The newest instalment of the Orchard Mystery series by Sheila Connolly finds apple orchard owner Meg Corey settled into her life in Granford, Massachusetts. She's survived her first winter, she's making friends, and her relationship with Seth Chapin is moving in the right direction. Her orchard manager Bree is encouraging Meg to expand and plant more trees in some land that Seth has offered for lease. While the prospect of expanding the orchard excites Meg, she isn't sure she wants to lease land from Seth and mix business with pleasure, although both seem to be going well.

Suddenly, local dairy farmer Joyce Truesdell is found dead from what seems like an unfortunate farming accident. But closer investigation discovers that Joyce's death is due to a murder. Gossip has Joyce's widower as the culprit, but Meg and Seth find that hard to believe, seeing his grief firsthand. They also know that she had recently raised concerns about the land her cows were on, as some of them recently died from lead poisoning. Could there be a possible link between her land investigation and her death?

At the same time, Meg's former coworker from Boston, Lauren, suddenly appears in Granford. She's working on a political campaign for the prodigal son and erstwhile hometown hero, Rick Sainsbury. As Seth is a local politician, his support would mean a lot to Rick, but his reluctance to get involved in the campaign is obvious to both Meg and Lauren. It's soon discovered that Rick was in charge of the company that decontaminated Joyce's land. Could he have been involved in her murder?

When Meg tries to warn Lauren that she could be working for a murderer, Lauren gets defensive and warns Rick, rather than cooperating with the investigation. Things soon escalate, especially when Seth's office and his mother's house are broken into. Could Lauren be involved with a murderer? Or is Rick involved in something that happens to be a horrible coincidence?

SOUR APPLES was really well written, and Connolly showed incredible growth and confidence from her previous books. Meg is a much more confident character who relies on her instincts more, while looking to her advisors in a way that makes sense. She also adeptly balances the line between solving mysteries and being an interfering busybody. The mystery was really well-written, and it was done in such a way that I was constantly kept guessing. This series is really in its stride, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Book Summary

Apple orchard owner Meg Corey is finally feeling settled into her new life in Granford--she's made friends, and her relationship with Seth Chapin is heating up--when her old Boston coworker Lauren Converse comes barreling into town, running the Congressional campaign for a former hometown football hero. But Meg doesn't have time to worry about why Seth seems reluctant to back Lauren's campaign when her neighbor, local dairy farmer Joyce Truesdell, is found dead from an apparent kick to the head from one of her cows.

When an autopsy shows that the fatal blow actually came from a weapon, Meg is even more troubled. Popular opinion points to Joyce's husband as the culprit, but Meg can't help wondering if someone wanted the outspoken dairy farmer out of the way--but why? She'll have to find out who had a beef with the victim, before she's the next one to get creamed...

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES