
Maple Mayhem (A Sugar Grove Mystery)
Registered by
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 1/12/2018
This Book is Currently in the Wild!



1 journaler for this copy...

I got this maple-sugar-themed mystery from Barnes and Noble. It's from a series that began with Drizzled With Death, and while that book didn't wow me, I liked the maple-sugar tie-in well enough to try this one. (It'll make a timely release, too, as sugaring season is due to begin in March!)
This book has a somewhat unusual twist, with a focus on updating the syrup production via a cooperative. When a saboteur starts targeting the participants, attention is focused on a nasty local character - who turns up dead...
I chuckled a bit at the opening sentences, which referred to an incident in a previous book, where the main character's beloved, sporty little convertible lost a match with a stray cassowary . But the choice of such an impractical car for this area and climate put me off in book 1, and while it's probably meant as a character-quirk, I found it a very unrelatable one.
There are other issues, from the main character's often-troublesome extended family, the still-miffed local cop who picks on her after she broke up with him, and the ongoing concerns of trying to run a business. As cozies go, the story's OK, but for wacky-extended-family series I prefer Donna Andrews. Still, this one made me want to visit the nearest sugarhouse {wry grin}.
The high point here: the recipes at the end, including the simple and tasty "Maple Butter"!
This book has a somewhat unusual twist, with a focus on updating the syrup production via a cooperative. When a saboteur starts targeting the participants, attention is focused on a nasty local character - who turns up dead...
I chuckled a bit at the opening sentences, which referred to an incident in a previous book, where the main character's beloved, sporty little convertible lost a match with a stray cassowary . But the choice of such an impractical car for this area and climate put me off in book 1, and while it's probably meant as a character-quirk, I found it a very unrelatable one.
There are other issues, from the main character's often-troublesome extended family, the still-miffed local cop who picks on her after she broke up with him, and the ongoing concerns of trying to run a business. As cozies go, the story's OK, but for wacky-extended-family series I prefer Donna Andrews. Still, this one made me want to visit the nearest sugarhouse {wry grin}.
The high point here: the recipes at the end, including the simple and tasty "Maple Butter"!

Journal Entry 2 by
GoryDetails
at Parker's Maple Barn & Sugar House in Mason, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, March 06, 2018


Released 2 yrs ago (3/6/2018 UTC) at Parker's Maple Barn & Sugar House in Mason, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:

[See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2018 Wine+Food Release Challenge. ***