Red Delicious Death

In Sheila Connolly's Red Delicious Death, the third installment in the Orchard culinary cozy series, get ready to sink your teeth into a juicy mystery and take a bite out of crime too. It all started for Meg Corey, who was still new to Granford and the orchard harvesting business, when her best friend Lauren had asked her for help. The Czarneckis, Brian and Nicole, were fresh out of culinary school and newly married to start a local food restaurant of their own in their small-town community. Of course, when they first discovered the Stebbins old family home, they had some bumpy obstacles along the way. They needed to go through the proper paperwork to get everything approved and they needed Mrs. Goldwaithe's approval on the Select Board meeting. But when their sous chef Sam Anderson wound up dead in a pigsty, it shocked that small town on who could do such a thing. It made Meg wonder if it anything to do with his sexual orientation or something else entirely different. As she helped the Czarneckis anyway she could with their restaurant business, things are getting cozy between her and Seth Chapin, her neighbor among other things around the town. As soon as she figured it on whodunit, it had a shocking ending with a twist in the end.

This was another compelling culinary cozy in the Orchard culinary mystery series. This held my attention from the first page to the end. I did care for Meg and how she managed to run an orchard and how she helped the Czarneckis out as a new friend. As she learned about apple orchards, I've learned a great deal too. I also cared for Seth who's pretty smitten with Meg and is always there for her in a pinch. I did love how the small-town community came together for the cooperative restaurant idea when everyone would benefit each other. This would entice you and lure you in with non-stop drama, suspense, hint of mystery, and plenty of action.

Will you take a bite out of Red Delicious Death today?

One Bad Apple

If you love something different for your cozies, you'll enjoy this one featuring an apple orchard. In Sheila Connolly's One Bad Apple, the first book in the Orchard Mystery series, we were introduced to Meg Corey, who had no job, no boyfriend, and moved to Granford from Boston. She uncovered the twists and turns of a small-knit town and how they came together to support one another. First she moved into a family home from her ancestors that needed a whole lot of work, before she wanted to sell it. And then she learned about the orchard attached to her home. If that wasn't the worst of her problems, she met a hot plumber to fix her plumbing and then uncovered a dead body--one of her ex-boyfriend. From there, she was on the hot seat and trying her best to clear her name and learn much about local politics and the project in the middle of it. When she got closer to the truth, it put her in the line of fine and a world of trouble of her own. In the end, she declared Granford her new home and found a new job of her own.

This was an intriguing culinary cozy debut. I loved the Granford backdrop and vivid scenery. You can visualize the small town and the apple orchard in Meg's backyard. I liked Meg and how she decided to renovate her home by repairing it. I loved the cast of characters in it, too.  I liked her with Seth. I hated her ex and his latest flame. I also abhorred how they picked on Meg as a culprit, but later welcomed her with opened arms, when her name was cleared. It had all the pickings of a small town community. I loved learning about the orchard business, when it came to apples and fresh produce. This would grip you in the first pages and tempt you to read more.

Ready for a fresh pick? Consider checking out this week!

A Killer Crop

If you love culinary cozies, you'll enjoy this one from the Orchard Mysteries. When I've read A Killer Crop, it was a good cozy. We were enveloped into a rustic world of living in Massachusetts, when a murder took place. We were introduced to Meg Corey, who now learned the ropes of apple picking for her orchard. There was so much that goes into the process, whether by hand or by machine, even to make cider, for harvest season.  It was a lot of hard work to learn about apple picking.  It's educational and informative all at once, highlighting Meg's life in the story. When she was tired from a hard day at work, so am I.  We saw her struggle, when her mom visited her, on telling her about her boyfriend, Seth. I'm so glad that later on, she introduced him to her. He was some kind of handy eye candy in my opinion.  But we could see a growing relationship between Seth and Meg, even before and after she told her parents about him. We also learned more about Emily Dickinson's life and Meg's fictional relationship to it. It was  a good balance for a culinary cozy with a hint of historical fiction and tons of intrigue, when Meg solved her another. This is an enjoyable read.

This was another fantastic culinary cozy. I continued to love the small town community of Granford, Massachusetts. I loved how they came together. I love seeing Meg with Seth. The insight of the apple orchard process  was quite interesting as well. Her mother's appearance was quite amusing and inquisitive to know about her family. I loved the Emily Dickinson genealogical twist to this cozy as well.

Ready to pick up a good cozy? Give this one a go today!