... getting through them... ( )

Golden Delicious is the seventh book in An Orchard Mystery series.

I really love all of Sheila Connolly's books, but this series in particular. I like the way Connolly weaves a bit of interesting information to give the reader something to ponder, in addition to solving the murder. Two points of interest that Connolly delves into and ties into the story are home restoration and the use of period type material. I particularly enjoy this as I have visited the Studebaker family mansion and am always in awe of the intricate woodwork that had to be made by hand. Our main character, Meg Corey's boyfriend's profession is home restoration/renovation. One of residents of Granford has had his late 1700's house hit by a speeding teenager and has hired Seth to do the repairs. And Donald can be a stickler for using the correct materials. The second is information that centers around the Asian longhorned beetle. This insect has no known predators and is very invasive to trees and forest.

Meg goes with goes with Seth to visit Jonah Nash the owner of woodland and a sawmill where Seth will be getting the materials for the restoration work. But before they have a chance to Jonah, Meg finds the body of David Clapp who used to work for Nash cutting down trees and also finds the remains an Asis longhorned beetle. The question for the Meg is whether the death was independent from the finding of beetles. With the help of Seth and Christopher, who works in the agriculture department at the local university, they are determined to find the answer. On top of this, Meg has concern herself with the drought that has hit the area and Bree, her orchard manager, is keeping her busy watering the apple orchard.

So looking forward to the next book to see what kind of dilemma will be facing Meg, I will also want to see how Meg Seth's relationship goes. ( )

I've decided to stop reading this series after this one. Oddly enough, this one ended up probably being the best of the 7 books in the series so far. But I'm still done.

Why? Because at the end of the day, I don't care what happens to the main character, Meg. Or her roomie Bree, or very nearly every other character in this series. Except Seth - I always liked Seth and as this book ends on a rather happy note where he's concerned, this is the perfect time to walk away.

From a series perspective, I've found Meg to be a bid dreary, plodding, angsty and prone to massive amounts of internal dialogue that has always had me thinking "blah blah blah" while skipping copious amounts of useless copy that add nothing except bulk to the story. Some of it is to be expected in the course of the theme: a city slicker becoming an apple farmer. But it's just repetitive and overdone and blah blah blah...

Bree, her Orchard Manager and roommate spent the first 6 books being surly, snippy and generally a real grumpy trousers. She spoke to Meg, her boss and the woman giving her a place to live! as though she were gum on the bottom of her shoe, and I think the author wanted us to like her. Uh, no. I will say though that she's gone through a major attitude adjustment in this book. Thank god.

The mystery in this book though, was interesting and well done. Different and creative. I like the way Ms. Connolly wrapped it up at the end and it was plotted well enough that I was sure the mystery was going to end in a completely different way.

While I think the author's characters leave a lot to be desired, I find no fault with her plotting skills - most of her mysteries are excellent and non-formulaic. If only I cared at all about her characters. ( )

Golden Delicious is the seventh book in An Orchard Mystery series.

I really love all of Sheila Connolly's books, but this series in particular. I like the way Connolly weaves a bit of interesting information to give the reader something to ponder, in addition to solving the murder. Two points of interest that Connolly delves into and ties into the story are home restoration and the use of period type material. I particularly enjoy this as I have visited the Studebaker family mansion and am always in awe of the intricate woodwork that had to be made by hand. Our main character, Meg Corey's boyfriend's profession is home restoration/renovation. One of residents of Granford has had his late 1700's house hit by a speeding teenager and has hired Seth to do the repairs. And Donald can be a stickler for using the correct materials. The second is information that centers around the Asian longhorned beetle. This insect has no known predators and is very invasive to trees and forest.

Meg goes with goes with Seth to visit Jonah Nash the owner of woodland and a sawmill where Seth will be getting the materials for the restoration work. But before they have a chance to Jonah, Meg finds the body of David Clapp who used to work for Nash cutting down trees and also finds the remains an Asis longhorned beetle. The question for the Meg is whether the death was independent from the finding of beetles. With the help of Seth and Christopher, who works in the agriculture department at the local university, they are determined to find the answer. On top of this, Meg has concern herself with the drought that has hit the area and Bree, her orchard manager, is keeping her busy watering the apple orchard.

So looking forward to the next book to see what kind of dilemma will be facing Meg, I will also want to see how Meg Seth's relationship goes. ( )