in Crime-New England (president 2011), the national Sisters in Crime, and the fabulous on-line SinC chapter, the Guppies. She also belonged to Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America.

Sheila was Regent of her local DAR chapter, and a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. She was also the grandchild of Irish immigrants. In addition to genealogy, Sheila loved restoring old houses, visiting cemeteries, and traveling.

Reviews

[Natalia R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better and better!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

"They're all dead."
"What?" Meg Corey dragged her gaze from the orderly rows of apple trees that marched over the hill. Almost all were in bloom now, and some of them had what even a novice farmer like Meg could identify as apples. Small, maybe, but it was a start. She turned her attention to Carl Fredrickson, her beekeeper. Until this morning, Meg hadn't even known she had a beekeeper, but it seemed like every day since she'd inherited the orchard, something - or someone - new she hadn't known about turned up. "Who's dead?"
"The entire hive."

So begins Red Delicious Death.

I'm thinking to myself, awesome! This book is going to deal with the problem of bee colony collapse disorder which when you consider that much of the food we eat relies on honey bees as pollinators is quite a serious threat to our food security. I have to admit I was a little giddy that an author had finally decided to go into bat for the humble honey bee.

Sad to say after the first few paragraphs bees hardly get a mention. What is left is a fairly conventional cozy mystery. It's pretty good, quite entertaining, but I wanted bees!

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should really be a one and a half star, but they don't have to select. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it much, either.

I find the books in this series to be harder and harder to read as they go along. There's so much repetition and padding. Plus, Meg isn't really easy to warm up to. There's just something missing in the mix and it's hard to describe what that is. It should all work, nice setting, small town, an orchard, but it doesn't at least not for me.

Disappointing.

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

this didn't really feel like a mystery. a majority of the story is about Meg helping a young couple start a business or explaining to others why she is helping the young couple. there's also quite a bit of puttering around in an orchard and a romantic subplot without much chemistry. I would have just enjoyed this more if there were more elements of mystery and less interpersonal drama.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meg's friend Lauren asks Meg what are the prospects for a young trio wanting to open a restaurant (the Head Chef and the front of house/admin are married with a close friend being the third member and the sous chef).  Meg puts them in contact with the local Realtor and before long they have secured a house and with Seth's help are turning it into a restaurant where they plan to serve as much local food as possible.  The bump in the road occurs when the sous chef is found dead in a pig wallow and it appears that again it appears to be someone local who has done the deed.  Meg ends up balancing her orchard work (the first fruits are getting close to picking so that needs organizing), the local bees seem to be dying off and Nicky and Brian need her help sorting out suppliers!

[QNPoohBear · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meg is finally settled in Granbury, eager for her apples to ripen and learn all she can about the picking process. She dreads having to make the decision of where to sell the apples or whether to just make cider. Bree is in charge of hiring the pickers and the actual harvesting process but Meg wants to learn all she can. Then her friend Lauren calls with a favor to ask. She knows of some new, young chefs who want to open a restaurant and does Meg know of a suitable location where they could put it. SURE! Granby could use a good sit down restaurant and Frances could use a sale. The baby-faced chefs arrive and fall in love with the old Stebbins place, newer than Meg's farmhouse but still historic and the heirs are willing to sell cheap and fast. It soon becomes clear these young lovebirds are passionate but lack business experience for all the practical stuff. It's up to Meg and Seth to hold their hands. Meg is excited about the locally grown farm to table restaurant that will serve locals and tourists alike at prices they can afford. She wants the chefs to succeed but when the sous chef is found dead in Jake Kellogg's pig wallow, plans for the restaurant may be derailed. Meg has no reason to investigate but at the urging of her friend Lauren, she begins to ask questions and her questions point in the direction of a local Granby resident as the killer. No one knew Sam or had a reason to want him dead, did they?

This story is rather lackluster. It's more about the orchard than who killed Sam. Meg has no reason to investigate and she doesn't really want to. She only pokes around because Lauren wants to get involved. I thought I guessed who the murderer had to be before the person was even dead but when the victim turned out to be the sous chef, that complicated the story. I did end up guessing correctly but the resolution was not at all suspenseful and completely boring. In the first chapter, a plot thread is introduced and goes absolutely nowhere. A character disappears from the story and reappears 2/3 of the way through in one scene and is dropped again. The romance goes from hesitant to full steam ahead in just this one book.

