Murder in the Orchard - Betty Rowlands

Murder in the Orchard: A totally gripping cozy mystery novel by Betty Rowlands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 6 of the Melissa Craig Mysteries and I think that each one just gets better and better. I have to admit that I polished this off in one day, not quite one sitting, but I didn't want to put it down. This time Melissa finds herself in the middle of another mystery when she is supposed to be on a writers retreat. Needless to say, she doesn't get a great deal of writing done.
As well as the small cast of suspects, we have the return of regular characters in the form of Gloria the cleaner, next door neighbour and artist Iris and boyfriend and tame policeman Ken. I have to admit that I haven't decided how I feel about the Ken and Melissa relationship. On the whole, I think that I'm in favour, but with Melissa being a bit unsure herself and the two of them continually butting heads when it comes to how involved she seems to get in these mysteries, the jury is still out.
As ever the mystery worked well and I really enjoyed it. I didn't manage to solve the whole thing this time, but I had picked up on most of the clues and got my head around quite a bit before the big reveal.
I love these classic mystery stories and can't wait to see what trouble Mel manages to find herself in the middle of in the next book. No doubt Ken will be less than impressed with her snooping around.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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