Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year’s crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . . ONE ROTTEN APPLE Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny’s beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it’s struggling. That’s why they’re trying to drum up business … they’re trying to drum up business with the “First Annual Christmas at the Orchard,” a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike—until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder . . .
“The characters are delightful . . . Plenty of action and suspense.”
—RT Book Reviews on Murder in Real Time
Includes Recipes!
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This is the first in a new cozy series, and as it takes place at Christmas time it was perfect to read in December. But this story is too good to wait for snow – if you get the chance I encourage you to read it, even in July! The plot, characters, and setting are comfortably familiar: sweet twenty-something Winnie lives with her Granny on their apple orchard, which is a struggling family business in the small town of Blossom Valley, West Virginia. Winnie plans a winter holiday festival to generate more business during the usual slow season. But when a neighbor is found dead in their apple press, Winnie feels compelled to find the murderer and clear Granny’s name, as she is the prime suspect. Will the animosity between Winnie and the handsome new sheriff turn into something more? Will the killer strike again to stop Winnie from finding out the truth? Why is Winnie’s old boyfriend back in town? And who knew there were so many flavors of apple cider?
What makes this book so readable is what keeps it above the usual cozy expectations – it is well-written and well-plotted. I didn’t guess who the murderer was ahead of time, and the various suspenseful scenes kept me turning pages. Plus there are recipes!
Thanks to the Cozy Mystery Review Crew and author Julie Anne Lindsey for a copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.
I am so torn as if I liked this or not. I liked the characters but the plot seemed blah in regards to the murder mystery. A lot of focus was on the background of the characters and such. At times I found myself bored reading.
The budding romance between Winnie and Colton seems to be too convenient. Almost like, oh my main character needs a romantic interest. I think it would have been better if the romance was introduced in book two.
I will read book two and see if my thoughts improve. You never know, maybe I was just having a bad reading week while reading Apple Cider Slaying.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
Set in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, Apple Cider Slaying is the first book in the Cider Shop Mystery series. And it’s a great start!
Winnie and her Granny Smythe are trying to save the family orchard by persuading a local banker to fund a loan to open a cider shop in their barn. But when Granny’s nearest, and definitely not dearest, neighbor, Nadine, is found dead in their cider press, the new, and hot, Sheriff Colton states that Granny is suspect number one. Immediately after arriving at the crime scene, the Sheriff says this to Granny, “You’re free to go, but I’d consider getting a good lawyer.” Worrying that the Sheriff won’t look further than her Granny, Winnie is determined to prove her Granny’s innocence by finding the real killer.
This book is chockful of descriptions of small town life in rural America. The residents of Blossom Valley are gossipy but also kind and look after one another. You can picture the beautiful fall countryside in your mind easily. It is a wonderful and relaxing escape to a completely different lifestyle for this born and bred Southern Californian.
Winnie is motivated. She is extending the selling season of the orchard by booking fall bus tours to taste samples and have a hay ride to see the property’s inner workings. She also sells her Granny’s jams and pies to the locals and the tourists from their existing fruit stand. To help with expenses, Winnie works as a part-time waitress while attending community college to acquire a business degree. She uses her business education to create a business plan to turn one barn into a cider shop. To do so, Winnie needs to convince local banker, Sherman, to give her a loan. Too bad he was touring the property with her when she found Nadine.
I really enjoyed Apple Cider Slaying. It was a nice relaxing fall evening read visiting Winnie and her friends and family. The Sheriff and Winnie seem to have a mutual attraction that hopefully will grow in subsequent books. Winnie’s method of using local gossip to lead her investigation is innovative. The killer’s identity totally blind-sided me because the clues were carefully hidden among numerous red herrings. If you would like to spend a few hours, saving a family orchard, defending a Granny from murder, and visiting the residents of Blossom Valley, pick up this book. You won’t be disappointed. 5 stars!
Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
The apple orchard that Winnie Montgomery calls home, along with her Granny, is having financial issues, and she is looking for ideas to save it. The idea she is most excited about is turning a barn on the property into a cider shop. She just needs a loan from the bank to be able to do the renovations. However, the meeting with the loan officers doesn’t turn out well when they find the body of Nadine during their tour of the facilities. The police are looking at Granny as their prime suspect since she and Nadine fought on a regular basis. With Granny’s freedom and the fate of the family orchard on the line, can Winnie figure out what really happened?