Meg is stressed out and worrying about all she has to do in the orchard once the apples are ripe. She's waiting for the apples to ripen like an expectant mother. She's reluctant to enter into a serious relationship with Seth while she has so much on her plate. Do they talk to each other like normal adults? Not really. They do a little bit but not before things get steamy. Seth is a sweetheart and a perfect gentleman. He has a lot on his plate too and while Meg should say no to holding Chef Nicki's hand, Seth, at least, as a Select Board member, has an interest in the restaurant's success and knows how to get the necessary permits and renovate the house as inexpensively as possible. Meg really should say no more often. She means to, if she gets too busy in the orchard. She doesn't have a reason to investigate and she's trying to be careful of her reputation as a newcomer in town. Her reputation as preceded her and it sounds like most of the townspeople have accepted her. She's getting into the history of Granby with her cataloging for the historical society. Yes Gail breaks every archival rule beginning with the non-climate controlled building. One fire or flood and the town's history is lost.

Bree still has a chip on her shoulder. A new character can't even ask a simple question without Bree being defensive. Sure Lauren made a cringy comment but why assume Nicki's question is rude? How is Nicki supposed to know Bree's parents are Jamaican? Bree's family could be descendants of the original African slaves or recent immigrants or somewhere in between. I can see her being defensive if she was Latina because there's a lot of baggage there. Bree doesn't have a hard time in Granby, maybe some of the older residents are racist but she has more problems because she's a young female trying to manage a predominately older male workforce. Her auntie is connected to everybody and will give them heck if they don't respect her baby. Bree should earn that respect on her own and she can but she's not very warm or likable when off duty. She teases Meg about Meg's love life but doesn't share details of her own except it's good. While they are housemates, Meg is technically Bree's boss so Bree shouldn't ask questions.

Lauren is going through a midlife crisis or something. She realizes Meg had the right idea choosing to stay in Granby. Meg found a purpose, is learning something new and excited for the first time in forever. Lauren can't feel the same way. She's still in the rat race in Boston but worried her job is hanging by a thread now the economy is in Meg's old septic system. When she was younger she enjoyed the competitiveness of the world of banking but now it's not so much fun with younger and younger finance whiz kids wanting to take over. Lauren has let life pass her by. She's over 30 with no husband, no children, no purpose in life. Something more sounds like it's going on to make her depressed but she isn't opening up to Meg. Instead, she wants to investigate the murder because she feels responsible for sending the trio of young chefs to Granby. Then she takes a liking to Detective Marcus of all people. She thinks he's human and decent. He's trying to do his job and wants to see justice done as much as Meg does. He's frustrated because he doesn't have any leads on this case. Lauren reports he's not married, no kids, no alimony. Yet wasn't he a generation older with a son around Seth's age?

The chefs are young but not right out of cooking school. Not cooking school. How about trained at Johnson & Wales University's prestigious Culinary Arts program in Providence? Cooking school makes it sound like they're amateurs who took cooking classes. JWU has to be competitive too and just because it's all the way in Providence doesn't make a university lacking. Sure Nicki, from New York, would find the CIA easier to get to but also competitive, but I think this author has never seen a cooking show on TV. Nicki is enthusiastic about food. She's passionate about using only locally sourced, seasonal ingredients in her dishes. Yet for most of the book we only see her baking. Meg keeps referring to that as cooking which it's not. Sure Nicki can bake but can she cook? They can't afford organic yet but Bree's boyfriend Michael can hook them up with suppliers. Nicki is also very insecure. She's shy and not into public speaking, something I can relate to but if she really wants this restaurant to be a success, she needs to start talking to people and sharing her passion. If she's passionate, others will pick up on that and see she's serious and not just a rich kid with a whim to start a restaurant. Brian, her husband, is more reserved. He's good with numbers and the business end of things but will also handle the front of the house, talking to people. He seems to be hiding something though. I'm not sure he's happy to have Sam on the team. Living and working together in close quarters is bound to cause tensions and Nicki and Sam are super close. Perhaps Brian was jealous of Sam?

