I love when coy mysteries mix wedding festivities into the setting, in this case it's a bridal shower. All the guests make for great suspects. This book was enjoyable to read & entertaining. I love Leila's style of sleuthing and the friendship she has with Heather. The added syrup making details and yummy recipes are a welcome treat.

I adore this series. Leila is a wonderful main character, and her sidekick and BFF Heather is a good addition. Heather is getting married soon, but the wedding is in jeopardy after the death of her aunt. Leila puts her own thoughts of marriage aside to save her friend's wedding.

Syrup to no good by Catherine Bruns Is a well written book it's the second in this series. A very enjoyable and captivating book. Leila Khoury is the owner of Sappy Endings she is amazing and well written character. She has yet again found herself looking into murders when she is at the shower for her good friend, and she gets herself mixed up in it once again. The book has a great ending but not completely telling us what will happen looking forward to the next book to see what happens...

Princess Fuzzypants here: Leila would do anything to help her best friend have her dream wedding. Little did she know when she signed up as Maid of Honour that it would include solving a murder. An obnoxious aunt by marriage is murdered after the shower and the big question is who didn’t want to murder the woman. Leila cannot refuse when her friend begs her to find the killer or her wedding will have to be postponed. Little did either of them know the killer was going to do anything to prevent that from happening. And when warnings failed to stop Leila, the villain took a more direct approach.

Complicating matters further is the return of the fiance who left Leila five years before. He wants to rekindle. Leila wants nothing to do with him but her mother is determined to ignore Leila’s wishes and push her back with him. Obviously new beau Noah is not impressed.

Leila skates perilously close to the Darwin line a few times but she never seems totally oblivious to the dangers. It makes for a thrilling and enjoyable read. Four purrs and two paws up.

Welcome to Sugar Ridge and the Sappy Endings maple syrup farm complete with the Sappy Hour Café where you can get some tasty treats (btw recipes are at the end of the story). Great stand alone cozy that features a sweet sleuth who runs the family maple syrup farm. There are easy to relate to characters who draw you into the story such as Leila Koury our intrepid sleuth who inherited her father’s farm business and solved his murder as well as her bff Heather Turcot, who just wants a fairy tale wedding with no glitches. I cannot think of a bigger glitch than a murder, even if the victim was Heather’s beyond snooty and condescending, new to the family, aunt Monica. Due to money problems and propriety, if someone can’t figure out who killed Monica with a bejeweled knife, the happy couple are going to be saying their vows at the county courthouse. Heather figures that since Leila was able to solve her dad’s murder she must be the next Jessica Fletcher and just has to look into things. There is no shortage of suspects including Heather’s own uncle Grant. I would say that there were just as many misdirects and in the middle of it all is a sticky situation involving Mark, the guy who broke Leila’s heart and their engagement five years ago. Needless to say, Leila has not been sitting around waiting for him to walk back into her life. Leila has taken her emotional baggage and moved on. Thankfully, Noah, Leila’s employee, co-worker, boyfriend (she isn’t sure how to label it), has some baggage of his own and I don’t mean his adorable daughter Emma. Leila has no time, interest, or trust in Mark’s sudden desire to rekindle their relationship and take up where he left off. Besides, Leila has a murder to solve and no time for Mark’s full court press or her mother Selma’s backseat driving. So if you’re a foodie like me start at the back of the book, make one of those delectable dishes and settle for mystery that is such to keep you stuck to your seat. I give this cozy 5 out of 5 maple drenched pancakes.

Twisty cozy mystery with likeable characters and set around a family-owned maple syrup business. I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Second in series.
A good mystery with maple syrup making and murder with twists.
Like the characters and story.
In all a good mystery.
Voluntarily reviewed.

Another fun installment in the series. I love all the characters and the unique setting of a maple farm!

Syrup making, a bridal shower, murder, and recipes. The mystery was great and I really liked the characters as they are well developed. There were some twists and I was kept guessing. I look forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This series is so good so far. My only warning is that you shouldn’t read it on an empty stomach or while grocery shopping! Haha. Everything sounds so delicious. I love the setting, the characters, the character growth, and the strong female friendship. Definitely a series that you’re going to want to read!

I wrote the following review for Kings River Life Mysteryrat's Maze:
It’s Spring in Sugar Ridge, Vermont, and Leila Khoury is busy as the owner of Sappy Endings Farm in Catherine Bruns’ Syrup to No Good. This is book two in the “Maple Syrup Mysteries” and features a cast of well-developed characters and a solid mystery. Catherine does a wonderful job of providing some backstory so that this works well as a stand-alone if readers are just discovering the series.

In addition to her duties at the farm, Leila is the Maid of Honor for her best friend Heather’s upcoming wedding. Life takes a dramatic turn when Heather’s brash Aunt Monica is found murdered in her car at the close of Heather’s bridal shower. Monica’s equally unlikeable husband Grant demands that Heather postpone her wedding until the killer is found.
While Heather understands, she has been dreaming of her big day for a long time and hates the idea of a postponement. Heather asks Leila to help her find the murderer and the two begin their own investigation. The suspect list is long as Monica made more enemies than friends and Leila and Heather leave no stone unturned.

As if solving a murder wasn’t enough, Leila’s former fiance comes to town, stirring up all sorts of trouble with Leila’s new love interest and causing stress in Leila’s already tense relationship with her mother.

