[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.