Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught.

Nipped in the Bud is a great murder mystery. I enjoyed the plot and the author’s writing. I look forward to reading more books in this series. Mystery fans will enjoy this book. I received an arc from Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

I have enjoyed this series up until this point but I didn’t like this one. I felt like nothing happens. There is the a murder but once that happens there is just so much talking that I got bored. I kept putting the book down and then coming back just to figure out who the killer was. The book was so slow that I just couldn’t enjoy the book and it was often very repetitive. For example the characters sit down to go over everything in the case, which is basically a rehash of everything that has happened and really added nothing to the story. I have always found that the main character, meg, to a bit annoying but in this book she is downright whiny and I got frustrated with her pretty quickly. Although I would recommend the earlier books in the series I do not recommend this one and I’m not sure I’ll be continuing with the series anymore.

The 12th installment in the Apple Orchard series. I enjoyed this book and will need to go back and read all the other books. The story finds Meg Chapin and her husband Seth are looking forward to warmer weather and she is looking forward to the next season of planting with Larry her new Orchard manager. While on a walk Meg and Seth hear a gunshot and later a woman is found dead on their property. The police are hush hush about it and Meg finds out that the woman who was killed was an undercover reporter working on a drug story. Larry becomes a suspect and Meg cannot let her new manager be convicted of a murder he did not commit. Also it is troubling to her that drugs are closer to her home than she thought. This was an interesting and well plotted story. Looking forward to reading the other books!

The 12th installment in the Apple Orchard series. I enjoyed this book and will need to go back and read all the other books. The story finds Meg Chapin and her husband Seth are looking forward to warmer weather and she is looking forward to the next season of planting with Larry her new Orchard manager. While on a walk Meg and Seth hear a gunshot and later a woman is found dead on their property. The police are hush hush about it and Meg finds out that the woman who was killed was an undercover reporter working on a drug story. Larry becomes a suspect and Meg cannot let her new manager be convicted of a murder he did not commit. Also it is troubling to her that drugs are closer to her home than she thought. This was an interesting and well plotted story. Looking forward to reading the other books!

Nipped in the Bud by Shelia Connolly is the 12th book in the Orchard Mystery series and my 2nd book in the series. I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to going back and reading the rest. In this book Meg and Seth are happy newly weds, anxious for spring to come to begin work in the orchard for Meg and construction projects for Seth. One evening while taking a walk they over hear a gun shot, than Seth and his dog find a women's body. When the couple are concerned about the police finding the murderer, they set out investigating. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. If you love cozy mysteries, I recommend this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Nipped in the Bud is the 12th book in the Orchard mystery series. This mystery involves newlyweds Seth and Meg finding a dead body on their property of a reporter who was doing a story on the local drug trade in their area. The characters are always enjoyable to read and the mystery has a lot of twists and turns. Sheila Connolly is an exceptional writer.

This is the second book in the Orchard Mystery series that I have read. Once again I was impressed with how I felt as if I actually was in Granford because of the brilliant way Sheila Connolly paints her locale and tells her story. Meg and Seth Chapin are less busy because it is wintertime, and a murder takes place on their property. There is a moody intensity and a timely topic surrounding the death that is expertly done. The character development is well executed and I am developing an attachment to the people of Granford. I look forward to more.

Meg and Seth are in the downtime of their apple orchard near the end of winter. Seth has rented out Meg's former house to a bunch of college guys who share it with the orchard manager. When a woman is found dead on their land, they begin to question why she was there and how she was involved with local residents. I enjoyed the setting of the apple farm and the building of a tiny house. The mystery was interesting, well-layered and the characters always had time for one more cup of coffee :) If you are a fan of this series, Nipped in the Bud won't disappoint you!

