[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Winona Mae Montgomery is trying to save the Smythe Orchard. It’s been in her family for decades, and her grandmother has been trying to keep it afloat on her own for three years since the death of Winnie’s grandfather.
Winnie is close to finishing her business degree, and she has great ideas about year-round activities they could run at the orchard to help bring in money. Her main goal is to start a cider shop with her own special recipes. She just has to convince the loan officer at the bank to trust her instincts and plans.
The dead body in the apple press doesn’t do anything to help Winnie’s loan application.
As the victim was their neighbor, and Granny Smythe’s nemesis, the new sheriff pegs Winnie’s grandmother as his primary suspect for the murder. If Winnie is going to protect her grandmother, save the orchard, and secure her bank loan, she’s going to have to find the real killer on her own.
Review
Fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed the kickoff to this new series by Julie Anne Lindsey. The West Virginia setting – a small town, an apple orchard, etc. – was nice. Winnie and her grandmother are great cozy characters – great neighbors, people everyone cares about and wants to help. The potential romance has a nice start up here (although I hope the distraction disappears soon – maybe in book 2!). These are definitely characters I would spend time with again.
The mystery was top notch! I felt like all of my questions were answered in the solution. My guesses were completely wrong, so I enjoyed the end reveal. The situation escalated for Winnie at a perfect pace to ratchet up the suspense. I never felt like it was too much or too fast or too slow or that the story elements were out of balance with the mystery.
I became a fan of the author with her Geek Girl Mystery series, and this just reinforced that. Don’t miss this Christmas season mystery. And be sure to watch for book 2, Pulp Friction, out next spring.
Book One – A Geek Girl’s Guide to Murder – When a friend is found dead in her IT office, “geek girl” Mia is the primary suspect for the new security guy. She’ll go to Comic Con and back to find the real killer.
Book Two – A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic – When an acquaintance at the Renaissance Faire/Craft Fair drops dead in her family’s booth of organic beauty products, Mia’s grandmother’s business is in jeopardy. Mia will have to prove it wasn’t one of their products that poisoned the man if they want to overcome the bad press. What better way to do that but to find the real killer?
Book Three – A Geek Girl’s Guide to Justice – Mia is barely over the stress of the last time she stumbled onto a murder when she finds an old friend of her grandparents dead. Jake would love nothing more than for Mia to leave this alone. She’s planning Bree’s baby shower and working three jobs. She has more than enough on her plate. But her grandmother wants to know the truth of what happened to her friend. Mia’s just going to ask some questions. How much trouble could that be?
How the Finch Stole Christmas – The Christmas production of A Christmas Carol is headed off the rails thanks to a diva-level actor with a drinking problem. A dead body is not exactly what Meg and friends need on top of the production stress! This is book 22 in the Meg Langslow series, one of my favorite cozy series. I love that no matter how many books there are in the series, the stories and the characters stay strong and enjoyable. The mystery in this one was great. And Meg is one of my favorite protagonists of all time. Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Merry and Bright – The latest from Debbie Macomber focuses on a young woman whose family sets her up for an online dating service. Her best match turns out to the be last person she wanted it to be. I really enjoyed this one! The plot is pretty simple and You’ve Got Mail-esque, but the characters are fantastic and really made this a fun holiday read. This would make a darling Hallmark Christmas movie. Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Holly and Ivy – A lonely widow meets a young girl with a great gift in this holiday story. For me, this story suffered from an unsympathetic character right from the beginning. I almost gave up on finishing this one. I pressed through the unpleasant character and things finally started to turn around about half-way through. The ending was great and made me glad I kept with it. Rating: ♥♥♥
Twelve Slays of Christmas – The first book in a Christmas Tree farm mystery series. A young woman heads home to Mistletoe, Maine after her Christmas Eve wedding is cancelled. Maybe some time at home, celebrating the holiday with family on the farm will be just what she needs. She certainly does NOT need a dead body or for her family and friends to be suspected murderers. This was a delight from start to finish! The setting was perfect – I loved the holiday activities the family does around the farm for Christmas. The characters were a lot of fun – the “voice” was great and there was humor and romance as well as a solid mystery. This is a series I will be following faithfully! Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Sugar Pine Trail – A librarian finds herself taking care of two young boys at Christmas time. And her handsome neighbor pitches in. This is the 7th book in the Haven Point series, but I’m not sure the books are necessarily interconnected, except for the setting. This was so fantastic, though, I have added the rest of the series to my library wish list so I can check out all the rest of the books. The characters in this were spectacular. I loved the foster care angle, and the author did a great job of portraying that pretty realistically. The love story was terrific. Great romance to put you in the holiday spirit. Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