Category: Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Type: Fiction
Pages: 262
Copyright: Aug 5, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780425223048
In One Bad Apple, when Boston banker Meg Corey unexpectedly finds herself out of a job, an apartment, and a relationship, she seizes the opportunity to renovate the dilapidated house her mother had inherited and to sell it quickly for a share of the profits. But city girl Meg gets a lot more than she bargained for when she takes on the renovation—not only is she struggling to solve a murder and to save the orchard, but she must figure out what to do with the house, and with her life.
When Meg Corey unexpectedly finds herself out of a job, an apartment, and a relationship, she seizes the opportunity to renovate the Massachusetts colonial house her mother has inherited from distant relations and to sell it quickly for a share of the profits. But Meg gets more than she bargained for when she learns that renovating a 200-year-old house is no easy task and that the gorgeous fifteen-acre apple orchard on the property is in danger of being paved over by developers. And she definitely isn't expecting to run into her ex-boyfriend ...floating dead in her new septic tank.
The police immediately suspect Meg, whose only ally is the charming local plumber who found the body. Determined to clear her name–while fighting her growing attachment to the troublesome house and orchard–Meg begins to investigate the crime and the townspeople only to find there's one bad apple in this bunch...
Excerpt
She hauled herself out of the car and walked toward the back door, jiggling her keys in her hand. Then stopped: even in the dim light, it was clear that the storm door hung askew, the lock splintered in the jamb. Someone had broken into her house; someone might still be there. She fumbled in her bag for her cell phone and punched in 911. When the operator answered, she said in a low voice, "This is Meg Corey at 81 County Line Road in Granford. There's an intruder in the house. Send somebody--now!" She waited while the operator repeated the information.
"Please stay on the line, ma'am," the operator's tinny voice instructed.
"Okay," Meg answered, and then looked up to see Stephen Chapin looming in her doorway. He must have stopped somewhere between the meeting at the high school and her house, because he was obviously drunk--swaying, pig-eyed drunk. And angry. Why was he here? Her heart started racing, and she looked down at the phone still in her hand.
"'Bout time you got here. We need to talk," he slurred. He lurched down the steps, and only then did he see the phone in her hand. "Dammit!" he swore, and swatted it out of her hand. She heard it skitter into the foliage next to the house. He grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the door, and she didn't resist.
Professional Reviews
Romantic Times -- One Bad Apple
Connolly's cozy has sympathetic characters who are not stereotypes, nice details about life in a small town and information about a heritage orchard -- all of which make this a warm, very satisfying read. The beginning of a series, it introduces a number of secondary characters who will no doubt play a role in future installments. Though a bit slow moving, that's part of the charm.
When high school principal Jerry Egge is brutally murdered, Deputy sheriff Dave Jenkins begins an eerie investigation. Just about everyone in Soldier, Minnesota, is a suspect.
"Murder isn't usually this funny."
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