From the oven it came… body was found face-down in the orchard.
Chelsea’s not sure crime-fighting is her strong suit. She’s up at her Aunt May’s farm recovering from heartbreak, after all, trying to forget the guy who left her at the altar. But when cousin Maggie’s fiancé is murdered, Chelsea’s own botched wedding seems like less of a big deal.
Who would have killed him?
The handsome and charming Detective Wayne thinks it’s Maggie.
Miss May and Chelsea know he’s wrong, but they don’t have proof. There’s a killer on the loose in their little town and they’re determined to find the culprit.
Who had motive?
You’ll adore this clean cozy mystery because everyone loves small-town mysteries with comedy, suspense and yummy food.
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Mike runs out of church. Mike locked her out of their apartment and took her business. Grandma’s they’ve lost their venue for their wedding in 2 months and everything is booked. Chelsea finds the groom in the creek. May thinks Sudeer killed Vinny. Vinny & Sudeer are contractors who build expensive houses. Vinny’s home is an estate and Sudeer lives in a tiny house with a wife and 2.5 kids, it’s shabby. Vinny cheated Sudeer out of his half of the money. Maggie & Vinny got married in Atlantic City 6 months ago & she gets his half. Vinny was going to leave Maggie the night he died they were in love and having an affair & she’s pregnant. Vinny said he told Maggie about the baby the night before the dinner. Maggie is arrested.
Chelsea is left at the alter and slips into a deep funk. Her aunt comes to NJ to “rescue” her by offering her a job decorating events for the farm. Unfortunately the very first one she does is a wedding that ends up with a dead groom. Her, Aunt May and Teeney all team up together to solve the case when the local sheriff deems it an accident.
Great read and I can’t wait to read the next two.
Great book. Super exciting murder mystery. Suspenseful, entertaining, sad but the characters are great and there is laughter and fun.
Slow start but enjoyed once got in the book. Will definitely read the second book. Chelsea is very likeable and at the end has gained her self confidence back.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Apple Die is a good beginning book for a cozy mystery series. The plot begins slowly, but the pace picks up as it progresses toward an unmasking of a fairly surprising murder.
The authors have developed some interesting characters who are appealing sleuths. There are some gaps in the character descriptions which would be corrected with a few more adjectives.
The setting is in the country and in a small town. Again the descriptions are bare, and could use a few more adjectives for a better picture.
Apple Die #1 – This is my first read by these two authors and I thought it was just OK. This quickly read story reminded me too much of the Mom and Christy Mystery Series by Christy Murphy, just not as funny or interesting. For me that made the book disappointing; the characters were too similar in both their personalities and their storylines to Ms. Murphy’s characters and plots. At least they copied a good author, even if their attempt fell short. Maybe with their next two books, the authors will try to be original. A couple of the characters did not stay true to themselves but flip-flopped in and out of character. 3*
Cooking The Books #2 – While this book still reminds me of the Mom and Christy Mystery Series by Christy Murphy, it is better than the first book of this series, Apple Die. There is decent humor with plenty of storylines running through this small town full of secrets and suspects. There’s more than one dead body and Missy May is throwing her single niece at the single cop without a bit of embarrassment. Teeny is doing her best as a cross between Murphy’s story mom and aunt, Plum’s grannie and Estelle from The Golden Girls. I probably would have like this series better if I hadn’t read Murphy’s work. There’s too many similarities and Murphy’s the best. I contacted the author to review this book since I had the first book already and received it from Booksprout. 3.5*
First in a series and I’m looking forward to the next. Well written with an interesting plot and likeable characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved the wit and characters in this fabulous cozy!!!! It held my attention all the way through! Can’t wait to read more by her!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Great book. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
Jilted at the altar, our heroine moves back to her small hometown to become an event planner. Little did she know her events would include murder.
This is the first book in what the author expects to be a series featuring a ragtag crew of amateur sleuths. This is a clean cozy mystery filled with plenty of humor and all the little elements you would expect from a cozy mystery. If you are looking for a gritty realistic action book with hot romance, this is not it. But if you like small towns, interesting characters and the occasional witty banter, this one should do the trick.
The story is well written with an easy to follow plot, but that does not mean an easy to solve mystery. There are enough twists and turns during the investigation to keep the reader guessing until the end. The characters are fun and well developed but take a bit of time to get truly focused on the action. But then this is their first time investigating a murder, so that is understandable. Overall it was a pleasant and relaxing read.
