Death in the Orchard is the third Trudy Genova cozy mystery by M.K. Graff. Released 18th May 2024, it's a substantial 412 pages and is available (according to the author's bio information) in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format provided for review has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a continuing series featuring an amateur sleuth who's anRN. Generally based in New York city, this time it's set in the Catskills, where Trudy and her detective boyfriend are investigating the cold case murder of her father many years previously. A second, current, murder seems to be tied to the events of the past.

The language is moderately clean (the secondary characters include Trudy's extended Italian American New York family, so there -are- a couple "f-bombs") and it's a cozy, so the violence is mostly off-page and not graphic.

Despite being the third book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone. There are a myriad of characters, but the author/publisher have provided a dramatis personae at the beginning, so it's easy enough to flip back and forth a bit to keep them straight.

The plot is well engineered and the mystery is mostly "fair play" with followable clues scattered throughout. The author excels at descriptive prose, and the settings are well rendered and believable. There are some slight issues with continuity, and the book would've undoubtedly benefited from a moderately ruthless editing process, but it's definitely readable and entertaining.

Four stars. It's unclear from the publishers website info if it's still available (or how to acquire) the audiobook and ebook formats, but the paperback is still available.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Death in the Orchard: A Trudy Genova Mystery
M. K. Graff
Bridle Path Press – April 2024
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the Publisher Bridle Press.
I had no idea this book was part of a series and I was glad to know I did not have to read the first two to enjoy this book. I was hooked from the very beginning to find out more information about Trudy Genova's fathers death. The Genova family is a lovable extended family with many characters each having their own unique characteristics. Trudy lives in New York City and goes back to her hometown to investigate her father's death that happened many years ago when she was a teen. She brings her newish detective boyfriend, Ned to help and meet her family. They only have one week to learn more about her father's death. Her father's death was never solved and has been eating away at Trudy for years. While I enjoyed the writing and theme it just seemed so impossible to be able to solve or get closer to answers to his death in one week. Yet somehow they get closer and closer each day while also having another murder happen on their property. It all seems to be related but unsure how. M K Graff weaves a web of drama for all those involved until the end when all is solved. Now I must admit I was a bit surprised at who was the bad guy but some of the clues were there all along. I enjoyed reading this book that I am going to read the other two books to the series. Now the ebook I read had some editing issues with text not in the right place and some grammar issues. Not sure if my ipad was at fault or the book, either way I thank Net Galley and the Publisher
Bridle Path Press for allowing me the enjoyment of the book.