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Love, Danger, Homecomings & Heart β€” Your June Reading Escape Starts Here

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A GALA EVENT

A Gala Event, October 2015
Orchard Mystery #9
by Sheila Connolly

Berkley Prime Crime
284 pages
ISBN: 0425275817
EAN: 9780425275818
Kindle: B00SI02DVI
Paperback / e-Book
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"Wedding bells and a cold case of murder."

Fresh Fiction Review

A GALA EVENT
Sheila Connolly

Reviewed by Patricia (Pat) Pascale
Posted November 24, 2015

Mystery Cozy

In Granford, Massachusetts, the wedding of Meg Corey and Seth Chapin promises to be A GALA EVENT. Hopefully coming soon, the event is in dire need of some firm decisions. Meg has been busy harvesting apples from her orchard. Seth is no help. He is more interested in installing the new bathroom that is to be his wedding gift to Meg. The whole town will be attending as the Chapins' founded the town centuries ago.

Meg decides to start with the venue. She loves Gran's, a lovely Victorian restaurant sitting atop a hill facing the green. The owners, Nicky and Brian, are good friends and eager to help. It did not take long for Nicky to create a menu, suggest drinks, and even plan the music. That was easy. Now to find Gail and ask her to be her attendant.

Meg goes to the renovated Historical Society building to look for Gail, who might be there setting up new exhibits and relocating files. When Meg steps into the building, she finds Gail leaning against a table, making strange noises and she is covered in blood. When the police arrive, Gail explains she was attacked by a man, but she defended herself by cutting him with an antique vegetable slicer. The blood is his. The search begins. The next morning Gail and Meg find him in the storage shed next to the Society. The police arrive and take the man, Aaron Eastman, to the hospital.

Later discharged from the hospital, Aaron Eastman rings the door bell at Meg's home. He has come to thank her for saving his life. Aaron was recently released from prison after serving a 25-year term for killing his father, mother and grandmother in a fire that destroyed his home. He has no recollection of the fire but was convicted when he was 17-years-old. The judge offered no sympathy for a teen on drugs who seemingly showed no remorse for the death of his family. Meg and Seth listen to his story. Not only do they believe him, they promise to investigate this cold case. Hopefully, they can find some answers to the questions he has had for a long time.

Sheila Connolly writes a warm, cozy mystery with a cast of characters that you would enjoy having for friends and neighbors. Nice read!

Learn more about A GALA EVENT

SUMMARY

Wedding bells are ringing for Meg and Seth in the latest
Orchard Mystery from the New York Times bestselling
author of Picked to Die…
The fall harvest
may be just about over, but orchard owner Meg Corey is
busier than ever planning her wedding to Seth Chapin. Who
knew picking apples would be less work than picking out
rings and a dress? And even though the happy couple has
invited most of Granford, Massachusetts, to the ceremony,
they might have to make room for one more
guest…Ex-con Aaron Eastman has unexpectedly
reappeared in his hometown, searching for answers to the
tragic fire in his family’s past that put him behind bars
twenty-five years ago. Moved by his sincerity, Meg vows to
do everything she can to help him solve the cold case. As
she cobbles together the clues, it becomes increasingly
clear that Aaron may have been considered the bad seed of
the family, but someone else was one bad
apple…Includes Delicious Recipes!

EXCERPT

No excerpt available.

BOOK SERIES

Orchard Mystery

One Bad Apple
ONE BAD APPLE
#1.0 β€’ August 2008
Rotten To The Core
ROTTEN TO THE CORE
#2.0 β€’ July 2009
Bitter Harvest
BITTER HARVEST
#5.0 β€’ August 2011
Golden Malicious
GOLDEN MALICIOUS
#7.0 β€’ October 2013
A Gala Event
A GALA EVENT
#9.0 β€’ October 2015
Seeds of Deception
SEEDS OF DECEPTION
#10.0 β€’ October 2016
A Late Frost
A LATE FROST
#11.0 β€’ November 2017

 

 

 

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