Description (from cover):'In Sugar Grove, New Hampshire, people are serious about their maple syrup--especially Dani Greene, whose family owns the Greener Pastures Sugarhouse. But when murder disrupts the small-town sweetness, Dani pores over clues to draw out a killer...
Despite being a fourth-generation syrup maker, Dani isn't stuck in the past. She's starting a new agricultural cooperative that reduces costs for every syrup producer who joins. Everyone considers it a sweet deal except the die-hard curmudgeon Frank Lemieux--and when a saboteur starts targeting supporters, everyone suspects Frank.
But it turns out they're barking up the wrong tree when Dani finds Frank murdered in his own sugarhouse. As the sabotage continues, she realizes that Frank was framed. With the help of her family, and a handsome official from the Fish and Game Department, Dani must catch the killer before another syrup maker kicks the bucket.'
My thoughts:
Who would have thought that I would enjoy reading a cozy mystery about maple syrup? I mean it does sound kind of boring. However, the way Jessie Crockett writes has me coming back for more. I dearly enjoyed Drizzled with Death, the first book in this series and you can read my review here. As in the first book, Dani's character is hard not to like. She is a short and sassy sleuth, but she really has a big heart. She cares deeply about the small town of Sugar Grove, New Hampshire and her family's maple syrup making business. In this book, she is trying to create a cooperative for the local maple syrup makers that will benefit everyone involved. However, someone is desperately trying to make sure that it doesn't happen.
Dani is shocked when she discovers the body of Frank Lemieux, the lead complainer of the cooperative. She thought that Frank was behind a string of sabotage, but realizes after his murder, that someone else is being sinister. Who would be against something that could be so positive for the small community? As Dani tries to wrap her mind around this, she soon finds that in order to save her dream of the cooperative, she has to solve who is behind the sabotage for herself. Using her smart wits and her friends and family to help, she sets out on a hunt for a murderer.
As I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, I had a feeling that I would enjoy this one as well. I was not disappointed. Crockett delivered in this book just as she did in the first. I never thought that reading about maple syrup and how it is made and how it is such a way of life for all of the people involved, could be such an interesting thing to read about. If you have been looking for something quaint and charming to read, well this just might be something worth looking into.
Overall Rating: 5+
Title: Maple Mayhem
Author: Jessie Crockett
Series: Sugar Grove Mystery #2
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Pages: 305
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was won by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
