Leila Khoury believed that everyone loved her father and his maple syrup. But when he's killed, she returns home to Sugar Ridge, Vermont to take over his maple business. Her brother is under suspicion for her father's murder and the police not producing any leads, so Leila decides to investigate her father's murder herself. But the more she learns, the more she worries that there won't be a happy ending to the story.

I enjoyed the start of this series. The characters are interesting, relatable, and likable. I am looking forward to seeing the character development in future books. The mystery is well-written, moves at a smooth pace, has a few suspects but they are believable suspects, and plenty of surprises to keep the reader guessing.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, I have not been influenced by anyone.

A Doomful of Sugar is the first book in Maple Syrup Mystery series. In this book we meet Leila Khoury, who has returned home to Sugar Ridge, Vermont, to her family's farm and Maple Syrup business. Her father was recently killed and her mother has asked her to come home. She left her teaching job in Florida with the plan to return when things were sorted out. When her father's will was read, she finds out that he has left the business to her, and now she needs to learn about the business and decide how to run it as well as return to teaching. The problem is there is someone already running the business and he doesn't want to let Leila just move in and take over. Also, the police aren't doing much to find her father's killer, so she begins to investigate herself. When there is another murder and her brother is arrested, the stakes are raised for Leila to find the real killer.

I thought this was a great beginning to a new series. I love the setting of Vermont and a maple syrup business. This is not something that I have read about before. Leila is a great protagonist. She is smart, perseverant, has great instincts and works hard. She not only learns more about the business, but begins to unravel the mystery. Unfortunately, her family is a bit of a mess. Her brother has a lot of issues to deal with and her mother meddles just a bit. As the evidence is discovered, there are some twists, some suspects taken off the list and secrets revealed. The final showdown was a bit scary and there was a surprise that helped Leila get away. There is also a bit of romance that I hope will develop over the next books in the series. If you enjoy a good cozy mystery, I recommend A Doomful of Sugar. I am looking forward to the next book in the series that I already have on my kindle.

This was a perfect cozy mystery for the fall! I appreciated the different cultural backgrounds in this story. It really distinguished it from other cozies. I enjoyed the characters and their development, the setting, and that it is set in Vermont which I find so appealing! Also, the love interest is perfect for the main character, Leila. I really don't have a lot of criticism whatsoever, except that I can't wait for the 2nd installment! This has all the elements that I love when reading a cozy! Highly recommend!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Catherine Bruns for this advanced reader's copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“You never know what tomorrow will bring.”

With her world turned upside down, again, Leila finds herself home and the new owner of the family maple syrup farm after her father’s brutal murder. Faced with a job she really didn’t want, a mother she’d never gotten along with, a desperate brother and a questionable employee or two, Leila is determined to figure out who killed her father and why. This was well thought out, with a cast of memorable characters that have me excited to see what’s up next!

Love this author and this series. The characters are fun and free spirited and the story line was great. Look forward to what’s next in the series. I would also highly recommend this to new readers and family

Leila Khoury's dad is killed and she returns to Sugar Ridge in Vermont to take over his maple syrup business. Her brother is suspected and her mother is inconsolable, so Leila takes it upon herself to investigate her father's murder.

I had such a fun time reading this book. The setting was amazing and everything felt so atmospheric and cozy. The cover is pretty cozy too, just like the ambiance of this book.

Cozy mysteries always cheer me and this book did the same. I would highly recommend this book!

I enjoyed reading this book. This book has many interesting twists. I wasn't sure who the killer was. My favorite characters are: Heather, Noah Rivers, Emma Rivers, Dorothy Rivers, and Toast the cat.

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

Catherine Bruns has written many cozy mysteries. With this title,she begins a new cozy series set in Vermont.

Leila’s father is well known for his excellent maple syrup. Leila always thought that he was well regarded and yet someone has murdered him. Why? With family members suspected and in crisis, Leila leaves Florida and returns to Vermont where she tries to figure out what happened. She is a likeable amateur sleuth and readers will enjoy following her as she figures things out.