Recommended.
I enjoyed the family theme, quirky characters, story that was easy to follow but held my interest. The murder was fun to solve and not easily given away.
Delightful Cozy Mystery!
A great start to this new series. Entertaining, fun, fast-paced, easy read. I loved the zany trio of sleuths-Chelsea, her aunt Miss May, and restauranteur Teeny. The characters are warm, funny and believable. The storyline is well written and enjoyable. Sit back and enjoy!
I received an arc copy and am happy to leave my honest review.
I loved the characters. One book the end I didnt see coming. Looking forward to the next book. From being left at the alter and going home to another disastrous wedding.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
After Chelsea is left at the altar, she heads back home to live on the family’s orchard with her Aunt May. All that Chelsea wants is to hide out for a while and eat apple pie, the last things she wants is to get roped into planning the wedding for her cousin. But what Chelsea wants and what she is forced into doing are totally opposite.
While trying not to relive her own wedding day disaster, Chelsea discovers a dead body faced down in her favorite stream. With the help of Miss May (a former NY City lawyer) and May’s best friend Teeny (a nosy and opinionated diner owner), Chelsea gets involved in the murder investigation to prove her cousin’s innocence.
This is a fun clean read mystery with whimsy characters and amateur sleuths. Miss May seems to thrive on the adventure and is the driving force. You can’t help but laugh at Teeny and her love of crime shows who believes she knows who the murderer is. Then there is Chelsea who seems to unwillingly get dragged along and tries to keep everyone safe. A perfect trio ready to solve the mystery before someone else winds up dead.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I finished this cozy yesterday, fitting it in between holiday festivities. It was a nice, relaxing read, moreso than many cozies that I have tried to read over the past couple of years. It was easy to follow the storyline, the connection between the characters and the progression of uncovering and resolving the clues. There is an element of realism to the motive and the complexity of the relationships between the characters.
There are a couple of observations I have to offer. First, the title didn’t work for me. While I understand the thematic connection, the word “Die”; in a title feels awkward to me. Second, at several places in the text, the “dectectives”; recognize and say that they are solving a murder mystery. I think the explicitly dialog is unnecessary; it goes without saying they are solving the murder mystery and the authors should show, but not tell what the characters are doing – a fundamental rule of creative writing.
The murder weapon is not well connected to the rest of the story. There is the initial observation and clue and then we don’t hear much about it until we get to the end. It would have been more interesting had there been other ways to possibly tie the weapon to other suspects, rather than having it just show up at the end and we know who committed the crime and we are done.
Would I read more in the series? Yes. There are lots of cozies I can’t finish because the writing is too complex and detailed and too hard to work at. Reading should be enjoyable and this book was an enjoyable read. I’m sure the next one will be as well.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Apple Die is a great first book. This book is fast paced and a good read. The characters are not one dimensional which is greatly appreciated. After reading about the authors, I came to understand as to why this book read like an episode of a tv show. While reading, I could really envision the scenes play out. The motives behind Miss May’s drive to Jersey City are what you imagine your close friend or family member would do. This was needed otherwise Chelsea would not have had an opportunity to go through her closure on a horrible time in her life. There’s nothing like family to pull you out of a funk. The development of the interpersonal relationships that were revealed at the end did pleasantly surprise me a bit. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series. This is going to be a good series that I will thoroughly enjoy.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a fun read. Loved the characters and I do mean Characters! They are a hoot! The mystery was good and it was fun riding along with Chels & Miss May & Teeny trying to solve it. Nice start for a new series. Looking forward to reading more from this husband & wife team.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a delightful start to a new series! This cozy murder mystery is skillfully written with a tight plot and believable characters. It was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to future installments. I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.
I loved this story! Hard to put down. I stayed up late into the night reading. The characters are quirky but well done so that they come to life. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. I hope that this will be part of a series as I look forward to more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoyed this first in a series and look forward to the next book. Chelsea is left at the altar in the middle of her vows and, insult on injury, has her business stolen from her by the former groom. Then, about six months later she moves home and is asked to help with her cousin’s wedding, where the groom is killed. It’s well written and balances Her rawness with humor, quirky characters and the shared desire to solve the murder. As with many cozy mysteries, this will appeal to multiple age groups.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.