The title hints at the resolution of this latest Orchard Mystery which continues to intrigue with its mix of rural small town lifestyle, leisurely pace and a well plotted mystery. Newlyweds Meg and husband Seth are in a bit of a winter lull when changes start to happen beginning with Meg hiring a new orchard manager and Seth being roped into working with a newcomer to town in organizing a winter fair.
In trademark Sheila Connolly style the story develops in a realistic fashion balancing homey details of daily life together with Meg and Seth’s gradual involvement in the mysterious death at the winter fair.
As many good cozy writers do Sheila C. incorporates contemporary problems and issues into the story in an organic way. In “A Late Frost” she touches on several contemporary trends in our culture, dementia, socially alienated twenty-somethings and families and folks who flee urban life for a simpler life in the country. For me that adds interest to the story and works with the Meg’s personality which is down to earth, smart and caring. Her conversations with the new characters in the series who are all suspects in some way are neighborly rather than nosy and seem natural not rude.
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