I must have been crazy when I decided to take over the apple orchard on an old family property in Granford, Massachusetts. Not that I had a lot of other choices, since I’d lost my banking job to downsizing and my apartment lease in Boston. My plan was to clean up the old house, sell it, and move on.
That was almost two years ago. I’m still here, and I’m still learning what it takes to produce and harvest apples from an orchard. I know a lot more than I did when I started, but I still have a long way to go.
Luckily I’ve got a good crew to help, starting with my official orchard manager Briona Stewart, who may be ten years younger than I am but a lot smarter, at least about apples. I wouldn’t have survived the first year without her.
And I’ve made friends, including next-door neighbor Seth Chapin, who is rapidly becoming more than a friend. But we’re both so busy that we haven’t decided where we’re going with it. Come winter, we keep promising each other—when my harvest is done and his renovation projects slow down—we’ll sit down and make some plans. I hope.
And then I keep ending up in the middle of murder investigations. Not my idea! The local police chief is more or less a friend now, but his department doesn’t investigate murders—the state police do, and they aren’t very happy with me. Still, I like to think that what I find and take to them helps them to do their job.
To get back to the orchard—since I arrived in Granford we’ve survived one near-miss by a tornado and a major blizzard that took out the power for days; now we’re in the midst of a serious drought. If you don’t give apple trees water, they don’t make apples, or at least, not apples that I can sell—that seems to be a law of nature. So Bree and I are hand-watering all eighteen acres of my orchard. No, not with watering cans, but with a big tank that we fill with water from the spring that emerges in the middle of the orchard (thank heaven that’s there!) and then haul around the orchard behind a truck, distributing the water to the trees. Every day. Let me tell you, it’s hard work. I have muscles that I never knew I had, if you know what I mean.
But I regret to inform you that there’s been another suspicious death in Granford, and I’m the one who found the body. Again. The dead man was a local logger, and his body was left near a local sawmill that’s been operated by the same family for generations. Seth uses their lumber a lot for his jobs, but the company is struggling to compete with bigger, more automated competitors. Did the death have anything to do with the sawmill? It’s not clear—yet.
And if that wasn’t enough, there’s an infestation of some nasty beetles that eat just about any tree they find, and apparently the only way to get rid of them is to cut down and grind up all the trees they’ve settled in. That’s not making anyone in town very happy, because a lot of those trees are in Granford’s parks—and near that sawmill. Is there a connection to the dead man? It kind of looks like it.
But I’m too busy and too exhausted from watering to pay much attention. In fact, I was too busy to notice that Seth kind of went missing for a while—and it took me most of a day to notice. Not good, especially since I was the only one with a chance of finding him.
You can read more about Meg in Golden Malicious, the seventh book in the “Orchard” mystery series, published by Berkley Prime Crime. The first book in the series is One Bad Apple.
Thanks to Penguin, I have one (1) copy of “GOLDEN MALICIOUS” to give away. Leave a comment to be included in the giveaway. Contest ends October 18; US entries only per publisher’s request.
From Dru: Congratulations to Sheila as “Golden Malicious” is #14 on the NY Times Mass Market Bestsellers’ List (10/20/13).
Meet the Author
Sheila Connolly is the Agatha and Anthony Award–nominated and New York Times bestselling author of the Orchard Mystery series, the Museum Mystery series, and the County Cork Mystery series set in Ireland. Her first ebook, Once She Knew, a romantic suspense published by Beyond the Page Publishing, was one of Barnes & Noble’s Top 100 Books for 2012. Her short stories include the Agatha-nominated “Size Matters” and “Kept in the Dark” for Level Best Books as well as e-stories from Berkley Prime Crime and Beyond the Page.
Visit Sheila at her website or on Facebook
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
I like the title and I would love to read the book!
Sounds intriguing.
Hmm, this one sounds really interesting. Sure would love to win a copy. Thanks for the opportunity.
Sounds like it’s time I started this series…Dee
I would love to win this book. This is a fun series.
This sounds like a wonderful reading…..along the lines of Murder, She Wrote! Definitely glad i was included in the post. Would love to win this one and then start buying the ones before! Have a wonderful weekend! Happy sleuthing!
Great series. I love to see it keep going!
I love this series! Thanks for the giveaway !
Very clever title!
lg110 at mchsi dot com
I started this series and really enjoy it, thanks for a chance to win.
I’ve been a fan of this series since the first book hit the shelves. I own at least 2 of them (that I can find on my overburdened shelves) and would love to add this one to my collection.
Everyone loves the title, including a certain local author I know who lives one county over.
Made a mistake on which author tweeted me about loving the title…
Haven’t read any by this author but would love to. Thanks for the give-away.
Would be a new to me series. I congratulate you on the placement on the NY Times list. Would like to read and enjoy.
I am very familiar with apple trees. My father had an old one in back of his office. Every year, we spent two weeks canning applesauce, making apple jelly and apple butter. Would love to read this book.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I enjoy series books and this one sounds like a wonderful “down home” book, the kind where you kick back with a cup of cocoa and a nice cozy fire, to enjoy while reading.
Just back from apple country myself (So. California) so this hits the spot. Speaking of which, congrats on the best-selling listing. judydee22002@yahoo dot com
I would love to read this book by a new to me author.
I’ve had a craving for apple cider and Macintosh apples and caramel dip. An apple orchard mystery sounds just about right.
I’m always on the lookout for a good new series.
I love driving through apple country and stopping at orchards in the fall to buy apples and apple pies. So now I want to read this book with an orchard setting.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Thoroughly enjoyed the previous ones in this series. Eager to read the latest.
This is one of my favorite series and am looking forward to reading this one.
Perfect read for this time of year! Thanks for the chance to win!
I have loved every book in Sheila’s Orchard Mystery Series and can hardly wait to get Golden Malicious. Since this story takes place in MA and we live in MA, the story has even more meaning to me, especially since we go to the Amherst area a lot and have family attending UMASS at this time. That makes the book all the more “real” to me let me tell you. I hate to finish each book knowing how long a wait it is between books, but with Sheila’s other series, I try to make due. 🙂
I would love, love, love to be the recipient of this book. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Cynthia
Sounds like a great cozy mystery. Thanks for the giveaway,
Thanks Sheila for giving us a glimpse into Meg’s day.
contest is closed.