This title will be enjoyed by those who like cozy mysteries. As is often the case with the subgenre, the setting and characters are good and the violence is muted.

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

A good start to a cozy mystery series by an author new to me. Leila returns home to Vermont after her father is murdered. She takes over the maple syrup company, and decides to find out who killed him when her family comes under suspicion. Enjoyed this one, and kept me guessing. Would recommend.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

I am a big fan of Catherine Bruns' books. She knows how to write great characters, and A Doomful of Sugar is no exception. Leila is back in her hometown after the death of her father to run the maple tree farm. Was the death an accident?

Leila is a great main character. She is flawed and trying to find her way. I enjoyed seeing her growth throughout the book. The supporting characters were entertaining as well. The maple tree farm is a character in itself! I can't wait to read more from the series.

Returning home from Florida, Leila Khoury learns her father has been murdered and the maple sugar operation has been left to her to run. As Leila tries to figure out who could have killed her father, the trails gets way to close to home for comfort. Full of maple syrup recipes, the story still moves pretty quickly. Thanks to netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A Doomful of Sugar is the first Maple Syrup cozy mystery by Catherine Bruns. Released 25th Oct 2022 by Sourcebooks on their Poisoned Pen Press imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

It's nice to find a new series by a popular and prolific author. This is a fun small town farm cozy set in Vermont in and around protagonist Leila's family's maple sugar farm. She returns to her hometown to try to help her family after her father's violent death. Things aren't on the level and when suspicion falls on her brother, she determines to get to the bottom of the mystery before anyone else gets killed.

This is a fun, very light, well written murder mystery with an intelligent young female protagonist. In small-town cozy style, the book is peopled by characters who are by turns nosy, exasperating, fun, or just odd. It's a nice distraction to figure out "whodunit", and the plot moves along at a good clip and doesn't drag or hiccup. The story is lighthearted and flows well. The language is clean and the violence occurs off-page.

The author has also included some maple syrup themed recipes in the back of the book.

Four stars. Very fun. It would make a good selection for public library acquisition, home use, or possibly a buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

When Leila Khoury’s father is found murdered at his maple farm, Leila returns to VT and starts looking into who killed her father. Her brother is the prime suspect; could it really be him? What about Noah, her father’s employee? A customer?

Being a New Englander who makes maple syrup, I had to read this book when a fellow Bookstagram told me about it. What a fun cozy mystery! The cover is spot on for the book and really adorable. Leila, being an amateur detective, was a little annoying and immature at times. I felt like anybody that walked in her path was blamed for her fathers death, but I guess the irrational part came from all the heartache of losing her father. I loved Noah’s character and how the author had me not liking him so much at first to making him so likable that he was my favorite character. This book has mystery, love, and New England charm. The book also includes a few recipes at the end that look delicious. Im definitely trying the maple shortbread cookies!

Leila Khoury has always believed that everyone loved her father as much as they loved his maple syrup. When he's killed, she returns to Sugar Ridge, Vermont to take over his business. When her brother becomes a suspect, Leila investigates to find the truth about her father's sticky end.
This was a great start to a cozy mystery series. Leila is a likeable character, and the side characters are interesting. The plot was well thought out, and I couldn’t figure out whodunit until the big reveal. I recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and author for this ARC. A Doomful of Sugar by Catherine Bruns is the first in a cozy series, and I had so much fun reading it. Also comes with some awesome recipes which I actually tried and look good. I also won this book in a prize in a contest and I got a little extra booklet with the recipes. I'm looking forward to books following up in the series!