This is one of my favorite Cozy Mystery series, I love how every time I read the one of the books I feel like I am in Grandford. I love Meg and Seth being married and it was only fitting that a undercover reporter would die on their property. The mystery took twists and turns I didn't see coming. This is a great book and I highly recommend this book and series to all mystery lovers

In this twelfth book of the series it is winter time so it's the off season for both Meg and Seth. With not much for either of them to do when it comes to their work they are both looking for projects to fill their time. Seth has decided to turn an old chicken coop into a tiny house and Meg is looking forward getting some stuff done around the house. While out for a walk one evening the two hear a gunshot which isn't to unusual with it being hunting season. Things turn on there head though when Max, their dog, runs off into the woods and ends up finding the body of a young woman. Who is she and what brought her out into the woods at such an hour? They call the police who come to investigate, hopefully they will be able to identify the woman. They soon learn that the young woman was a reporter doing a story on the local drug trade in their area. The problem is Narcotics doesn't want to release the woman's identity which makes it harder for Homicide to truly investigate. Meg and Seth decide they must look for clues themselves hoping they can figure out who the killer is and why. She was killed in their backyard and they feel a need to help find the truth. Follow along as the two ask questions, look for clues, and delve into a mystery that just might get them killed. This was a wonderful whodunit that had me asking who the culprit was the entire time.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series, so I was very glad when I saw that it was being continued. It is a pleasure to spend time with Meg and Seth in Granford, and to see how both their relationship and Meg's orchard grow and flourish. Meg and Seth are out for an after dinner walk when they hear a gunshot and Max, their dog, goes running off and finds the body of a woman. The woman turns out to be that of Jenn Chambers, a reporter for the Boston Globe who was in Granford to investigate the use and distribution of opiods. Along with an intriguing mystery plot, it was interesting to see how Seth and Larry, Meg's new orchard manager are constructing a tiny house on their property and to see Meg's musings about the possibility of her and Seth having a baby. All in all, a wonderful addition to a great series and I hope it continues further.

Love this series. Obviously, I did not love this one. It is okay, but there is too much repetition of the known facts and not much forward progress.

Meg and Seth Corey hear a gunshot while out for a walk. Their dog takes off afterwards, and Seth follows him to find a body. They don't know the young woman but soon discover she was an undercover reporter looking at the drug trade in the area.

Honestly, there isn't much to the book beyond the description already available. Seth and Meg talk a lot about deciding to be involved and gather information because they don't want drugs in their area. It touches on them thinking of having kids again, with Meg undecided (which is a frustrating miss from earlier in the series, where Seth had divorced his first wife because he wanted kids and made it clear he wanted them if he married again). In the meantime, Seth and Larry work on the tiny house for Larry to live in. It's winter, so Meg is just waiting for spring to come so she can get back to work in the apple orchard.

By halfway through the book, not much had happened. The pace does pick up but overall the mystery was predictable on all points and underwhelming. More focus on "not in my backyard" than anything else. I would not recommend starting the series with this book, it is a weak installment.

I love this series and was happy to meet again Meg, Seth and the cast of characters.
I liked the story and I like the mystery even if this is not the best book in the series.
On the plus there was an interesting plot, it kept guessing till the end, and some interesting development in the character relationships.
On the other side it was a bit slow and static at times, like the characters were going in circles.
A good book but I think it's better to have read the other instalments in this series.
Recommended to people who already know the series.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

Nipped in the Bud is the latest adventure in Connolly's Orchard Mystery series. This book finds newlyweds Meg and Seth trying to enjoy some down time finishing some winter projects before their busy season begins. Their peaceful time together is interrupted when out for a walk, they discover the body of an undercover journalist who came to their area for a secret assignment. Meg and Seth become determined to discover what is going on in their quiet town by solving this case themselves since the police seem to be having jurisdiction trouble. Even though this is book twelve in the series, it was actually the first book that I have read in the series so I was please to discover that I could jump right into this latest adventure.

Connelly does a great job with her character development especially for a reader new to these established characters. Meg and Seth are great main characters, and the reader can definitely relate to them both as well as root for them to get to the bottom of this mystery. I also liked the secondary characters introduced especially Larry and Art. I always enjoy when the secondary characters are well used and add to the book's overall plot. The book had a lot of twists and turns and does an excellent job at capturing the reader's attention. The book also made me want to go back and check out previous books in the series. Overall Nipped in the Bud was a great read that I would most definitely recommend if you are looking for a great cozy mystery to try.

