SYNOPSIS
The third Trudy Genova mystery from award-winning author M. K. Graff brings Trudy home, leaving her New York City studio consulting job to visit her rural hometown of Schoharie, three hours north. NYPD detective Ned O’Malley accompanies Trudy, primed to meet her family, but with a secret mission to find out what really happened when her father died eleven years ago.
Mario Genova’s death was deemed a tragic accident, but Trudy feels there was more to her beloved father acting out of character the day before he died. After years of hard work building a successful apple orchard business with her mother, Mario cleaned out their bank accounts. No reason-and no money-was ever found. As Trudy and Ned try to investigate without informing her family of their actions, a new death occurs on Genova Orchards property, and once again Trudy’s family is under scrutiny.
MY THOUGHTS
I would like to say thank you to M.K.Graff for asking me to read and review the latest instalment in the Trudy Genova series. I have read the first two books so was delighted to see what Trudy is up to in book 3. All thoughts and opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
This book can be read as a stand alone novel, but I always love starting at the beginning of a series and seeing the characters grow. I love Trudy Genova, she is one determined lady who once she has made her mind up on doing something nothing and no one will stop her. She is a qualified Nurse RN, and has worked in hospital environments, but she now works on television programmes as a consultant.
This time Trudy has time off work and her and boyfriend Detective Ned O’Malley are off to Schoharie, it will be the first time Ned has met Trudy’s whole family, he has met her mother, but now he is to meet her big brothers, they are also going as Trudy’s sister in law Gail is having a baby and Trudy wants to be there for the baby shower. But the biggest reason they are going is to look into the death of Trudy’s father 11 years earlier. Trudy was just coming up to 16, her father had withdrawn all of their savings from the bank and had then been found dead. None of it had ever added up to Trudy. She felt the time was right to try and find what had actually happened. Will Ned and Trudy be able to solve Mario Genova’s death? Where does the dead body on Rick and Aaron’s porch fit in? Rick is worried that he will be implicated as he was the person to first find the body.
I love this series, it’s great reading about characters you know, like they are old friends. Trudy and Ned’s relationship is becoming more serious. It was great to read about the rest of Trudy’s family as well, Rick and Ben her brothers and their partners Aaron and Gail. Trudy had grown up with Gail as her best friend so she loves that she is now married to her brother and they are expecting their first child. It was interesting how they have run the family business after Mario’s death, Ben had had to really step up. But the orchard is doing well, not only do they self the apples, but they also make cider, as well as having a cafe, Trudy’s mum makes a selection of cinnamon buns, and Apple pastries just to name two items to be sold daily. In fact some of the baking she did had my mouth watering wishing I could taste what she was baking. Initially Trudy isn’t sure how she feels about her mum’s relationship with Bob an old schoolteacher of her’s. But gradually as she see’s them together she realises he makes her mum happy.
This is a well plotted mystery, with some great character’s that are all believable and relatable. I read this in one sitting, wanting to know who had done what and why. There are a few twists and turns which the author manages to bring all ends together at the end. If you like what I would call a cozy mystery then look no further. Once you meet Trudy you will want to read the first two books in the series. A truly engrossing read keeping you guessing until the end who was responsible for Mario’s death, with a few red herrings thrown in. I look forward to seeing what Trudy gets up to in book 4.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marni Graff is the author of The Nora Tierney English Mysteries, and The Trudy Genova Manhattan Mysteries. Graff is also managing editor of Bridle Path Press, an indie curated press out of Baltimore, MD. She has taught creative writing in Belhaven, NC, and is a member of the NC Writers Network, The International Association of Crime Writers, Sisters in Crime, and two local SinC chapters, Maven of Mayhem (NY) and Triangle SinC (NC).
Graff’s mentor and friend, PD James, convinced her to add the Trudy Genova series after she’d written three of the Nora Tierney series, and she now alternates writing the two series.. The books in order in the English series, featuring Nora Tierney, an American children’s book author who lives in England, are: The Blue Virgin, The Green Remains, The Scarlet Wench, The Golden Hour, and The Evening’s Amethyst. The newer series brings readers nurse Trudy Genova, who is a medical consultant for a NY movie studio, Graff’s favorite nursing position in a thirty-year career before she retired to write full time. Death Unscripted starts the series, followed by Death at the Dakota.
Graff’s short story “Quiche Alain” is included in the Agatha-winning anthology Malice Domestic 14: Murder Most Edible.
Graff lives in rural eastern NC with her husband and two Aussie Doodles, Seamus and Fiona.
Jackie’s Reading Corner 