I always pick up the debut in a new series with hopes for a great read. I had more of a mixed reaction to this book. The plot was uneven, with what should have been sub-plots taking over for pages at a time and leaving me wondering when we’d get back to the mystery. The mystery was driven more by events than Winnie uncovering clues, but those events did draw me into the book, especially since I had come to care for the characters. I loved Winnie, Granny, and the rest of the cast. This was really driven home to me in the second half when an event made me gasp and read a little longer than I had intended that day. The timeline was fuzzy, which always bugs me. However, the book is set during the beginning of the Christmas season, and I loved how that season added to the coziness of the book. The four recipes at the end sound delicious, and yes, one of them is for cider. Julie Anne Lindsey also writes under the names Jacqueline Frost and Bree Baker, and I know she has a large fan base under all of those names. While I find this book uneven, I think this fantastic case of new characters will draw in many readers to this series.
I loved the thought of this book when I first heard about it. Everything from the cover to the setting had me sold. When I found out the author, using pennames, writes two of my other favorite series, I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough! It lived up to everything I hoped for and more!
APPLE CIDER SLAYING is the first book in the Cider Shop Mysteries. Having started and finished this book in October, it was exactly what the doctor ordered for cozy fall reading. Filled to bursting with mystery, great characters, a beautiful setting, and a bushel full of everything I look for in a book, I didn’t want it to end.
Author Julie Anne Lindsey has delivered with APPLE CIDER SLAYING a delicious story (speaking of delicious, there are recipes included) that is one of my favorite picks of the year, and is sure to be just the beginning of a delightfully wonderful crop of books!
Apple Cider Slaying is the first book in the A Cider Shop Mystery series.
Some forty-seven years ago Winnie Montgomery’s grandparents purchased an apple orchard and had been moderately successful, but since Grandpa Smythe death almost three years the orchard has been losing money. Winnie who works days as a waitress and attends the local community college studying Business Management. Winnie decides that the orchard needs to stay open past the apple season and decides to, in addition to apple cider, gourmet apple ciders, food items, and other items. Winnie uses her business management courses to devise a business plan to take to her bank to secure a business loan. The loan officer finally agrees to come out take a look at what Winnie wants to do to rehab a barn, as they are passing an apple cider press the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s nemesis and neighbor, stuffed in the press. The newly appointed sheriff feels that Granny had reason to murder Nadine. When Winnie reports various vandalism events around the orchard and what she considers attempts on her life, he says that she is fabricating these events to clear her granny’s name. She now sets off to prove her granny’s innocence.
The story is well-plotted and written and has interesting and believable characters. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. The story reads at a nice even pace.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this interesting new series
APPLE CIDER SLAYING by Julie Anne Lindsey
The First Cider Shop Mystery
Winnie Montgomery is bound and determined to make Smythe Orchard a success. With her grandfather’s death the orchard suffered some financial setbacks, but with her business plan in place, Winnie is primed to get a loan and get the family business back on track and more profitable than ever. No longer closing after the harvest, Winnie has plans to have special holiday events to bring even more customers in. But as she’s showing the loan officer the intended space for her Cider Shop they discover the dead body of her grandma’s arch rival! With the Sheriff believing Granny is the prime suspect and the chances of her bank loan diminishing with each hour Winnie knows she has to find the real killer, before it’s too late!
I love apple cider so I was immediately drawn to this series. And just like good apple cider APPLE CIDER SLAYING is tart, sweet, and oh so satisfying. Winnie is an immensely likeable protagonist. She’s down to earth, has had some tough times, but struggles to do the best she can for herself and her grandma. Granny is a pistol and I love Dot, the Park Ranger best friend with a gift for helping animals. Of course there’s the good looking Sheriff with a mysterious past and I’m glad Winnie didn’t find him so appealing…at first. And then there are the two adorable kittens, whose names had me giggling.There is a unique flavor to this mystery, part Southern, part Appalachian, all West Virginian.
APPLE CIDER SLAYING lays the groundwork for a fantastic new series. I enjoyed the setting, the characters, and the mystery…which I found to be be intricately plotted with enough surprises to keep me guessing about what was really going on. So grab a mug of apple cider and get ready to enjoy the first Cider Shop Mystery.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
West Virginia Apple Orchard Cozy Mystery
This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. The story is set in a West Virginia apple orchard than is struggling financially. The story has all of the good feels with a small town, rescued animals, and a good looking sheriff who is also a Marine Vet. The plot is done well and has good twists in the story. I can’t wait for the next book to come out. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
This new series is off to a great start. Winnie is trying to bring new revenue to the family orchard run by her grandmother. The Smythe Orchards in Blossom Valley, West Virginia has had financial problems and Winnie is looking to snag a loa from the local bank. Things are going well at the moment with lots of visitors to the property, all enjoying the cider and other attraction on offer. seems like the perfect time to take the loan officer on a tour and show off her plans. One thing not on the list of things to see? The corpse of her grandmother’s nemesis, Nadine, firmly wedged and very dead in the cider press. That’s one way to not only say goodbye to any chance of a loan and to the family orchard but the police are focusing their attention on Granny as the killer. Not if Winnie has any say in the matter.
