The Cider Shop Rules (A Cider Shop Mystery Book 3)

Author:    Julie Anne Lindsey

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496723512

Kensington Publishing

320 Pages

$8.54; $6.99 Amazon

July 27, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Fall Festival is in full swing.  Civil War reenactors from three counties are partaking in Blossom Valley's tribute to John Brown.  Blue Ridge Mountain foliage is in full bloom.  And best of all is Jacob Potter's pumpkin farm where his hay rides, piglet races, pumpkin picking and corn maze are time-honored draws for locals and tourists alike.  That's why it's such a shock when Mr. Potter is found dead, hidden under a tarp in the back of Winnie's pickup truck.  This certainly betrays Potter's reputation as one of the town's most popular citizens.  Fortunately, when it comes to solving a murder, no one has a patch on Winnie.  Now, all eyes are on her to do it.  Unfortunately, that includes those of the killer who'll do anything to keep an orchard full of secrets buried.

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Winnie Mae Montgomery helps run her grandmother's cider farm, and she's made several key  improvements, including a renovated barn where she sells her specialty ciders.  With the Fall Festival, they've also got plenty to do, and the farm is finally making a little money, with the Civil War reenactors in town and tourists filling the farm.  One day she and her friend Dot go to the nearby Potter farm, where she's picking up an order from Mr. Potter for her grandma.  But after they stop for ice cream, Winnie notices liquid coming from the back of her truck -- and when the tarp is lifted, it turns out to be the body of Mr. Potter.  Now Winnie's truck is a crime scene, and she's once again in the middle of a murder, which Sheriff Colton Wise doesn't like.  What's also unsettling is the attractive man she's just met who turns out to be Colton's younger brother, Blake, and it appears he's interested in her.  

While trying to navigate her way out of sticky situations, and discovering there's another danger lurking around the corner, Winnie's doing all she can not to have a nervous breakdown.  But when she's asked to find the killer by Mrs. Potter's best friend, she's over her head in trouble.  The problem is, will she be able to figure things out before a killer slays her?...

This is the third book in the series and I've read all of them.  I do like this series quite a bit.  It's progressing along nicely, with Winnie's life in the turmoil it usually is, but she handles everything with aplomb, or at least tries to.  She doesn't accuse people of murder, nor does she keep information from Colton, which I approve of.  It shows she has common sense.  Even her questioning isn't invasive, and she thinks before she asks.  Smart woman.

[The one thing that bothers me is Winnie is always thinking of accusing men of being men -- she doesn't want them carrying things for her, or opening doors, or even thinking of protecting her -- things my mother and father taught us were the way men showed respect for women.  It's not offensive for men to do things for women; and for the record, I worked on cars with my dad and can change parts, but I still love it when men open doors.  Act like a lady and you will be treated like one.  It has nothing to do with 'I can do this too, you know.']  Okay, rant over!

Anyway, there was one scene on the battlefield which I found lovely; I'm not going to name it here, although I want to, and I was surprised and delighted to read it.  Also, one of the funniest situations takes place on a night that Winnie has dinner with the Wise clan - Colton, Blake, and their parents.  It had me laughing and grateful I've never been in that situation!  Not to mention Waddles the goose...

As for the mystery, it was a bit suspenseful, and it seemed that there was real danger around every corner.  As the story wove through the pages, I could almost feel Winnie's tenseness, and her hesitation to step foot out of her home.  It kept me reading throughout the book, and wanting to find out what was around the next page.

When the ending comes, the climax is both gripping and satisfying, with everything finally being resolved just as it should be.  Killers have their own sense of justice, and we can never understand what makes them do the things they do.

All in all, the writing is taut, expressive, and makes the characters come to life easily.  The descriptions of the farm and its people is wonderful, and the book leaves us wanting more.  I would love to see more of Colton's family and, of course, the people of Blossom Valley.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Cider-Shop-Rules-Mystery/dp/1496723511/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4015552734

More on Julie Anne Lindsey's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/julie-anne-lindsey/

Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery #1)

Author:  Julie Anne Lindsey
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496723475
Kensington Publishing
308 Pages
$7.99; $4.99 Amazon
October 29, 2019

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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 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...

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Winnie Mae Montgomery lives in Blossom Valley, West Virginia.  She's trying to make a go of her Granny's apple orchards by bringing in new business via opening a year-round shop where people can buy her custom ciders and Granny's baked goods.  She's trying to get the bank to approve a loan which she hopes will pan out, and in the meantime they're offering tours around the orchards and hay rides, which fall right in line with the season.

When Granny's next-door neighbor (as close as you can be in the country), Nadine Cooper, arrives looking for her, Winnie tells her Granny's with a tour group and Nadine leaves, telling her she'll be back.  But when Winnie is later showing people how the cider is made, she opens the barn doors and finds Nadine's body in the apple press.  Now Granny is suspected of murder, and the new sheriff isn't listening to Winnie's protestations.  So Winnie decides to do a little investigating on her own, hoping to discover the true killer.  But all her questions have consequences, and they might get someone hurt...