Members of the town Select Board include Seth, Tom Moody and Mrs. Goldthwaite. Tom is friendly and jovial. He says he's on board with the restaurant project but we don't learn enough about him to know if he's sincere. Mrs. Goldthwaite is horrid. She's supposed to be in her 70s but she's an anti-feminist and very, very, old-fashioned and traditional. If it were up to her, Granby would never change. She thinks they'll whether the storm the same as always but Seth knows that's not possible. Fewer people are farming the land. Many raise animals or small crops of produce but have full-time jobs in addition to farming. The younger generations are moving away and don't have any interest in history, tradition or farming. There's no money in it. Mrs. Goldthwaite is old enough to remember the Great Depression so she should be more understanding. Granby needs income if it's going to survive. Mrs. Goldthwaite is prejudiced against the idea of a 1. a restaurant, 2. a restaurant on the town green, and 3. newcomers. She doesn't even listen or ask questions. She shuts down her mind entirely. Nicki and Brian don't have the money to change the house too much and it can be rezoned and used as a house again should the restaurant fail. Who wouldn't want a house with a chef's kitchen and two downstairs washrooms? They're paying for the renovations and that would be a plus should the house go on the market again but oh no. Mrs. Goldthwaite doesn't want it. She doesn't want to see it, hear about it, think about it, have tourists and non Granby residents coming to the town green. She's super nasty. Yet she does end up a more nuanced, sympathetic character but what I was hoping would happen did not happen.

Seth's friend Edna, an older lady, used to cook at the local diner until it closed. She tried to buy it but couldn't scrape up enough money. Now she's doing odd cooking jobs here and there but she doesn't just want to chop for someone else, she wants to COOK. Her cooking isn't fancy but sometimes simple is the best way to go, especially if it's local and fresh. Edna seems like a no-nonsense person so I think she will be good for Nicki. Sam's ex-boyfriend from Boston arrives when he learns the news of Sam's death. They had gone their separate ways but you wouldn't know it from Derek's drama. Derek enjoys making a scene. He gets drunk and into a fight with a local crank. That's not good and his behavior could jeopardize the restaurant and turn the town against the newcomers from the city.

The story ends on a slight cliffhanger so now I have to see what happens next. I wouldn't say this series is a favorite or a must-read for me though. I'll get to the next one next weekend.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, and an improvement on the second one in the series. Less about a murder, and more about the pitfalls of setting up a restaurant, as well as how to maintain an orchard.

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sto leggendo questa serie saltando un po' in qua e là, ma non mi trovo male, sebbene lungo i vari libri si sviluppi la storia privata della protagonista. Per quanto riguarda questo libro, non è male, la lettura è stata piacevole, ma per essere un cozy mystery il mistero della morte di un giovane ristoratore resta sullo sfondo, non ci sono delle grandi indagini. La protagonista incappa quasi per caso nella soluzione è sinceramente quest'ultima non mi ha sorpreso, visto che alla fin fine c'erano solo due possibili colpevoli per quanto ci era detto lungo la storia.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the third book in Sheila Connolly's Orchard Mystery series I find myself in a bit of a pickle.

I found myself enjoying the first two books in the series a lot. But with RED DELICIOUS DEATH, I came away a little disappointed.

The story centers on Meg Corey as always. She's running the apple orchard and getting ready for the first harvest since taking over. She's got a budding relationship with Seth Chapin and is navigating the ins-and-outs of her new life as a "farmer".

When a friend from her old life as a banker calls regarding some younger adults looking to start up a restaurant, Meg ends up being the catalyst for them to choose Granford as their new home. They are young and enthusiastic but perhaps a bit of the dreamer resides in them as well.

The dream takes a darker turn when one of the chefs turns up dead in a local pig wallow. And that's where the story kind of loses the mystery aspect of things for me. You see, the subplots about Meg's evolution from banker to orchard owner and all plotlines surrounding the actual construction and planning for the new restaurant make the actual death play second fiddle in the book.

It's not that those things weren't interesting to read about and see how the characters dealt with the roadblocks they come up against. But it made the death and the investigation of it seem like it was given short shrift.

The eventual resolution to the death was a bit accidental and lack of justice delivered left me with a less than positive feeling about this particular book. I'm not abandoning the series or anything because I generally enjoy the author's work but other than a literal last sentence development fueling anticipation for the next book, I just didn't find RED DELICIOUS DEATH to be my slice of pie.

