A Killer Crop (2010)

A local professor is killed and somehow Meg's mother becomes the prime suspect. Just what Meg doesn't need while she is in the middle of her first apple harvest.

There is a lot going one here, hints about apple harvest, tips on how to conduct genealogical research and a potential for finding new letters written by Emily Dickinson. Meg is torn in several directions, apple harvest, mystery of dead professor, parents visiting, Bree with a broken arm, and trying to find the time(courage) to tell her parents about Seth.

Some great history on this one, especially around the life and times of Emily Dickinson.

Looking forward to the next in this fun series. ( )

I liked this one better than the last one on the series and I think that, as the story goes, the author is getting better too.
I have thought Meg a little aloof and submissive, especially with Bree and Seth (they decide for her most of the time), but now I know why, since in this book we get to know better Meg and her family. She's just getting through the best she can, learning and waiting...but I think that the romance part could be a little more developed.
Still I found the crime parts a little forced, I mean, whenever Meg does something, bang, there's a dead body related to her in some way or another. The plot is ok, it is really a cozy mystery and I must say that I will never ever look at an apple the same way. ( )

A solid entry in the apple orchard mysteries. I like these books -- I like the characters and I like the New England setting. Something about this "fish-out-of-water" farmer appeals to me. I recommend this series to all mystery lovers. ( )

It's Meg's first harvest in the apple orchard. Having decided she's going to learn about the business from the bottom up, she's working as a picker. And because she's understaffed, she's working hard.

When her mother appears, unannounced, on her doorstep, Meg isn't terribly pleased, but decides to try to make the best of it. Then, they find out that the old friend Elizabeth Corey has been visiting was found dead on the floor of a cider house. When Meg tries to find out why she was visiting this man, and why her mother didn't notify her of her visit, Elizabeth clams up. Meg is worried that her mother might have been having an affair, and becomes even more worried when Elizabeth is interrogated by the police.

Meg is determined to find out what happened and prove her mother's innocence, even if Elizabeth won't cooperate.

This series is very different from Connolly's Museum Mystery series, but the author's love of history us evident in both. The joy of learning the history of a place and a family is conveyed skilfully.

An engaging and engrossing mystery, even if you haven't read the previous books in the series.

*FTC Full disclosure - Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes. ( )

This is the 4th "An Orchard Mystery" cozy featuring Meg Corey, former Boston banker now apple orchard owner set in modern day Granford Massachusetts.

Meg is in the middle of her first harvest and busier than a one-armed-paper-hanger when her mother drops by for a visit. But Elizabeth Corey seems to be hiding something from her daughter. Then the police are asking about an old friend of Elizabeth's that they find dead under mysterious circumstances that she had really been in town to see while her husband was on an extended ocean fishing trip. The dead man was a married professor specializing in Emily Dickinson that Meg's parents had been good friends with in their college days. Why was Meg's mom seeing this man seemingly on the sly and who would kill a boring college professor?

The small town of Granford Mass is a good setting and the orchard and apple growing a perfect background for this series. The town and atmosphere are cozy gold. The added ingredient of Emily Dickinson and her life in the neighboring town lent a scholarly and historical feel to the story.

The reader sees Meg going through an internal struggle with her relationship with her mother and even wrestle with officially revealing her boyfriend to her mother. Unlike many sleuth and mother conflicts, this one shows both mother and daughter growing which I appreciated. Elizabeth Corey is so well done that grew fond of her and look forward to her in upcoming books.

I do have a complaint. The tension between Meg needing to constantly help with the harvest and yet trying to force time here and there to help her mother was strained by the Orchard Manager. Meg is the owner of the orchard and she is constantly taking harsh orders from Bree, the twenty-something manager who works for her. Bree would say things like "You're late." At no point did Meg correct her attitude. Not only is Meg paying Bree, but she is getting a room in Meg's house and yet this over-the-top bossiness is a recurring theme. I found this unrealistic and irritating, really irritating.

The mystery although not riveting was interesting. A man who appears to have no reason at all to be murdered dies under suspicious circumstances and Elizabeth Corey is implicated. The resolution was a let down for me. No climatic confrontation with a killer but rather a calm explanation of what really happened. Anti-climatic. Overall, It is a solid cozy read with a community you will feel comfy with.

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http://www.mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/ ( )