This is the first book in a new series and I will say that I was pleasantly surprised.  The mystery is a good one, and there are just as many questions as there are answers.  Winnie is a different type of sleuth, being a hard worker with a strong bank account.  She has a part-time job at a local diner, goes to school, and helps her Granny run the orchards, all while planning something better for them.  She also has acquired a set of twin kittens, named Kenny and Dolly.  While I love books with cats, and I really liked these two (eventually becoming key to the plot), I've always felt that cats should be kept indoors.  They're less likely to develop diseases and fleas, and live longer.  This isn't a working farm but an orchard, so there's no reason they can't be kept indoors before one of them gets genuinely hurt.  (As I said, they do become key to the plot, so they're excused this time out, but hopefully in the next book they'll be indoor kitties).

Saying that, I liked Winnie and thought she was intelligent, and even though she was questioning people, I never felt that she was pushy.  I did like the banter between her and Sheriff Wise, and I especially liked the fact that while he was telling her to stay out of it, he wasn't being nasty with her.  That goes a long way with me.

I even liked her friend Dot (but thought Dot's angst over being four years older was silly); I have a passion for saving animals, too, so that mattered to me.  I truly enjoyed this book, showing how the camaraderie of a small town brings people together, and the plot gives us a glimpse into the next book, without leaving a cliffhanger, which is nice.

When we discover the murderer, it came together quickly, and so did the action.  Winnie, faced with a desperate situation, did what she needed to do, and it gave us one more insight into the type of person she was.  I think that the author has a good future with this series, and I hope to read the next one soon.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Cider-Slaying-Shop-Mystery/dp/1496723473/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3306463290

More on Julie Anne Lindsey's Books:   https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/julie-anne-lindsey/

Embellished to Death

Author:  Christina Freeburn
Genre:  Mystery

Four Stars

When Faith Hunter agrees to help PI Bob Roget find an identity thief at a local scrapbook retreat, her friendly croppers’ weekend quickly morphs into a dangerous one. As croppers share their own memories, a killer collects them for her new identity, and doesn’t appreciate Faith in the picture.
Faith struggles to balance her professional, detecting and personal lives as threats and secrets keep her off-balance. Things turn deadly when a woman is killed and Faith is blackmailed. Truth and lies collide when Faith discovers croppers aren’t the only ones embellishing, and the results might end her life.

********

 

Faith Hunter is the owner of Scrap This, a scrapbooking shop.  She is working at a "scrapbook retreat" called Cropportunity for the weekend, accompanied by her boyfriend Steve, an attorney.  On the way there, she receives a phone call from Ted Roget, a detective who is interested in her, asking if she is alright.  The reason he wants to know is a car was found on the side of the road and has some of her personal information in it.  As if that isn't enough, when she arrives, she barely avoids getting hit by an out-of-control car, but another woman isn't so lucky, and is hit and dies.

 

By this time Faith is pretty sure is wasn't an accident.  Especially when she finds out that Ted's brother Bob, a private investigator, is also there looking for an identity thief.  Even though she is told to stay out of the investigation by the lead detective, Bell, she finds she is thrust right in the center of it when she is accosted by Morgan, who is not all that he appears to be, and he accuses her of committing previous murders and having someone else take the fall.

 

Okay, that's the gist of it.  Things get sticky pretty quick.  Steve is injured pushing her out of the way of the car, so he's pretty much MIA through most of the action.  Morgan is trying to get her to admit she committed previous murders and pinned it on someone else, and he's not above using physical force to do so.  Bob is there to find the identity thief, but finds more trouble than he wanted and is distracted by having to protect Faith from Morgan.  Morgan is a nasty human being, and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

 

The plot weaves and turns, and you're never sure exactly where it's going.  Are we looking for an identity thief?  Or are we looking for a murderer?  Or are they the same people?  These are the questions for Faith - and her innate desire to help people pulls her into the action.  Unfortunately, that same desire puts her in situations she should never be in.  Even when she knows there's probably danger ahead, she pushes on.  Naive or incautious, I can't say.  But there is very definitely a murderer in their midst, and it could be any one of the people attending the retreat.  The question is, how do you keep an eye on them all? 

 

She knows she has to tell Steve about her past - about how her husband Adam murdered someone and set her up to take the fall - but is putting it off.  Believe me, this is a big part of the plot.  Personally, I didn't think it was that big of a deal:  she got conned by her ex-husband, was cleared of the charges, and one would hope to move on with their life, but apparently she hasn't.  She's still fretting over what he will think of her.  My opinion:  What is she afraid of?  She's not guilty of anything, and she's not the first woman who has ever been conned by her husband.  (Maybe none have ever tried to set their wife up for murder, but women have been married to them without knowing.  I just didn't understand why she wouldn't talk to him about it.  If he loved her, he'd understand.

 

I would have given it five stars, but I didn't really care for the ending.  I'm not going to tell you anything about it, but it seems to ask more questions than it answers.  That doesn't mean it's not worth reading; it is.  The plot is tighter, the book is intriguing, and there is a lot of action so you won't be bored.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Embellished-Death-Christina-Freeburn/dp/1940976278/