Friday, October 21, 2022

A Doomful of Sugar - A Review

 Review

 
A DOOMFUL OF SUGAR by Catherine Bruns
The First Maple Syrup Mystery

Leila Khoury's father was bigger than life, a wonderful man and a staple of the Vermont community he called home. She was stunned to find out he was murdered, shot at the family maple syrup farm and shop. Returning to Vermont for the funeral, her plans to return home to Florida get sidelined when she learns her father has left her the family business. As Leila gets familiar with Sappy Endings, she discovers things aren't adding up with her father's murder. Frustrated at the sheriff's lack of progress, despite his being a close friend of the family, Leila starts to look into the matter herself. A contentious relationship with her mother, a know it all basically running Sappy Endings, and a brother under suspicion leave Leila in a sticky situation. Will she be able to solve her father's murder or will she wind up being Sugar Ridge's next victim?

I really loved the first Maple Syrup Mystery. The characters are believable, the scenic location sublime, and the mystery full of surprises. I like the friendship between Leila and her best friend, Heather and I have a feeling these two will continue to find trouble together as the series progresses. Despite the fact that Leila has her own faults, she makes hasty decisions and she's somewhat presumptuous, she is a likable protagonist who is able to admit her own mistakes. I enjoyed the variety of action scenes and the ratcheting up of suspense on several occasions. I do like the romantic angle, but feel it should have been more drawn out, not being so obvious by the end of the first book in the series that a romance was indeed on the table.

A DOOMFUL OF SUGAR is a mouthwatering mystery with twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat. A memorable start to a new series I look forward to seeing what happens next as I seek to satisfy a craving for maple syrup!

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