Maple Glaze and Murder

Holly Holmes #8

by K.E. O'Connor

A beautiful castle wedding ends in tragedy when a killer strikes. And when a member of the household is accused of the murder, Audley Castle will never be the same again…

I’m so thrilled to be a part of my amazing gran's wedding. The venue (Audley Castle) is perfect, the sun is shining, and the guests are behaving themselves. What could go wrong?

Well... life is never simple, and when Gran's friends turn out to be crooks who have their eyes on the expensive castle antiques, I know I'll have problems. But I never expected a wedding guest to be killed!

If that's not bad enough, my best friend, Princess Alice Audley, is discovered next to the victim with the murder weapon in her hand and no memory of what happened.

I have to prove her innocence. But add in the complication of my gran also being a murder suspect, a visit from my terrifying potential in-laws, and a new head of police making things difficult, and this is my trickiest mystery yet. However, like the fluffiest, lightest sponge cake, I will rise and beat this crisis.

***

Enjoy a visit to Audley Castle with the familiar faces you’ve come to love, and help solve puzzles and question suspects in this fun, cozy culinary mystery.

If you enjoyed this book, there are seven more waiting for you to binge-read.

Suggested reading

Cream Caramel and Murder
Chocolate Swirls and Murder
Vanilla Whip and Murder
Cherry Cream and Murder
Blueberry Blast and Murder
Mocha Cream and Murder
Lemon Drizzle and Murder
Maple Glaze and Murder

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

223 pages, Paperback

Published July 13, 2021

About the author

K.E. O’Connor is the author of the Witch Haven mystery series, the Crypt Witch cozy mysteries, the Lorna Shadow ghost mysteries, the Holly Holmes baking mysteries, the Zee Town paranormal cozy series, and the Old Sarum mystery series, along with other titles available if you cast the right spell. She can imagine dragons, taste cookies when they aren’t even there, and hear the crack of a witch’s broom at a hundred paces.

K.E. (the K stands for Karen) lives in the United Kingdom (it isn’t very united, but that’s a mystery for another time) among the mystical stones and fairy creatures of Somerset. She graduated from the Universities of Southampton and Reading, where she received degrees in Archaeology and Cognitive Evolution (both highly entertaining to take part in, but with the career options of a ground witch’s toe bone.)

If you’re of the curious persuasion and want to know more, visit her website at www.keoconnor.com for enlightening knowledge on all things cozy mystery, book news, and a peek into the magical world of a writer who believes animals talk and magic is just a finger click away.

To contact her, visit her Facebook page – www.facebook/keoconnorauthor, join her email list, or dust off that haunted mirror in your cellar and speak the ancient magical words to transport yourself into her lounge. There may be tea and cookies waiting, or there may be giants – it depends on her mood.

Reviews

[Linniegayl]

Well, this one basically gives everyone a happy ending (Holly, Princess Alice, Campbell, Rupert, Gran) and there's still one left in the series. the mystery was for the most part interesting. This is really a very light, somewhat flawed cozy mystery series, but I've enjoyed it overall. But as I've mentioned in previous reviews, you have to be willing to suspend reality for much of the royal part involved in the series.

[Mary]

Such a great book!

OMG! This book was everything it should have been and more! A terrific mystery wrapped around a wedding featuring some of my favorite characters. I’m afraid to say more for fear of spoiling the book for anyone. I sure hope Ms. O’Connor revisits these characters in the future. I know this series is now a permanent fixture on my re-read list. I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

[1furrball]

Fantastic Series

I have read the whole series one book after another. Sorry to see the end of Holly, Meatball, Alice, Rupert, Campbell, Gran, and Chef Heston, and all the other characters in the series. The murder plots were very intriguing and I was only right on one book who the killer was! Would love for another series with these characters. Well done K E O’Connor.

[Gordon M]

Great series!

I loved this series! It was so much fun to read! The mysteries, royal characters, visualizing the wonderful baked creations and learning more about Holly & the cast of characters and of course Meatball was very entertaining. I’m only sorry the series ended! I would love to see more stories with these wonderful characters!

