laurenjodi's review against another edition
3.0
One Bad Apple
3 Stars
Made redundant from her position at a Boston bank, Meg Corey relocates to Granford, Massachusetts to prepare the house her mother inherited for sale. Meg soon realizes that she has bitten off more than she can chew when her plumbing packs it in and a body is found in her newly installed septic tank. Unfortunately, the corpse is none other than Meg's ex-boyfriend and now she is the prime suspect in his murder …
Although the story is quite readable and the heroine is engaging, there is very little tension or suspense. Not only is the ultimate solution of the mystery anti-climactic, but the killer is rather miserable and pathetic.
While stories involving home repair and renovation are often entertaining, the descriptions of Meg’s cleaning, scraping and remodeling are excessive and her attempts at learning the history of the house are tedious, especially as their is nothing particularly interesting about her family’s past. All of this comes at the expense of the murder investigation.
The characters are not fleshed out well and the small town vibe that is one of the mainstays of the cozy mystery genre is sorely missing. Finally, Meg’s budding relationship with her next-door neighbor / plumber has potential, but there is a point in the story where he undergoes a personality transplant and becomes an insufferable jerk - so much for that.
Not sure that I'll continue.
3 Stars
Made redundant from her position at a Boston bank, Meg Corey relocates to Granford, Massachusetts to prepare the house her mother inherited for sale. Meg soon realizes that she has bitten off more than she can chew when her plumbing packs it in and a body is found in her newly installed septic tank. Unfortunately, the corpse is none other than Meg's ex-boyfriend and now she is the prime suspect in his murder …
Although the story is quite readable and the heroine is engaging, there is very little tension or suspense. Not only is the ultimate solution of the mystery anti-climactic, but the killer is rather miserable and pathetic.
While stories involving home repair and renovation are often entertaining, the descriptions of Meg’s cleaning, scraping and remodeling are excessive and her attempts at learning the history of the house are tedious, especially as their is nothing particularly interesting about her family’s past. All of this comes at the expense of the murder investigation.
The characters are not fleshed out well and the small town vibe that is one of the mainstays of the cozy mystery genre is sorely missing. Finally, Meg’s budding relationship with her next-door neighbor / plumber has potential, but there is a point in the story where he undergoes a personality transplant and becomes an insufferable jerk - so much for that.
Not sure that I'll continue.
lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
This was a little convoluted with characters that kind of went nowhere and Meg (the main character) flip-flopping until almost the very last minute, but I'll give another entry in this series a try.
nursenell's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book in the Orchard Mystery series. Meg Corey has just moved to Western MA to fix up a colonial home that has been in her family for 200 years. A 15 acre apple orchard is part of the property. When her ex boyfriend shows up dead in her brand new septic tank she is of course the first suspect. But it turns out there is no shortage of people who have reasons for wanting him dead.
asanford's review against another edition
2.0
Not my favorite
I love Sheila Connolly, but this is my least favorite of all the ones I've read, but I have nope and will read more of the series.
I love Sheila Connolly, but this is my least favorite of all the ones I've read, but I have nope and will read more of the series.
bookswithbonnie's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
amkago2008's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars. This was a cute cozy mystery. I liked the small town vibe and the overall plot. I felt Meg could have done better sleuthing about the murder. Overall, she basically got lucky with solving the murder.
setaian's review against another edition
3.0
After Meg loses her job in Boston, she moves to the small rural New England town of Granford with plans to fix up an old house she owns with her mother to sell. But she quickly discovers the house is in need of some serious attention and a big city bank has eyes on the land the house sits on to make way for a mall.
And then her ex-boyfriend who worked for the bank turns up dead in her septic tank and she's the number one suspect. With the State Police not really interested in looking further than her she needs to find the killer and clear her name.
One Bad Apple is kind of obvious, I had pretty much figured out who the killer was before the guy was even killed. There were a few surprises along the way and I found myself quite enjoying the author's little digressions into the world of growing apples, a subject which she is quite obviously passionate about. As a cozy mystery it was pretty good and I bought book two for no other reason than I enjoyed this one. I'm not really sure how many people can die in Meg's back yard before I give up on the series but for now I'll continue.
And then her ex-boyfriend who worked for the bank turns up dead in her septic tank and she's the number one suspect. With the State Police not really interested in looking further than her she needs to find the killer and clear her name.
One Bad Apple is kind of obvious, I had pretty much figured out who the killer was before the guy was even killed. There were a few surprises along the way and I found myself quite enjoying the author's little digressions into the world of growing apples, a subject which she is quite obviously passionate about. As a cozy mystery it was pretty good and I bought book two for no other reason than I enjoyed this one. I'm not really sure how many people can die in Meg's back yard before I give up on the series but for now I'll continue.
underwater_reader's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty cute start to the series. Meg Corey has lost her job and her boyfriend in Boston, so her mom suggests that she move to the small town of Granford to fix up a house that has been passed down so that they can sell it. After only a few weeks there Meg's ex, Chandler is found dead in her new septic tank. He's part of a team of bankers that want to turn Meg's orchard into a strip mall in order to modernize the town a little. In order to clear both her name and her new friend Seth's, she sets out to find the real culprit.
I had a hard time getting into this book, but I think that has more to do with me and being sick than it has with the book itself. There were several instances in the book that felt super repetitive. I did like the conclusion, it was satisfying and I had it about 60% figured out, but there were still some loose ends I couldn't quite figure out. The setting is really quaint and I really liked the characters. I will most likely continue on with this series, but not right away. The ending did leave the story open for some interesting developments in Meg's future that I am curious to see how it goes.
I had a hard time getting into this book, but I think that has more to do with me and being sick than it has with the book itself. There were several instances in the book that felt super repetitive. I did like the conclusion, it was satisfying and I had it about 60% figured out, but there were still some loose ends I couldn't quite figure out. The setting is really quaint and I really liked the characters. I will most likely continue on with this series, but not right away. The ending did leave the story open for some interesting developments in Meg's future that I am curious to see how it goes.