REVIEW: Getaway With Murder

 Getaway With Murder
Author: Diane Kelly 

I started reading this series the first time when this first book came out in 2021. Then life got in the way. I since returned to this series and started over. Glad I did! I enjoyed reading book one again and look forward to the other books in the series!

The basics: Misty Murphy is in her 50's and newly divorced. To start her life over, she purchases a lodge in Western NC. Things immediately go wrong -- unexpected building repairs and even a murder. Yikes! But she's a strong woman and starts making friends quickly....and doing more than a bit of amateur sleuthing. 

I can't even imagine going through what Misty did in this first story. She just starts to put her life back together.....and has the first group of guests staying at her lodge....and there's a murder. I would be freaking out!! 

Great story! The mystery moves along at a nice pace. The side characters are entertaining and fit well with Misty. There are plenty of suspects and surprises. I had a great time reading this book! 

I'm very much looking forward to the next books in this series!

REVIEW: The Cider Shop Rules

 The Cider Shop Rules
Author: Julie Anne Lindsey

This book is the 3rd and final book in this series. At times publishers make decisions based on book sales before a series ever really gets off the ground....and this series is one that got cut a bit short. However, I enjoyed this final story and the ending was satisfactory for me. I'm not left wondering what happened to this character or that one -- it ended in such a way that I feel glad I read the books but not overly sad that there aren't more. I wish there were more, but I'm happy with 3. 

This time Blossom Valley is being visited by lots of Civil War re-enactors. Tourists in town mean lots more business at the orchard and cider shop. When a well liked local businessman ends up dead and his body discovered in a dramatic way, Winnie finds herself doing a bit of amateur sleuthing again. Much to the chagrin of the local sheriff. 

I enjoyed this book! The addition of a surprise new character really made the story fun to read. The mystery moved along at a nice pace, and there was a nice amount of sleuthing and unexpected developments. 

After completing this series, I will definitely be reading more by this author. I like her writing style and hope her other cozy mysteries have similar fun plots and entertaining characters! 

REVIEW: Pulp Friction

 Pulp Friction
Author: Julie Anne Lindsey

I'm loving this series! Pulp Friction is the second book in the 3-part Cider Shop Mystery series.

Winnie Montgomery has opened her Cider Shop on her grandma's apple orchard. She can finally market her hand-crafted ciders from her refurbished and remodeled barn on the property. But trouble seems to be following her....even after solving the murder that happened in the first book, strange happenings are still happening at Smythe Orchards. 

This time, the orchard hosts a wedding party...but one party member doesn't survive the night. And someone close to Winnie is the main suspect. Seems like every time Winnie just wants to get down to business and make cider, a dead body pops up. 

Great second book in this series! And yummy recipes in the back! 

I love the setting for this series. An apple orchard that does public tours and events with a barn that opens daily as a cider shop. What a cool place! I would go there if it were a real business and anywhere near where I live! I like the side characters. Granny is awesome. The former boyfriend is a perfect annoyance for the main character. The best friend/animal lover fits right into the plot. And the two kittens are a cute addition for some humor. The cranky sheriff is a bit of a trope, but works into the story perfectly. Winnie is a great main character. She's independent, intelligent and a good amateur sleuth, although her stealth mode isn't nearly as great as she believes it is (The Sheriff tends to always know she's at it again). 

Great story! Luckily, I have book 3 on my TBR bookshelf -- already got it down and getting ready to dive in. 

I really really hope that this is a finished series and not just one that the publisher dropped. A few years back several big publishers dropped cozy series contracts.....and several series I was in the middle of reading just ended abruptly. Really made me mad! This genre is very popular, and authors deserve to get to finish what they start and continue their creativity. Book 3 is the final book -- if it ends on an unsolved cliffhanger, I am going to be so sad. We shall see!! I was curious enough to send a quick message to the author and ask. I will edit this review and add her response if I hear back from her. 

I like this author's writing style. She has other series (including a Christmas Tree Farm series I really want to read!) and I'm definitely going to check them out! You should, too!! Warning -- reading these books will make you crave cider and apples! I don't usually eat many apples...and found myself ordering honeycrisp and gala from the local CSA supplier I buy my veggies from. :) Got my cinnamon and cloves out and I'm baking an apple for lunch today! Yum!!

