Taking place in a small town in Pennsylvania, I really liked how the author ties together the idea of tourism, as it is on the way to Gettysburg, Kate inherited her uncle's orchard when she is at a bit of a crossroads in her own life. Still healing after a bad accident, she is hopeful that her plans to open a cidery on the property will help keep the orchard solvent. Kate's meddling into the death of the reclusive man that helped her uncle with the orchard helps introduce many people in Orchardville and the troubles that face some small towns that want to keep their charm while others want to expand. I really enjoyed the author's historical fiction books that took place in Pennsylvania also and was so happy to see another new series begin. ( )

Deadly to the Core by Joyce Tremel is the debut of A Cider House Mysteries. Kate Mulligan is ready for a fresh start after the loss of her husband. She has inherited a fruit orchard from her great uncle, and this is Kate’s opportunity to open her cider house. The author is extremely descriptive. She will describe rooms in detail down to the color of the walls, but she is less graphic when depicting individuals. The characters need to be fleshed out. I found them lacking in emotion. We are told their emotions instead of the characters expressing them. The mystery was straightforward. The orchard manager is murdered, and Kate insists on searching for the killer. There might as well have been a neon arrow pointing to the killer. The reveal was lackluster. The story’s pace was sluggish, especially in the middle. The longwinded descriptions as well as the discussions regarding maps, farmlands, who owns which properties, and property lines made for dry reading (helpful if you suffer from insomnia). Unneeded step by step details did not help with the pacing (the steps of preparing a meal, getting a drink of water, and such). I was surprised that Kate did not know more about orchards or even the terminology. As you can tell, I struggled to get through Deadly to the Core. ( )

Book Review: Deadly to the Core
Stars: 4 x 5
Author: Joyce Tremel
Publisher: @crookedlanebooks
Thank to @netgalley for this ARC.

Kate inherits a fruit orchard. Kate’s husband had passed several years ago and now her uncle Stan has passed. Uncle Stan left her an orchard. Kate thought what a good time it would be to change things up. Kate moves to the orchard and opens a cider. She also decides to start renovations on the property. Kate soon comes to find out that there is someone who wants to buy the orchard and she doesn’t want to sell. She also decides she needs to go through Uncle Stan’s personal papers and finances. After doing this she finds many irregularities. As time goes by she finds the orchard manager Carl dead in his cottage. Will Kate be able to find out why Carl was killed and what was going on with her uncle with out getting herself into trouble?

I absolutely love a cozy mystery and this first book in A Cider House Mystery is wonderful. I am looking forward to more books for this series.

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Deadly To The Core is the first book in the A Cider House Mystery series by Joyce Tremel.

Kate Mulligan is nearly healed from injuries received in a horrible automobile accident that killed her husband. Kate has recently learned that she has inherited her uncle’s apple orchard in Orchardville, PA. Kate decides to move to the farm to live her dream–to run a cider house. Kate arrives at the farm and meets Carl, the orchard’s manager. During their conversation, Kate learns that the orchard is making money and that Carl looks forward to helping with the cider operation. But her lawyer informs her that the orchard is barely breaking even, adds that he has received a very generous offer for the orchard, and strongly suggests that she accept the offer. But Kate is determined to have her cider house.

One day, Kate took off for Carl’s cabin’s cabin to discuss the orchard further. She finds the front door open and music blaring indoors when she arrives. Kate calls out and enters the cabin, only to find Carl lying in the kitchen, dead. The sheriff will find Kate’s cane, which she had left the day before, had been used to murder Carl.

Daniel, the owner of a neighboring orchard, has been helping Kate construct her cider-making business and will also help her look for the murderer. Kate will also get help from her childhood friend Margurite. Many neighboring orchard owners have also received very generous offers for their orchards, and Kate will use the information she gets from them to solve the murder of her uncle. She will also get help from some of the Orchardville residents.

The book is a wonderful start for this new series. The book is well-written and plotted, and you feel you are right there with Kate as she investigates. The characters are all interesting, believable, and well-developed. There are enough red herrings that I kept guessing until the final reveal at the end.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this engaging series to see what her next adventure might be and if a romantic interest will be developed for Kate. ( )

Pennsylvania, widow, grief, grieving, new-beginnings, new-business, new-series, first-in-series, rural, small-business, small-town, friendship, friends, ex-cop, recipes, amateur-sleuth, cider, murder-investigation, murder*****

Very interesting to learn about the making of cider for a small operation while trying to solve the murder and enjoy all of the hometown characters. The man who was murdered was a transplant but the reason was unknown. Unraveling the motive was very convoluted and more interesting than many. Good sleuthing.
I requested and reviewed an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you! 12/26/23
01/14/24 I was given the opportunity to listen to the audio version as performed by voice actor Hillary Huber and it was even better than the visual because of the differentiation of characters.

A Cider House Mystery ( )