Apple Cider Scares

The town of Cider Falls in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains does Halloween so well it’s downright scary, and at the center of the festivities is the Smith family’s orchard. But when Macki’s brother’s cider shed is torched and his rival murdered, the night gets truly frightening . . .

In the case of the Smith siblings, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Each of the 5 is named after an apple variety, and McIntosh “Macki” Smith, the oldest, is currently managing the family orchard while their parents recover from an accident. Each sibling has their own special talent, and for brother Cortland, it’s home-brewed cider.

Halloween is beloved in Cider Falls—with pumpkin patches, corn mazes, apple cider donuts—but for Cortland it’s the night he could move up from being a hobbyist cider-maker to turning pro. A distributor is in town, and they’ve set up a taste test in the Blue Heron bar, where bartender Cyndi is sweet on Cortland. But Cortland’s hopes are dashed when someone sets his cider shed on fire and a body is pulled out of the burning wreckage. Now, instead of making his cider dreams come true, he’s a murder suspect, and it’s up to his big sis to clear his name and find a deadly arsonist who’s rotten to the core . . .