REVIEW: Apple Cider Slaying

 Apple Cider Slaying
Author: Julie Anne Lindsey

As soon as the calendar flipped to September, I was ready for Fall themed cozies!And, since I have all 3 books in this series on my TBR bookshelves, I decided to start with this series. 

Winnie Montgomery is helping her Granny save the family orchard. She's doing everything she can to drum up business, and has a business plan written out to add her dream business to the orchard -- a Cider shop! But, when her granny's nemesis dis horribly in the barn and other awful things start happening around Blossom Valley, Winnie starts to worry that they might not be able to save the orchard....... 

This is such an entertaining cozy! I love the background theme of an apple orchard in the fall and holiday season! The side characters (especially the kittens!) are wonderful and add color to the story. The mystery was paced nicely and had plenty of suspects, twists and turns. Winnie does her share of amateur sleuthing, while being lectured by the cute (and available, of course) sheriff. 

I definitely now have a craving for cinnamon apple cider! :) I can't wait to find out what happens next in this series. Moving on to book 2: Pulp Friction!

REVIEW: Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen

 Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen
Author: Vicki Delany

Rudolph, New York celebrates Christmas all year long. But December and July are the biggest months. Merry Wilkinson has returned to her hometown and is getting into the holiday spirit and running her business, Mrs. Claus' Treasures. This year, however, someone seems to have it out for Rudolph. A murder followed by strange, dangerous incidents around town threaten to ruin the holiday season. Can Merry discover who the murderous Scrooge is before Christmas is ruined? 

Such a cute start to a Christmas themed cozy mystery series! I love the idea of a town with a holiday theme. I can see how such a town would be a fun tourist destination and great holiday shopping destination. 

I did get a bit tired of a couple side characters who got a bit too preachy about the holiday being for children and putting a damper on gifts or adults wanting to have fun for Christmas. It just got annoying after the third time or so. Not sure why I found it so annoying. Maybe it was just that it seemed so unnecessary? Or, like an interjection of an opinion that I found ridiculous? Not sure....but I have to admit I found it irritating. 

I like the setting for this series. Merry Wilkinson is an intelligent and capable main character. I'm a bit worried a love triangle angle is developing though. That plot angle has been used way too many times in cozies and I'm completely over it. We shall see. Hopefully it doesn't become a big plot point in the books. 

I can't wait to see how the characters develop in this series! 

REVIEW: Murder is Easy

 Murder is Easy
Author: Agatha Christie 

This Agatha Christie novel does not feature any of her well-known characters. It is a stand-alone novel. Well.....it's actually listed as a Superintendent Battle book, but he's not really part of the story until the very end. So I stand by my call that this is a one-off.

I have to be honest and admit that I rolled my eyes when this popped up as the next book in my Christie Reading Challenge. I'm reading all of Agatha's mystery books and short stories in publication order. And, I'm not a big fan of reading the stand-alone or side character ones (except for And Then There Were None....that one is superb!!). I don't really enjoy Superintendent Battle, Parker Pyne, Tommy & Tuppence..... But, the intent of my challenge is to read them all -- and I'm reading them all. In order. Period. 

Murder is Easy (AKA Easy to Kill) was first published as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post in 1938. It was published in seven parts. It was also serialized in the UK in early 1939. The story was then released in novel format in the US and UK in 1939. Superintendent Battle does appear for a short time in the story, but doesn't have anything to do with the investigation or catching the killer. He seems a bit of an after thought, really. 

I don't have a paperback copy of this book. I'm sure that is because it wasn't Poirot or Marple, so I never bothered to buy a used copy. I listened to an audio book thanks to Hoopla/my local library (HarperAudio, 2012). The audio is 6 hours long and narrated by Hugh Fraser. Fraser did a great job of narrating, as usual. 

 This story surprised me! I went into it thinking I would be forcing myself to finish a story I didn't really care about. But, the plot is engaging. The characters are interesting and the ending is great! I could have done without the silly romance angle that was a side plot in the book, but it didn't over shadow the mystery portion of the story. I very much enjoyed this book! Once again, I am reminded why I am reading every single book....even the ones that don't have Poirot or Marple in them!

Adaptations: There are several adaptations of this story. That made me hopeful when I first started reading. They wouldn't adapt a boring story multiple times! 