[Kellene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm beginning to think that maybe I'm not fond of this series after all. Maybe it's just that I really like the author's other series and was reading these in light of that. The main character, Meg, is becoming a bit tiresome to me, with all of her worrying and general lack of positivity. Seth, on the other hand, I still love and I'm glad Meg is finally not being dense where he is concerned. The other characters are okay, although Bree lost some of her luster for me in this one. But my main issue with the book is that the murder doesn't seem at all important to the story, like it's a side issue that exists only so the book can be called a mystery. The main subjects of the book are the opening of the restaurant and the coming harvest of the orchard. Not really the topics of a book that I would knowingly choose to read. I will continue with the next book in the series, primarily because I own it and can't stand to not read a book I own, but I will have to see what happens after that.

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may have taken me awhile to complete this book but it had nothing to do with the story, it took me some time due to busy home stuff. I enjoy reading about what problems land on Meg's door even when it has nothing to do with her. I have to say this time it wasn't anywhere on her orchard but as always she gets caught up in the whys. The new couple, Nicky and Brian and their close friend Sam, came to Granford to open a restaurant but one of the chefs end up dead and no one knows why and that's when the start of the problems begin. It really does make you wonder why would someone have a problem with the newcomers but there are some grouchy old timers and some who don't like things to change but in a quiet town you would think that they would all be welcoming but not so much but is fun to read the twists and turns to the story and having Meg getting involved and stepping on some toes that aren't to happy about her butting her noise in and finally Steph and Meg coming together. This is a fun series. Can't wait for the adventure for Meg.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cozy mystery with a few yummy recipes at the end. I generally like the characters in this book, though a few seem a bit prickly for no apparent reason. The mystery is a slow builder, because though there's a crime fairly early on, there aren't any suspects until much later in the book. That doesn't mean the book itself is slow or boring. There is plenty going on aside from the mystery, some of which may or may not be connected to the mystery. I didn't guess the culprit until the very end, and I was fairly surprised by the outcome. And there's a bit of a cliffhanger at the tail end, whetting my appetite for the next book in the series!

[Crazy for Books (Stephanie) · Rating 3 out of 5]

@40% Okay... In the first installment of this series, it was stated that Seth and Detective Marcus have a history due to Seth (while in High School) beat up Marcus' son when he tried to go too far with Seth's sister, Rachel.

But in this book, Lauren goes on a date with Detective Marcus and tells Meg, that he has no kids, no pets and no alimony. Does that mean he has no kids living with him? Or have they already rewritten history in the third book of the series. If he no longer has children and is now much younger, what is the supposed history between Seth and Marcus for which Marcus holds a grudge?

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series more and more as I continue through it.  This was a delightful next installment, though a lot of it focused away from the orchard. I hope we learn more about the harvest season in the next one, as I really enjoy all those details.  I did like the new young couple opening a restaurant theme and how it showcased all the process and pitfalls, and even the end result. I wasn't that surprised by the murderer to be honest, as I think there was a severe lack of any suspects.  I love seeing Meg and Seth's relationship progress and really want to see more of him! I do think they book started to drag a bit by the end and had kind of an anticlimactic ending, but I loved the epilogue.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery. I've always wanted to read one of this authors books and glad I found it in my own Little Free Library. This was the 3rd of the series and even though it would have been nice to get the background of Meg inheriting the house and orchard and some of the background of the other characters it was easy enough to follow. I also liked it because it didn't just focus on the death but on people's lives in this small town of Granbury, MA.

[Dez Nemec · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole story and mystery were fairly interesting, but the reveal was a bit anti-climatic. I hate that. I will say that after reading the first of the series, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read the other 2 on my shelf. Despite the ending, I plan on reading the remaining Orchard series book on my shelf. It really drew me in and I didn't want to put it down!

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series, in spite of the fact that the mystery seems to be sort of the background info ... and the orchard, running it, house transformation, in this one a house made into a restaurant transformation, all seem to take center stage. But I like the characters, and am enjoying the narrative, so I'm glad I picked up this series.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. The heritage apple orchard setting is lovely, but the writing was still a bit too repetitive and there's not enough plot development.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a third of the way through this book, and I see another reviewer pretty much summed up what I'm running into with this series:

"I find the books in this series to be harder and harder to read as they go along. There's so much repetition and padding. Plus, Meg isn't really easy to warm up to. There's just something missing in the mix and it's hard to describe what that is. It should all work, nice setting, small town, an orchard, but it doesn't at least not for me."