A Doomful of Sugar by Catherine Bruns is the first of a cozy mystery series, and I have to admit that it was a lot of fun! As with most cozies, there was an animal that stole the show and, in this case, it was Toast the cat! He had a big enough part that I fell in love with him, and being the cat person I am, he made me very happy. The Vermont setting at a family-run maple syrup company was unique and interesting, and I loved that it taught me a little bit about syrup since I don't know anything about it at all except that I like it. The mystery itself was a good one as well, and the whodunnit wasn't anyone that I would have expected. There is a little bit of romance between Leila and the hunky employee at the business, and the tension was real but super sweet too. I wouldn't call that the focus of the story or anything, but it was just enough to be a nice addition to the story.

For the most part, I really enjoyed the audiobook for A Doomful of Sugar as well and would gladly listen to Lameece Issaq narrate future books in this series. At times her narration felt really heartfelt and real, but then at other times, it felt a bit more perfunctory for lack of a better word which was kind of strange. That being said, the majority of her narration was just fine, and I would still tell people to listen to it. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries that involve both family drama AND murder, this just might be the book for you! I will for sure be reading any other books that Bruns puts out for this series, and I am definitely planning to check out her backlist titles as well. This was the perfect escape from real life, and I really enjoyed the various characters too. There were some funny moments and other times that made me smile, and all of this together made for a wonderful experience.

The first book in a a new series set in Vermont on a maple syrup farm. Leila Khoury returns to Vermont when her father is killed at his farm, Sappy Endings, and no one is more surprised than her when the will is read and she's inherited the farm. She'd run to Florida for a teaching job four years previously when her arranged marriage had ended before it began, when her fiancee had, well, dumped her.

Overall, it was well written, the mystery was good and the setting unique. Some maple syrup-themed recipes at the back as well (yum!), several of which I might actually try for a change! There were quite a few characters which, really, is fine, as it's a farm and a town and there needs to be a base for suspects, and there is always some seemingly irrelevant information in a first book, as the author establishes place and themes.

It was a pleasant and enjoyable enough read for the most part and while cosies are generally my go to, I found an overabundance of cosy tropes and perhaps I'm just getting a bit jaded by them. Cosies are forumalic and gentle by nature, but sometimes it feels like short shrift to always get 'Just as XYZ was about to happen, X arrived and knocked the gun (usually) out of his/her hand,' thereby saving the day FOR the MC, rather than the MC figuring a way out of it on her own. You know?

Anyway, a solid three stars for a light, pleasant read in a new and interesting setting. Despite my grumbles, it's definitely a series going on my TBR pile, as I think it will be fun to follow as it progresses.

I have a mixed reaction to Liela since she is impatient and reacts badly in some instances (like confronting a suspect blurting out accusations--talk about stupid), then she has moments where she is caring and likeable. The mother, Selma, expected Liela to get married and be a homemaker rather than have a career and they still don't get along. I appreciated Liela's best friend, Heather as the support system for Liela.

The beginning was slow with a whole lot of backstory and descriptions with memories of her father as she is greiving. After the first few slow chapters it eventually picked up and I finally got into the story. I actually had started the story, but was so put off I set it aside for a couple of months before coming back to it. That is just an FYI, it does pick up and get better.

The mystery itself had some good meat to it and wasn't obvious with good red herrings. I enjoyed it after those first rough chapters and looking back on it, it was entertaining overall. The killer reveal was nail biting and suspenseful--my favorite.

Rating: Good - after a slow start it improves and the mystery is worth it.

A Doomful of Sugar is the first book in Catherine Bruns’ Maple Sugar Mystery Series. Leila’s family owns a maple sugar farm, Sappy Endings, in Vermont. After a broken engagement, Leila had moved to Florida to escape memories. Her brother, Simon, is a reporter for the local newspaper. Neither one has an interest in running the farm. Leila has come home for the reading of her father’s will. He was murdered in the office at the farm. Her father had recently changed his will. He wanted Leila to run the business for one year before deciding if they would keep or sell the farm. Leila agrees to do this because she is intent on figuring out who shot her father. And believe me, there are plenty of suspects. This is a fun, quick, cozy mystery. There is a twist at the end when the murderer is revealed. I give it a solid 4 stars.