The mystery was well crafted and had me guessing as I encountered the expected twists and turns. The rest of the cast includes Colton and Dot, Winnie’s best friend and, because this is a cozy, there are some sweet kittens added to the mix. Winnie comes across as both sensible and smart, a character I will enjoy following through future mysteries. I will add this series to my ever growing TBR list. The next entry, Pulp Fiction, is due out April 28, 2020.
Apple Cider Slayer, the first book in the Cider Shop Mysteries, is the perfect cozy mystery to read when you feel like dropping in on an apple orchard in that magical time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Trying to revive their struggling orchard by creating new events, staying open year-round, and opening a cider cafe, Winnie and her granny have their hands full when their argumentative neighbor is found dead in their own cider press. Granny becomes the main suspect, and Winnie has to work hard to clear Granny’s name, while keeping the orchard afloat. This is a wonderfully enjoyable read that kept me guessing right to the surprising end. And had me heading to find a jug of apple cider! I liked the characters and look forward to getting to know them better in future books. I’m so glad I got a chance to read this book and eagerly await book two!
I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Series; A Cider Shop Mystery – Book 1
Author: Julie Anne Lindsey
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Holiday
Publisher: Kensington Mystery
Page Count: 336
Publishing Date: October 29, 2019
A Wonderful cozy mystery and the debut for a new series comes Julie Anne Lindsey ‘s Apple Cider Slaying published by Kensington Mystery.
Winnie only wants to make her dreams come true and help Granny get out of debt to save the farm, but every step forward seems to send her back three. Winnie is a loving, kind, and generous character in this new cozy mystery series. Readers will love her attitude, even when she gets beaten down, she keeps going and fights her way through every problem, even murder.
Granny is amazing and makes everyone want to protect and take care of her, but she is the one doing most of the protecting and taking care of people, especially Winnie.
This book is highly interesting and filled with colorful and exciting characters that will continue to grow with each new addition to the series. Characters have great personalities, even the characters who are murder suspects. The victim’s character isn’t fleshed out in detail, which isn’t unusual in a cozy mystery of this type. Readers will get a sense of the kind of person she was from the other characters’ descriptions. The killer, for me, was not a surprise, but most readers will keep guessing to the end.
Apple Cider Slaying is a fast-paced, enjoyable read. It has all the elements that make a good cozy mystery and the full potential to be a great series. If readers are looking for a good book to read that will leave them happy, this is the book for them.
Great winter setting that will get any cozy mystery lover ready for the holidays.
Winnie is smart and is determined to save her granny orchard at any cost. I really enjoyed reading this page-turner that offers readers, danger, whimsical setting, and fun-loving characters and some love interest for Winnie. I really loved the vision Winnie has for the future for the Orchard and she goes over and beyond to try to bring her vision to life as she constantly has to battle solving the murder and the threat that is on her own life.
I recommend Apple Cider Slaying to any cozy mystery reader.
This is a must read for cozy mystery fans. The story is well-developed and readers can play along as they try to figure out who-done-it. This is a great new series; I can’t wait for more.
Winnie Montgomery is trying desperately to increase income at her Granny’s orchard and having a winter fest and opening a cider bar/restaurant/gathering space is her dream, but she needs a bank loan to help her dreams come true. But every time she invites the banker out to see the space, something disastrous happens – like a dead body in the cider press building, and Granny Smythe being the main suspect. The nastiness keeps piling up with threats and more. Sheriff Colton Wise tries to keep Winnie from interfering, but what’s a girl to do when her granny is the one being blamed? So of course she continues what she’s doing—even when the real killer goes after her.
This is such a fun book. I love the names—Granny Smythe runs an apple orchard! And the kittens: Dolly and Kenny (Rogers). It’s a light-hearted cozy mystery that gives a satisfying ending. The only question I had while reading was about half-way through the book, Winnie is dead tired but decides to do one more online search to see what she can find about her dead neighbor. Then the sheriff, Colton Wise, calls. After they talk, she goes to make gallons of cider rather than going to bed. Doesn’t make sense to me, but that’s the only thing I questioned in the story. The descriptions and setting are amazing. I can picture everything right away. The characters believable and realistic. And the reason behind the murder and other issues is also believable. Well done.
Things I liked: the names, the setting, the characters… all well done, believable, and realistic. Oh, and the recipes in the back? Nice! And delicious!
Things I didn’t like: Other than that one question above, nothing. I had fun reading this and it went quickly.
Recommendation: I would definitely recommend this as a fun cozy and I will be looking for more books by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.