[Beckey Scott]

Secrets and Exaggerations can be Deadly

So Gran and Ray are getting married. Of course there has to be a Murder at the wedding reception. Is Princess Alice truly the murderer? Has she gone insane? Can Holly solve this mess? How will Rupert’s parents react to Holly. There is a lot of events packed into this book. Truly enjoyable.

[Sherry Mosley]

Wonderful series.

I love this series. I wish there had been more. This series was fun as well as intriguing. I reccomend this series to anyone that love mysteries. They are clean wholesome fun.

[Angela Griffin]

Disappointing

I like this author; it's a shame this series ended on such a low note. Holly ended up with the wrong guy, Campbell was an unrecognizable buffoon, the murder was nonsensical, and everything felt rushed.

[gary c lehn]

Great Series......

I've enjoyed reading this wonderful series of stories, Holly Holmes Cozy Culinary Mysterys Stories. The woman baker was a fun character who never let a mystery get in her way.

[Elainebowden]

Wonderful

These books are brilliant, the characters are really enjoyable to read, the characters draw you in and you want to find out what happens next,I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cosy mystery stories.

[Valerie Mann]

A wonderful ending to a wonderful series...I recommend this series for a fun read. I especially loved the dog Meatball and his canine friends.....Meatball is a great companion to Holly the chef....made me smile many times.

[Liz Whelan]

FABULOUS

I'd love to see more stories in this Series. About Holly & Rupert, Alice & Campbell & even a Love interest for Saracen. I absolutely Loved this whole Series. Please continue onto Books 9, 10, etc.

[Ann]

such a wonderful series

I don’t want these book full of wonderful stories to end! Keep them coming ! We all will want to know more about their marriage,. Campbell and Alice, Gran and Ray and all the adventures that come along with them! Don’t stop now!

[Toni]

Enjoyed this fun romp

This was a bit hard to get through but Gran did get married with only a hitch of her old chum getting murdered and Princess Alice being the main suspect. Of course, Holly couldn't let that go uninvestigated. Definitely a good story.

[April Marie Wardle]

3 ⭐️ - another cosy and easy read + a really good way to give all of the characters a good ending. (Although I already know the author has revisited this series + characters for a Christmas book so excited to pick that up next!)

[Kim]

Will Holly and Gran have the lives they so hope to have? Will the Audleys accept Holly? Whose wedding is it anyway?

[Lorrie A Yeschick]

Great series

I really wish the author would not make this the last book in the series. I so enjoyed these, cozy, heartwarming mysteries

[Mai]

Really fun cozy

[Karin]

Who killed Daphene and why, or why not??? Better the devil you know??? I enjoyed this story and recommend the book.

[Mary j. childers]

Love and Envy

A wedding. A murder and forbidden love. So many changes and then there is murder. Jealousy can cause problems as well as being in love with the wrong person.

[Andrea Harward]

My favorite cozy mystery.Am going to miss this series!

[D A]

Love this series, and this author. Very entertaining read!

[Patrice M.]

Easy to read mystery . Light.

[kim r lucas]

a page turner

Couldn’t put it down. Lots of twists and turns. A definate page turner
She needs to write another book after the next

[Hana]

How is no one else fuming? WARNING SPOILER: few chapters (pages in) and Campbell says Alice is the love of his life??!! What ?? Stop. Gross. Done.

[Antonia]

I really can't get enough of this series, and can hardly wait to finish one book before jumping to start the next! The characters are as delicious as the recipes!

[Amanda]

Lots of twists to keep you guessing until the end. Another great mystery with a happy ending for Holly and everyone at the castle.

[Emily Shaw]

A nice closing summary to the series (minus the teased Christmas special)
We got to see more of the characters and their sweeter sides we do love chef.
It was interesting to see Campbell fly off the handle and see Holly try and cope where her loved ones were suspects!

It was a good conclusion with some red herrings!

[Max]

Finally Back To Normal

This one was way better than the previous two. It wasn't written in a derivative fashion, and the new twists in this story will hopefully set a good precedent for the subsequent ones. The most influential one since book 1.