Deadly to the Core by Joyce Tremel (A Cider House Mystery #1)
Deadly to the Core is a promising first offering, a new cozy series that follows Kate, a recently widowed woman returning to her mother’s childhood home. An apple orchard themed cozy isn’t exactly a new cozy theme, but Tremel puts a twist on it. Kate is going to open a Cider House at the Orchard, setting this series apart from the others. Overall, Kate is a likeable and relatable character, grieving the loss of her husband and starting a new life.
Kate arrives in town and the story takes off quickly from there. The story flows organically and is very enjoyable as a various cast of supporting characters present themselves.
One thing many cozy mysteries add that detracts (to me personally) are arch nemesis character. And in this book, there was none. I read lots of cozies the common annoying archenemy character, sometimes a downright horrible character I am looking at you, Jen, McKinley, and the detestable foil Olivia in your cupcake bakery mysteries. Almost every character who I assume will recur in this book was a regular, down-to-earth person. Their behavior was not outlandish. The plot was not predictable. It was difficult to guess who the killer was.
I think the best aspect was that the character Kate has roots in this town, so while this is a fresh start for you understand why everyone in the community is still so loving and supportive and kind towards her. She set up for success.
On the romance front, you know this character is a grieving widow, but they already introduced the love interest. Instead of going back-and-forth with the will they won’t they trope, Kate has a more honest internal dialogue and I don’t think this is going to be dragged out ala Joanne Fluke.
I love cozies; they are my favorite book genre. However, many of them, even the ones I really enjoy can get tired quickly. They just play into the formula that most cozies follow, and this one just sets itself a part early on by not being overly dramatic or having too much drama. The tone has a delicate balance. You definitely need a little suspension of disbelief to read this book. However, it's such a charming setting with a charming cast of characters that it's very easy to lose hours reading or listening to this book.
This series is excellent and I highly recommend it. I cannot wait for the second book to come out. This is truly what a cozy should be. A likable main character who seems like a real person. Supporting characters who feel like people you would be friends with if you knew them. And overall, just a good feeling when you read the book that you would like to live in this town. I cannot recommend this book enough.
As an Avid reader, I struggled with having enough time to read, and audiobooks happen a real godsend for me. I work long hours and I exercise a lot, so having this audiobook really was wonderful. The narrator was Hillary Huber, and the narration was wonderful. I have no complaints, and I actually believe that some books benefit from being listened to as an audiobook rather than read. A good narrator can make an ordinary book extraordinary. It just depends on their performance.
The thing with cozies is that sometimes they will change the narrator and that can detract from the series is so I hope they continue to stay with Huber.
Whatever edition you choose you cannot go wrong with Deadly to the Core. NetGalley provided with the audiobook for review purposes. My thoughts and opinions, my own.