Catherine writes a tightly woven mystery, with lots of possible suspects and complicated family drama. The setting of spring on Sappy Endings Farm had me yearning for a visit to Vermont and for a taste of maple syrup candy. The different storylines and fast pacing of the story kept me turning the pages, wanting to see how everything would tie together. I enjoyed rooting for Leila and her friends and was stumped by several red herrings. The ending wrapped up nicely, and I look forward to reading about Leila in future adventures. The book also includes Middle Eastern recipes that made my mouth water. I wish I could sample Leila’s mother’s cooking!
https://www.krlnews.com/2024/01/syrup-to-no-good-by-catherine-bruns.html?fbclid=IwAR035HxMD4gPh-0833cmMrVCgNcGrCxChUKeBPuYRQkncVlg1LifdrYGC0Y

This was an amazing book. I highly recommend it to everyone. Great characters and a great plot. I will be looking for more books by this author. The book is superbly written. Lots of twists, turns and shocking turns of events. Please make sure you read everything by this author. All her series are amazing

Really fun second story in this series. Lots of twists and turns, and kept me guessing till the end. Excited to see where this series goes.

Here is the second title in the series that began with A Doomful of Sugar. The syrup is maple sugar syrup and the setting is Vermont. Right from the first paragraph maple syrup lovers will be salivating and readers may as well.

This book hits the marks for traditional mysteries. There is a decent plot, characters that readers will like spending time with (except with the murderer), a good setting and, even, recipes.

Protagonist Leila’s best friend is getting married. Clearly a happy occasion except in mysteries where something always will and does go wrong. In this case it is the murder of bride to be Heather’s aunt. Of course there are suspects and twists before the case is solved by the amateur sleuth.

This book will be enjoyed by fans of the genre. Many will go back to read the series starter if they missed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Leila Khoury's best friend Heather's wedding is coming up, and Leila will do anything to make sure it lives up to all her sweetest dreams. When Heather's rich and backstabbing aunt was found dead after her biradial shower , Leila will have to find the killer before Heather's dream wedding becomes a nightmare.
I liked this one, but not loved it. The mystery part is good enough. the romance part is quite good. But I find out that Heather is really annoying, She as a main character of the book. the personality is so unlikable.
3.75 stars

Overall good mystery that held my attention. I am not a big fan of Leila and her need to investigate and put her business on hold; she frequently depends on others to do for her so she can sleuth. Some of the characters were annoying and overexaggerated; there was a lot of repetition of the clues and there was so much extraneous detail that was not needed when referring to everyone’s actions; it all seemed like filler. I’ll read one more and hope I can connect more with Leila.

When syrup farm owner Leila agrees to throw an epic bridal shower for her BFF Heather, she knows she may have to deal with her terrible aunt--but she doesn't expect to find the woman dead afterwards! When Heather's uncle insists they postpone the wedding until the killer is caught, Heather insists she and Leila look into the crime. But when the two women start digging their noses into the murder, they find that the victim made even more enemies than anticipated and Leila is threatened. Will they find the killer or become the next victims?

I jumped into book two without having read book one, but plan to go back and give the first a go! This book managed to not spoil the first one, which I appreciate, and it teased it enough to make me curious to hear how it turned out. This book, meanwhile had a lot to love: an unlikable victim, a great BFF relationship, stakes for our amateur sleuths causing them to get involved, a love interest, and an interesting conclusion to the mystery. It hit a lot of cozy staples, and is a solid read for its genre.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

I think Heather Turcot was a spoiled brat. She only cared about having her big fancy wedding. I liked Toast the cat, Jason Ambrose, and Detective Ryan Barnes. I wasn't sure who the killer was.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Syrup To No Good
Maple Syrup Mysteries, Book #2
Catherine Bruns
5 Stars

Synopsis:

"With romance, recipes, and a murderer on the loose, this book will delight fans of Joanne Fluke, Jenn McKinlay, or Laura Childs." —Booklist
Spring has finally come to Sugar Ridge, Vermont, and with it the end of syrup-making season. But Leila Khoury, new owner of Sappy Endings Farm, won't be making like molasses any time soon. Her best friend Heather's wedding is coming up, and Leila will do anything to make sure it lives up to all her sweetest dreams.
Even with Leila's own romantic past stirring up trouble, everything is going to plan until the bridal shower ends up with a body count.
Heather's rich and backstabbing aunt had a whole orchard of enemies, so Leila will have her work cut out for her. Can she tap the killer before Heather's dream wedding becomes a nightmare?
Includes delicious Middle Eastern recipes! (Amazon)


Review:


The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. Leila is taking care of Sappy Endings Farm and getting things ready for her best friend’s wedding. When the shower is over, so is her aunt’s life. Leila will have to figure out who the killer is and why or else there will not be a wedding. As maid of honor, she cannot let that happen.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. Whether I was watching Leila working at the farm or getting ready for Heather’s shower, I felt that I was right there, watching all the action taking place. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider.


I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. It will be tough to wait for the next book in the series (I want to read it now).

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Poison Pen Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

In the second book in The Maple Syrup Mysteries Leila Khoury is busy running her family Sappy Endings Farm and planning her best friend Heather’s wedding. When Heather’s aunt arrives for the wedding festivities then ends up dead Leila must find the killer before the IDos .

This is such a great series , Bruns creates a fun cozy that will have you guessing until the very end .

Recipes are included at the end of the novel.

I just reviewed Syrup to No Good by Catherine Bruns. #NetGalley
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