Received a copy of Nipped in the Bud through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

It is off season for newlyweds Seth and Meg Chapin. Meg owns and operates an apple orchard and Seth has his own renovation business. Little did they know that what started out as an innocent walk on their property would end with the sound of a shot and their dog, Max, finding a body of a stranger. Soon they find out that their peaceful and sheltered community of Granford is not so innocent after all.

This book flows nicely with dialogue that keeps you engaged in the story. It gives you a good feel for the people and their life in a small community. This is book twelve in The Orchard Mystery series but could easily be read as a stand alone. Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a wonderful addition to the series. Meg & Seth are settling in as a newly married couple. Meg has a new orchard manager, Larry.
A dead body is discovered by them on the property and of course they are intrigued to get to the bottom of the matter.
Seth is a landlord along with his other duties.

What I liked was the concern for each other and neighbors. The not placing themselves in reckless positions.

I liked learning more about the newer characters, the process of investigating and small town policing. I like the thought of building a tiny house for the new orchard manager. I see a lot of potential in Larry.

What I didn’t like, the larger city’s police force not trying, in my opinion, hard enough to resolve this. I felt Seth’s renters were placed in danger.

Nipped In The Bud is the twelfth book in the Orchard Mystery series. I was very happy that the series found a new publisher, as I really enjoy reading about Meg Corey Chapin’s endeavors on her apple farm.

Warmer weather is around the corner and Meg and Seth are looking forward to getting back to their work. Soon Meg will be huddling with Larry, her new orchard manager and discussing the plans for the orchard for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Seth had earlier posed making a “small house” for Larry on an existing foundation of an old chicken coop and is anxious to get started on it. While Meg and Seth are out for a breath of fresh air early one evening, the hear a rifle shot. Max, their dog, immediately heads off to where the shot came from, with Seth in pursuit. Soon, Seth comes upon the body of a female. The site is between Meg and Seth’s house and Seth’s former residence, that he now renting to some college students. Seth notifies police chief Art Preston and homicide detective is also called in.

A couple days later Seth and Meg meet with Preston and Marcus, where Marcus identifies the body as Jenn Chambers, a reporter with the Boston Globe. She has come to Granford to do research on drug problems in the area for a story she wants to write. Marcus also informs them that the narcotics unit has ordered everyone to stop any investigation into the murder. They are also unwilling to share any of their investigation with anyone.

With the location of the murder and a possible drug-related problem, Meg and Seth set off on an investigation of there own to try and learn who else might have known of Chamber’s research hoping that is doesn’t bring back to Larry.

Another interesting, well-written and plotted story from Connolly. She includes an enjoyable and believable cast of characters. It was nice to see that Lydia, Seth’s mom, and Christopher, Meg’s mentor for her farm, just might be having a blossoming romance.

I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series, especially since Meg will probably be working in the orchard and I love to read about what it takes to have a successful orchard.

In an interesting twist, this Orchard Mystery deals with the murder of an unknown woman and frustrating turf issues among the law enforcement groups.

Newlywed Meg and Seth hear a gunshot while walking Max, their golden retriever. Before they can stop him, Max takes off in the direction of the gunshot and Seth follows to find a dead woman, shot in the back, on their land.

Local police chief Art Preston begins investigating only to be shut down by homicide detective Marcus who in turn is told to back off by the narcotics unit, who, by the way, knows the dead woman is Jenn Chambers, a freelancer for the Boston Globe, working undercover on a drug dealing story.

Both Meg and Seth find themselves waiting for their respective busy seasons to begin. So, Seth is working with Larry Bennett, Meg’s new orchard manager, to convert an old chicken coop into a tiny house for living quarters. Currently Larry is renting a room at Seth’s old house along with three other guys – two UMass students and one employed fellow – which doesn’t suit him. Unfortunately, Larry becomes a suspect in Jenn’s murder due to circumstances in his background.

The mystery is well plotted and the story fascinating. Author Sheila Connolly efficiently weaves observations and concerns about drug dealing in small towns throughout without compromising this very engaging adventure. Ms. Connolly also fleshes out her newer characters while she continues to detail the evolving relationships among her primary characters. Nipped in the Bud is an excellent read.