Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey Review

 Hello Friends :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

I hope you all had a great day yesterday, and that you're all ready for the weekend. Yesterday, my hubby, my mom and I ended up going out of town for a few hours. We had a lovely lunch at one of my favorite bistros, and then my hubby dropped my mom and I off a the mineral spa to soak for a couple of hours. We finished the day with supper at a sandwich and coffee shop on the way home, and I was so thankful for the quality time I was able to spend with two of my favorite people. 

A couple of years ago, I'd read and reviewed the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery duology by Jacqueline Frost, and I loved them. You can check out those reviews here and here. I kept checking to see if the author had written anymore books as I truly adored that series, and was disappointed she'd never written anything else.

Imagine my surprise when a couple of weeks ago I ended up discovering that Jacqueline Frost is one of the many pen names for popular cozy mystery author Julie Anne Lindsey. To put it mildly, I am now over the moon that there's a whole ton of books I can now read by a favorite author, and today I'd like to share a review with you all of one of these reads.

Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey:

Source: Libby App

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: October 29th, 2019

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: A Cider Shop Mystery

Synopsis:

Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year's crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .

ONE ROTTEN APPLE

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny's beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it's struggling. That's why they're trying to drum up business with the "First Annual Christmas at the Orchard," a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike--until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny's long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder . . .

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I was both surprised and excited to discover that one of my all time favorite cozy mystery authors (Jacqueline Frost) was actually a pen name for the much beloved author, Julie Anne Lindsey. I couldn't wait to dive into more of her books, and her Cider Shop Mystery series seemed like a great place to start.

I really ended up enjoying this one. I found the main character Winnie to be extremely relatable, and I really felt for her in her determination to help her grandmother be able to keep the beloved orchard that's been in the family for years. I loved the sense of community that's showcased by the town, and I enjoyed each and every one of the slightly eccentric town members who make up most of the secondary cast of characters. 

One of my favorite things about this particular author's books is how atmospheric and relatable her stories always are, and I felt like the orchard and town truly came alive to the reader in her beautiful descriptions, and the plot points didn't seem as outlandish as most cozy mysteries seem to be. I also always appreciate the fact that the romance element always seems to play more a backseat to the mystery and family situations in her stories, and this one was no exception.

About halfway through this one, I was convinced that I'd figured out the whole mystery and who dun it, and I was really disappointed that it had been so easy to figure out. However, the ending proved that every theory I thought I'd figured out was completely off base, and I was so surprised with who was actually behind everything, and the way everything comes together.

I'm really looking forward to continuing on with this series, and I can't wait to read more about Winnie, Granny, Colton, and Dot's adventures, and I especially can't wait to read more about the adorable orange fluffballs named Kenny and Dolly.

If you're a fan of cozy, clean, heartwarming mysteries then this is definitely the story for you. I loved the fact that the author chose to keep the content pretty squeaky clean with only one or two minor infractions as that hasn't been my experience with a lot of cozy mysteries as of late. I highly recommend checking this one out! It's definitely a new favorite.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.