Agree. This will likely be the last of the books for me. Which is a bummer, because the premise is so appealing, but the dialog and character development are falling flat for me. Plus, a third of the way through, and no real suspects presented? And way too much infodumping going on. Not good.

OK, what an anti-climactic finish. That was one of the more boring whodunits I think I've ever read. As much as I really really like all the possibility in these books, the character development and storytelling is not developing, in my opinion, well at all. Methinks I be done with this series.

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can certainly say that this book is where the author is beginning to hit her stride as far as the characters developing. I do find that it doesn't draw me in as much as other series that I have read in the past. The stories are well-written, just maybe I would like to feel that a bit more humor was injected into them. Sometimes it is hard to put one's finger on what is lacking and for me I think it is that the characters are though better developed are still uptight and maybe that would be okay if they were a secondary character. I think that Sheila Connolly is a good writer,maybe this series is just not my cup of tea. Although, I am going to read the next one as this one leaves a cliff-hanger ending. Which was welcome! Maybe it will turn out to be a series that I enjoy after all. As I say the writing is solid.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the previous two books in the series, but this one was weak. Fluff, fluff, and more fluff! The actual mystery seemed like an afterthought. There was no sleuthing, only endless talk about business ownership and how much of a struggle it is to get a restaurant up and running in a small town, and permits, and apples... my God, the apples! Will they ever be ripe enough to pick?! I normally love cozy mysteries and their comforting familiarity, but this book made me feel like my brain was going to start oozing out of my ears. The solution to the crime was uninspired and anticlimactic. It couldn't possibly be that glaringly obvious, could it? Yes. Yes, it could. What should have been a huge scandal, a horrible tragedy made even worse was again swept under the rug because THE RESTAURANT. Who has time to worry about death when grand openings are afoot?

[Penny McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooh. This one was so good. The romance is heating up and they begin to provide support to two very naive chefs who want to open a Whole Foods inspired-restaurant in a town where it might be a tough sell. The tension and pacing of this book is perfect and it just makes me want to read more about these characters. Very near the perfect cozy mystery.

Oh, I read some other reviews of this book after I posted mine and I think that there is something wrong with those people. Not able to warm up to Meg? What? If she was my neighbour I'd feel lucky and if she were my co-worker I'd feel even more blessed. Maybe someone like that can only exist in a book? I'm glad Sheila Connolly created her.

[Jo Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy cozy mysteries with some humor. Some of the humor is over the top and annoying. Red Delicious Death was dull. The main character is Meg, who has taken over her mother's inherited apple orchard. Meg is new to a tiny town in Massachusetts and new to farming. Her handyman boyfriend helps her. In Red Delicious Death Meg is nervously awaiting her first crop of apples while helping a young married couple who are new to the town and want to open a restaurant. Most of the story is about Meg and boyfriend Seth helping the restauranteurs find local food for their menu. The murder of the young chefs' best friend is kind of an afterthought, and the murder is solved rather quickly. I don't know if I will read any more of this series.

[Christine Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun cozy series. If you are a cozy mystery lover, then you are likely the Orchard Mystery series. The main character is a bit of a fish out of water in small town New England (having spent most of her life in the city). Her attempts at running an apple orchard with the help of a few locals are enjoyable to read and sets a great background for a mystery.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I wanted to learn how to grow apples or run an organic foods restaurant, I would have picked up a nonfiction book and actually learned something. However, I picked up this book to enjoy a mystery and I could barely find any mystery in this at all. I am definitely done with this series.

[Elizabeth Olson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this from the free pile at the library, so at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I didn't shell out any money for this wooden mystery with an unlikeable meddling heroine who disregards law enforcement and solves mysteries they can't, despite no background or training.

[Jody Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay, nothing special. The annoying part of this book: Bree tries to keep Meg focused on planning for her first harvest but she spends more time helping the two chefs with their problems in opening their restaurant.

[Meredith Boas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A juicy third addition, "Red Delicious Death" is book 3 in the Orchard Mystery series by Sheila Connolly. And wouldn't you know it? With encouragement from our main sleuth Meg, a nice, twenty-something couple and their friend Seth (all from Boston) have bought a house on main street in Granford where they intend to open a restaurant. Meg is busy getting the orchard ready for the picking season but she's keen to help them since they're all in it together when it comes to reviving Granford. But when Seth turns up dead in a pigsty with no other clues than a footprint it threatens not only all of their progress, but begs the question of whyyy? And who?

