This time of year, there’s nothing quite so lovely as the fall foliage in Sugar Ridge, Vermont. People come from all over the Northeast to see the vibrant colors of yellow, orange and red that decorate my hometown. Leaf peepers is what we call them. They also pick pumpkins, take pictures, and then stop over at my maple syrup farm for lattes, organic syrup, or some of my mother’s Middle Eastern baklava, which she makes from the syrup. I honestly didn’t expect to be back in Sugar Ridge for autumn this year, but life has a funny way of working out sometimes.

My name is Leila Khoury. I’m a teacher in Florida who returned home for my father’s funeral last week. It looks like I’m here to stay. . .well, for a little while, at least. Dad’s will stipulated that he wanted me to run his maple syrup farm, Sappy Endings, for at least one year. After the year is up, I can either sell it or stay on. The jury is still out on that decision, for several reasons.

To begin with, I’m currently living with my mother. We’ve always had a lukewarm relationship that didn’t improve when my fiancé broke our engagement four years ago. My parents were born in Lebanon, and they arranged the marriage since it’s a common practice in their country. I didn’t expect to fall in love with a man that my mother handpicked for me, and it only made things worse. I never did tell her why we broke up (no, he wasn’t a cheater) but that’s a story for another time.

Instead of monitoring study halls, teaching history and trying to deal with year-round humidity, I now get up at the crack of dawn to pay vendors and arrange tours of the farm, in addition to about one hundred other things. Sappy Endings has over 500 maple trees and 300 acres of land. I’d like to do the jobs that Dad intended for me, such as tap trees and making syrup, but Noah, his hired hand, doesn’t think I’m ready yet. I have my suspicions about him but then again, I’m suspicious of everyone these days.

You see, I’m looking for a killer. Yes, you heard right. My father’s death was no accident. He was murdered, but it was staged to look like a robbery gone wrong. Dad was alone in his office one night at Sappy Endings when someone shot him. There are signs to prove that it wasn’t a robbery. Someone had a specific reason for wanting him dead. Everyone loved my father, or so I’d thought. I just need to find out what that reason was, and it will lead me to the killer. . .hopefully.

I’ve teamed up with my best friend, Heather, to find out who did this. Heather and I have been inseparable since the age of six. She’s a stylist in our small town, which means that besides knowing everyone’s original hair color, she also knows their secrets, and this will prove useful in our investigation. So, all I have to do is run the farm, mend my strained relationship with my mother and find a killer, but not necessarily in that order. Simple, right?

Life can be a sticky mess at times.

A Doomful of Sugar, A Maple Syrup Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: October 2022
Purchase Link

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.

A cozy mystery perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, this edition includes 5 delicious maple recipes for mystery readers with a sweet tooth!

About the author
Catherine Bruns is the USA Today bestselling author of the Cookies & Chance mysteries. She lives in New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and several spoiled pets. Catherine has a B.A. in English and is a former newspaper reporter and press release writer. She also writes the Italian Chef, Cindy York, and maple syrup mysteries. Her book, For Sale by Killer, won the 2019 Daphne du Maurier award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense.

Get a free e-book when you sign up for Catherine’s newsletter HERE. Please feel free to connect with her on social media as well on Facebook at Catherine Bruns Books and on Twitter at @writesmystery.

All comments are welcomed.