Deadly to the Core (A Cider House Mystery #1)

Finished: January 2024
Book Source: NetGalley
Book Publication Date: January 2024

After losing her husband in a terrible car crash, thirty-five-year-old Kate is left to pick up the pieces of her life alone. Although she has physically recovered, she worries her spirit never will. But when she learns that she has inherited a fruit orchard in a small town just outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from her great uncle Stan, she takes this as an opportunity ripe for the picking. Kate knew immediately what to do with open a cider house. Her hopeful plans fall far from the tree when she finds the body of the orchard manager, Carl Randolph, leaving her to figure out who is at the core of this murder.

She had been in correspondence with Carl, who had agreed with her brilliant idea of opening a cider house. But not everyone is so quick to buy what she was selling—Uncle Stan’s lawyer, Robert Larabee, paints a less rosy financial outlook of the orchard’s past, present, and future. 

Kate discovers that Carl had large, unexplained deposits to his bank account and it becomes clear that either he was blackmailing someone, or someone was paying him to keep quiet. Meanwhile, Kate and her neighbors receive offers to buy their property from a mysterious buyer. And there’s more than meets the eye with the neighboring orchard owner, Daniel Martinez, although Kate can’t quite put her finger on if it’s sweet or sour.

Will she be able to pick out the bad apple among the bunch before it’s too late?

Characters

• Kate – recently widowed, inherited an apple orchard from her great uncle Stan
• Carl – orchard manager
• Robert – Kate’s lawyer
• Daniel – owns the neighboring apple orchard, very helpful to Kate
• Marguerite – old friend of Kate’s from when she used to visit

My Review

This is the first book in a new series and is a pretty solid start. The story revolves around Kate, who unexpectedly inherits a fruit orchard from her great uncle that she didn’t realize thought so fondly of her. She’s got some personal stuff going on and is trying to make a fresh start by opening a Cider House (which came together really quickly, but I have no real understanding of how fast those can be built).

The characters in this book work, but Kate rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. She could be a bit too blunt with people, like she expected them to spill their guts to her just because she’s the new orchard owner. The book was pretty short/quick, so it was likely a way to get as much information as possible to the reader, but it felt a bit forced to me.

If you’re into cozy mysteries and small-town drama, this might be right up your alley. Plus, it’s a quick read. And props to the narrator – they did a solid job bringing the story to life.

I received this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.