There is a film version from 1982 starring Bill Bixby. In 1993, the movie script was adapted into a stage play. Season 4 of the television show Agatha Christie's Marple had an episode based on this story. In 2015, an episode was made for a French television show. And, in 2023 the BBC released a 2-episode television version. I was able to enjoy 3 of these adaptations.

1982 movie: I found this movie on YouTube.  As usual for 80's Agatha Christie adaptations, it's a star-studded cast -- Bill Bixby, Leslie-Anne Downs, Olivia De Havilland,  Helen Hayes (who later played Miss Marple on television) and others. I was glad to see faces I recognized in the cast, but the movie was not very good. They attempted to modernize it and messed with the plot too much. This story is great the way it was originally written. Their revisions were terrible. I enjoyed watching it for nostalgia.....but it wasn't good.

Agatha Christie's Marple: This episode strays from the original novel pretty heavily as Miss Marple is not in the book. Big changes were made to the plot, and character's motivations. I enjoy Julia McKenzie's portrayal of Jane Marple. Because the plot of this book is good and very entertaining, I see why they adapted it for one of the BBC long-running Agatha Christie shows. And, this one fits Jane Marple much better than it would Hercule Poirot. But -- why so many plot changes? I don't believe the changes, other than interjecting one of Christie's more standard characters, were necessary. Great attempt -- but the episode would have been better without most of the changes.

BBC Television: I very much enjoyed this adaptation! There are a lot of changes -- Luke is from Nigeria, some racial tensions mixed into the plot, and other edits made to the story. But -- the basic plot is the same. The actors are all top notch, and all of the suspense and build-up is left intact. The murders happen a bit closer together than in the novel, but that left time for more investigation and interaction between villagers and Luke. I like the fact that the cast of characters is a bit more balanced....not so white washed as the original.The ending was a bit changed as well as character backgrounds and motivations.....but an extremely creepy key part of the ending was kept intact. So, I'm ok with the changes they made. An excellent movie!

On to the next!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Author: Washington Irving

I love this story! It is such a lovely mix of legendary ghost tale, village life and humorous suitor rivalries. 

Washington Irving first published this short story in 1819, but the tale has been re-published, re-told and re-imagined so many times since then! I imagine if the author knew his story has become a beloved classic he would be incredibly proud that the tale has stood the test of time. 

I read a old copy of the book online thanks to Openlibrary.org, and also listened to an audiobook version using Hoopla (Findaway Voices, 2024). I love having spooky stories read aloud to me and always love reading and listening to Classics. 

The audiobook has some issues. About 1/3 of the way through the story, the narrator changes. The audio starts off read by a person with a difficult to understand accent who mispronounces words (Ichabod was pronounced Itch-a-bod. Tarrytown was changed to Tar-ry-town. Katrina was changed to Patrina.) I was having a very very hard time listening to the book with all of the errors. Then the narrator switched to a man with a nice, easily understandable English accent. There were no more mispronunciations. However, parts of some sentences were left out and a couple times the narrator made mistakes while reading paused for a quick second and re-read a portion of a sentence. The errors were not edited out. I can handle those sorts of errors....the mispronunciations, however, made the first part of the book almost unbearable. Not sure if Jorge Hartman was the first narrator or the savior of the audiobook who stepped in partway through, but really they should have given a credit to both narrators. 

The old version of the book I read online was published by Putnam in 1864. The illustrations were

wonderful! I love old books, so I was very happy to get to enjoy this one, even if it was just a digital copy. 

I love this story. Although it has been turned into a horror tale in the modern era, it is more the story of a girl's successful attempts to make a man jealous enough to marry her, and the thwarting of another man's dreams of marrying a wealthy man's daughter. Such a fun, entertaining and cute story! With just that right amount of spooky to make it the perfect story to kick off Spooky Season reading. 

I just love all the mental imagery I get from this tale. Ichabod Crane being prone to imagination and belief in the supernatural and satan getting filled with all sorts of ghostly legends at a country dance.....then riding home alone in the dark. Only to be beset upon by the local legendary headless spirit.....   Yikes!! 

When I was in middle school and first read this story, I did not understand the real nuances. But listening to this tale as an adult makes me smile and laugh. Katrina's plan worked! She got her man.....