Sugar Snapped

A Juli Butler Mystery #2

by Barbara Witek

It’s time for the Lewis County Fair and Juli’s organic human and pet café is the talk of New Hope. But amidst the excitement, her ex-boyfriend’s appearance and revelations about his murky past have thrown a wrench in her plans with the Sheriff.

When David announces he’s still married to Rita Davis, owner of Nailed It! Salon and Juli’s new friend, no one is happy about it, especially Rita’s fiancé Paul. When Paul winds up dead on the fair midway, David is the prime suspect. Juli knows he’s not a killer, but if she doesn’t help clear his name, he’ll be stuck in New Hope–along with all the chaos he brings.

When it appears David, Rita and Paul are caught in a tangled web of secrets, things take a dark turn. As Chase delves deeper into David’s shadowy past, he unearths more than he expected, bringing to light secrets Juli had hoped would stay buried. Can Juli navigate through this maze of deception and clear David’s name, or will the skeletons in their closets come back to haunt them all?

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 14, 2025

About the author

I live in New York with my husband and 2 rambunctious black labs (Max & Marley) There is never a dull moment in our world.

When I'm not writing, I'm enjoying empty-nester life in the cul-de-sac. I also enjoy cross-country skiing and skating, hiking, anything crafty, and competitive game nights with family and friends!

I'm a firm believer in love at first sight and finding lost loves.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iced feelings on this book but it’s a solid 3.5/5 stars. I definitely would recommend reading book one first as I don’t think this stands up as well as a stand alone that’s part of a series. At times for me the prose was overly explanatory which got a bit repetitive but for the most part the story flowed well. To me this walks a very fine line of mystery and romance and I feel it’s more romance than mystery. I did like the characters but circling back to the reading of book one first I felt there was a lot of backstory that I was missing and thus made a connection to characters a bit more difficult. I enjoyed the small town charm and there were some crazy shenanigans that were quite amusing. Definitely interested in more of this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's time for the Lewis County Fair! Everyone is excited about all the food, rides and competitions, but nothing ruins the good times like a murder! Even with her boyfriend the Sheriff telling her to stay out of things, Juli jumps right into the investigation. This story is full of romantic entanglements and more than a fair share of secrets. Wonderful characters and a sheepdog and a parrot definitely keep things interesting! Can they ever sort this mess out. I loved this book and I can't wait for more to come!

[Sahar's Honest Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Secrets

It is a county fair with a side of murder. Juli wants to find the killer. She knows her ex did not do it. Chase, the sheriff, and Juli’s love interest, does not want Juli to investigate, but she wants her ex-boyfriend out of town, so she is compelled to clear his name. However, soon secrets Juli wants to stay hidden will come to the surface.

Who killed Paul, and what were Juli’s secrets? If you like murder mysteries with twists you won’t see coming, you might like this entertaining story.

[Kari Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Juli Butler Mystery series didn't disappoint! I love the chemistry of Juli and Chase with their on again off again romance, and the crazy antics of the sheepdog and parrot give the story that extra sparkle. Throw in a county fair and a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end, and you have a fantastic read! I can't wait until the next installment.

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries]

Exciting mystery

Another hilarious, rollercoater mystery in an exciting series! Good to see there's more books coming out and an audiobook, yay!