Maple Syrup Mysteries #3
In the Blink of a Pie is Catherine Bruns’ third Maple Syrup Mystery. Sugar Ridge, Vermont, is where Leila Khoury manages the family business, Sappy Endings farm. It’s a maple syrup haven that has a farm, store, and café that all work together. Her mother runs the café, and her very serious boyfriend Noah Rivers also works at the farm and makes many a sugary treat. To celebrate the oncoming Thanksgiving season, Sappy Endings is hosting a pie-baking contest. The town is elated, and soon Leila finds herself drowning in pie entries. A very tasty problem to have, but tricky to manage when one has to keep track of who entered what pie and then choose a winner. Luckily her friend Heather, her mother, and even Noah’s daughter are all there to help keep things as organized as possible.
Everything starts off wonderfully, but quickly takes a turn for the deadly when a neighbor dies shortly after tasting one of the entries, a truly tasty looking pumpkin pie – with a dash of poison in the mix. Understandably, everyone is deeply upset and scared. While it was not Sappy Endings itself that provided the poisoned pie, the town becomes very wary of the farm and Lila finds herself facing an economic crisis. As if that isn’t bad enough, she finds herself facing some other near-fatal incidents that make it very clear the poisoned pie wasn’t a random attack. Whoever entered it was intending for someone at Sappy Endings to come to a sugary end.
Leila must not only find the killer to save her farm, but those she loves as well. Noah isn’t pleased, but also knows that he cannot stop her, with the same being true of local law enforcement. Leila’s help in solving several other mysteries in Vermont has given her enough of a reputation that her theories and clues are not ignored, and any possible lead she can provide, the detectives are ready to follow up. With her best friend Heather at her side, and Noah supporting her, Leila is well equipped to figure out who would want to bring Sappy Endings to ruin.
In the Blink of a Pie is the first Maple Syrup mystery I’ve had the pleasure to read. Catherine Bruns’ shows just how fickle the public can be for any business and how devastating it can be when fear mongering manages to get ahold of the masses. Sappy Endings didn’t even provide the poisoned pie, but they suffered heavy losses because of it. However, Leila isn’t going to give up. She is a determined heroine that faces things head on even if inside she is filled with self-doubt and turmoil. Leila and Noah’s relationship also faces some very relatable and realistic issues with their attempt to take the next step in their relationship. Children can complicate that immensely, but both of them are respectful of Noah’s daughter’s feelings and I really appreciated how that was depicted. Those who have read the first two books will enjoy this newer addition, and new readers will find themselves drawn into Leila’s story and wanting to read the first two. I do feel I should give people a little disclaimer that it does contain themes of stalking and toxic relationships. I found myself reading faster simply because I very much wanted to see that it all came out alright in the end. I won’t give any spoilers along that track, but I will say that I was satisfied with the ending. – Carla Schantz