Review — A DOOMFUL OF SUGAR: Maple Syrup Mysteries, Book 1 by Catherine Bruns

First in the new Maple Syrup cozy mystery series from USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns.

There’s nothing sweet about murder…

Leila Khoury has always believed that everyone loved her father as much as they loved his artisanal maple syrup. But when he’s killed, and she returns to Sugar Ridge, Vermont to take over his business, she starts to realize how much of his life she’s left untapped.

With her brother under suspicion, her mother just barely holding it together, and police not producing any leads, Leila will have to investigate herself if she wants answers about her father’s sticky end. But the more she learns, the more she worries that there won’t be a sappy ending to the story.

Published: October 2022

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My Thoughts

I’d been in the mood for a fun cozy mystery. This is my third in a row, all failures, which might be a sign for me to move away from the genre.

What I didn’t like:

Leila, our main character, is the kind of person I’d avoid, making it difficult to force myself to hang out with her, even fictionally. She’s back in her hometown about five whole minutes before she starts randomly accusing people of murdering her father. Everyone gets a turn at her finger pointing. I’m surprised she didn’t accuse her mother.She flits from one accusation to the next with little proof, then withdraws the accusations just as quickly with just as little proof.Despite her consistent meddling in the murder investigation, she acts shocked and outraged when one of her “suspects” later confronts her.The murder isn’t all that complicated to solve, making the cops appear stupid.The killer does the “true confession” ending, boasting about everything to the next intended victim, which of course allows time for said victim to avoid death.The business in this story, a maple syrup company, is called Sappy Endings. I will remember that forever because the characters referred to it by name 72,695 times. That might be a minor exaggeration, but not once did anyone say “the business,” “the company,” “the office,” or just plain “work.” Ugh.

What I did like:

The story ended.

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