One Bad Apple [Mass Market Paperback]

Some people snidely refer to a book as a cozy mystery. Sheila Connolly's One Bad Apple is an example of everything that is right with the cozy mystery. Her book has a likable heroine, an attractive small town setting, a slimy victim, and fascinating side elements. I hope Connolly returns readers to Granford, Massachusetts again.

Meg Corey lost her banking job in Boston in a downsize. She took on the joint ownership of an old house in Granford, and moved to that small community to get the house ready for sale. She didn't expect to find a two hundred year old house, an apple orchard covering fifteen acres, and major plumbing problems. Before the plumber could show up, Meg's ex-boyfriend landed on her doorstep. Neither expected to find the other there, but Chandler Hale was hoping to bring developers in for a major project in Grandford, and was recruiting votes in his favor. Meg rejected his business proposition, but that's not what it looked like to the police when Chandler ended up dead in her septic tank. The major suspects? Meg, and her new plumber, Seth, two people who might have an interest in the development project.

There's depth to the characters in this book that isn't always found in crime fiction. Meg, Seth, and some of the women in this book are well-developed. Meg's opinion of Granford and her house changes as she learns more about them, and becomes a little more comfortable with small town life. The information about apple orchards is interesting, and the requisite recipes in recent mysteries is an added bonus. No, One Bad Apple won't make the bestseller lists where every other book seems to be a thriller. However, for all of us who like an interesting mystery, nice people, development as a relevant issue, along with a background that's a little different, One Bad Apple is just what we're looking for. Sheila Connolly has written a winner for cozy mystery fans.

Meg Corey just can't catch a break. First her boyfriend dumps her, then she loses her job to downsizing and then she becomes a suspect in a murder. Once she loses her job in Boston, Meg moves Granford Massachusetts with the idea of fixing up and selling an old home that her mother inherited years ago. Naturally the house was in much worse shape than she had expected and the work was furiously draining her bank account. Just when she thinks that things can't get any worse her sewer system backs up and requires a complete overhaul but she does catch a break when the nice guy local plumber can get started on the work right away. Her relief is short lived however when her ex-boyfriend shows up, not to ask her forgiveness but to make a business proposition. She turns the jerk down and is pretty sure that things can't get any worse until the next morning when her new sewer system backs up yet again. That's bad enough but when the plumber comes to check for the problem he finds the body of Meg's ex-boyfriend in the brand new septic tank.

As it turns out the ex-boyfriend was involved in a development project that would have taken most of the plumber's land and also the lovely orchard that Meg had just learned was on her property. With that in mind the state investigator soon considers both Meg and her plumber friend, as prime suspects and Meg can't see that he is trying very hard to find any other suspects. Because of that she starts to investigate on her own and she finally gets out of her crumbling house and meets the people of Granford. Pretty soon Meg starts to make friends and finds that she likes the locals very much, making her wonder if she really wants to sell the house or not. Before she makes that decision though she has to find the killer or she may be a guest of the state for the next few years.

I just love it when I come across the first book in a possible series that is this good because I know that I have some excellent reading to look forward to. The author has a very enjoyable writing style and the setting for this series is as realistic as any I have come across, yet it still manages to be just loads of fun. I have read books that were funnier and I have read books that were more realistic but I have seldom come across a cozy that balances the two so well. Meg herself is delightfully full of sarcastic wit but at the same time she is a very sympathetic character.

Despite the emphases on the characters the mystery itself is never allowed to stray far from the reader's attention and a well-constructed mystery it is. The solution is not so obvious that it can be solved half way through the book but it also isn't so obscure as to stretch credibility. This is definitely a welcome and tasty arrival on the cozy scene.

Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Meg Corey's job is made redundant when her bank merges with a larger one. Her mother comes up with a solution that will occupy Meg for the next few months. They own property in Grandford, New England that includes a house and an apple orchard. If Meg fixes up the house, she will earn half the profits from the sale.

Neither Meg nor her mom is aware that the house needs enormous structural and cosmetic repair. The plumping needs immediate attention so she calls Seth Chapin who informs Meg the septic tank needs replacing. The day after it is fixed, her sink is stuffed, Seth inspects what is clogging the system only to find the corpse of Meg's ex boyfriend inside. He was in town to sell the concept of a strip mall and had many enemies with a motive to kill him.

There is a delightful charm to this small town regional cozy. The protagonist works the homicide because the police officer leading the investigation considers her the prime person of interest. Sheila Connolly provides a fascinating whodunit filled with surprises especially red herrings as the amateur competes with the cop to prove she is innocent by uncovering the identity of the guilty person.

Harriet Klausner

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