Poison Apples

Rating:
Summary: Vermont: Land of Cows and Apples
Review: "Poison Apples" is the third in a series of mysteries set in a farming community in Vermont. This one takes place on an apple orchard. It is Nancy Means Wright 's most gripping and satisfying mystery novel to date. This is not a hard-boiled mystery; its characters and plots represent ordinary, everyday life in a small community ; the story includes much domestic detail. The pace remains quick, the relationships complex. As I live in Vermont, I can say that Wright's characters are absolutely true to the values and economic status of the citizens of our beautiful, quite untouched state. Wright's female characters are especially strong. I particularly liked earthy Moira Earthrowl and closely followed her growing friendship with dairy farmer, Ruth Willmarth, an amateur detective (Wright calls her "my hot tempered sleuth") and divorced mother whose sometime boyfriend owns a funeral parlor. Willmarth has also been the sleuth in Wright's two previous mysteries. The amount of research that Wright performed regarding apples, cows and Jamaican culture (many of the orchard's pickers are Jamaican) is impressive. Some of the book's strongest appeal come from these intricate social and agriculture details. But all is not merely cozy. Quite shocking and even violent in sections, Wright's novel held my interest throughout. It's a definite winner.

Rating:
Summary: Contemporary Mystery in Vermont's Champlain Valley
Review: Poison Apples is a page-turner that grips one with the complex characters and the issues they are facing in their lives. Wright incorporates many important contemporary issues--e.g., the difficulties of maintaining profitable family farms and orchards, the pressures of development on the land, societal value conflicts--in a real world, everyday-lives setting. This book is about regular people involved in somewhat unusual circumstances. The flow of the story and short scenes keep the reader interested in their lives and mysteries! An enjoyable read for everybody who picks it up.

Rating:
Summary: Contemporary Mystery in Vermont's Champlain Valley
Review: Poison Apples is a page-turner that grips one with the complex characters and the issues they are facing in their lives. Wright incorporates many important contemporary issues--e.g., the difficulties of maintaining profitable family farms and orchards, the pressures of development on the land, societal value conflicts--in a real world, everyday-lives setting. This book is about regular people involved in somewhat unusual circumstances. The flow of the story and short scenes keep the reader interested in their lives and mysteries! An enjoyable read for everybody who picks it up.

Rating:
Summary: Okay mystery-nothing to rave about
Review: Three years ago in Connecticut their daughter Carol died. Needing a change to start over, high school biology teacher Stan Earthrowl and his wife Moira buy a Vermont apple orchard. Moira has since come to grips with her child's death, but her spouse still suffers from his devastating loss.

The hope for an idyll life has not been smooth as someone wants to destroy the Earthrowls efforts to succeed. Last year, someone allegedly using the wrong herbicide poisoned a fifth of the trees. Now, some one is cutting down mature trees. Finally one of the Jamaican pickers dies from a poisoned apple. With her spouse accused of the crime and suddenly ailing from a stroke, a desperate Moira asks her neighbor Ruth Willmarth for help. However, unbeknownst to Ruth, her land is also coveted and the people who want it could be her ex-spouse, local religious fanatics, or just some land grabbers.

POISON APPLES is an intriguing regional mystery that vividly brings Vermont's personality to the audience especially through Ruth, a wonderful character. The story line will remind readers of a roller coaster as it slowly works its way up to the first peak before taking off at a rapid pace. However, the numerous extemporaneous subplots clutter the fine main tale but fans of this New England mystery series will still enjoy this work.

Harriet Klausner