Wow! So folks aren't kidding in the other reviews I've read - you learn A LOT about the orchard business in these books and especially in this third book - but I'm not mad at it. There are times when the mystery seems to take a back seat but the business details are important for setting up future books in the series and making the whole story line feasible. Normally we're given so many suspects and clues in cozy mysteries that we're all over the place trying to figure out but this books gives us one clue and not more than a handful of folks to consider - and still - I was guessing to the end. I actually found the culprit and the motive unnerving and eerie in an altogether new way than I'm used to.

I'm pleased that our main sleuth's love life is picking up! I like a little PDA in my cozy reads. As always I love Sheila's writing style and the flow of her writing, and I feel like I learn something in her books. As a business owner myself I appreciate the thoroughness of her world creation and I see how it will help sustain the several other books in this series. I'm looking forward to book 4.

More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth:
Main Sleuth: Meg Corey
Age: 35
Physical Description: White female, Brunette, Brown eyes, family from Massachusetts
Business: Apple Orchard owner (formerly in banking)
Country: Granford, Massachusetts (moved from Boston)
Time of Year: July-September
Pet: Lavinia "Lolly", rescued cat, a tabby with white tummy and paws
Love Interest: Seth Chapin, a white male plumber, blond, hazel eyes
Family: A mother who we haven't met yet because she lives further away

Diversity? Yes! We still have the amazing orchard manager Bree who is of Jamaican descent. Her family had come to the area a few generations ago as apple pickers, stayed, and now a few generations later she is an American of Jamaican ancestry. Bree is an almost graduate from the nearby university and has been hired on as the apple orchard manager, and she is currently living with our sleuth Meg Corey. In the third book we've met even more Jamaican characters who are just returning to the orchard in time for picking season. I think they'll develop as characters even more in the fourth book.

[Connie N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Orchard cozy mystery series

This turned out to be much better than I expected. I think it's because I'm getting to know Meg a little better, and she's not trying so hard. She took over the orchard 6 months ago and she's getting a little more comfortable about her new job, although she's still a real newbie. I personally think she should spend a little more time paying attention to her orchard and a lot less time getting involved in other people's business, but it seems to work for her. Her orchard manager Bree is shouldering a lot of the workload, but she doesn't seem to mind. In any case, Meg kind of gets involved in the introduction of a restaurant into town when she suggests that a young couple check it out for their new venture. When one of their team gets murdered, then Meg feels partly responsible and does some sleuthing on her own. There were several reasons that I liked this book better than the first two in this series. First, there's a bit of a romance going between Meg and Seth, a local man who has been helping her out. Romance is always good. Plus, much of the book was about the set up of the restaurant as well as preparing for Meg's first harvest, so there was less investigation and more discussion about the community. I really felt more a part of the town this time, and we were able to get to know a few more of the townsfolk. I know this is a cozy mystery, but actually the murder was less of a feature, with more focus on the restaurant and on Meg's orchard. I think Connolly is settling more into this series, creating a warm and friendly town with some interesting characters. I'll definitely continue with this series sooner rather than later.

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meg is learning there is a lot of work that goes into an apple harvest, and that preparations must begin months ahead of time, such as lining up pickers and finding buyers. Nevertheless, when her friend Lauren calls and says she knows a young couple who want to open a restaurant, Meg helps Brian and Nicky find a venue. Their friend Sam will be the sous chef, and part of his duties include visiting local farmers to source fresh food for the restaurant. When Sam is found dead in a pigsty, the police have reason to suspect it was homicide. Meg is too busy to get involved in any amateur investigation, but she does help out where she can. Sam wasn’t in town long enough to make any enemies, so Meg and everyone else is left wondering who would have wanted him dead?

The mystery took a backseat in this book, which was both refreshing and annoying. Most of the narrative was taken up with Meg’s orchard business, and her trying to help Brian and Nicky launch their restaurant endeavor. Meg’s relationship with Seth is progressing nicely, and it was VERY refreshing to read a cozy mystery wherein the main character neither stumbled over the victim’s dead body nor ended up in peril at the end of the book.

I was leaning towards an average score for this one, but my delight in the fact that Meg didn’t find the body or end up in danger at the end bumps the score up to four.