What do you think?
Rate this book
Oh Fudge! Cozy Mystery #1
Maple Can Be Murder
An alternate title/cover edition can be found here.
*** Coffee Break Cozies – Delicious Cozy Mysteries You Can Devour in One Sitting!***
Welcome to Cider Island – a town where anyone who’s anyone knows something about someone. It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush.
With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney.
With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder.
Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.
*** Coffee Break Cozies – Delicious Cozy Mysteries You Can Devour in One Sitting!***
Welcome to Cider Island – a town where anyone who’s anyone knows something about someone. It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush.
With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney.
With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder.
Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.
66 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 9, 2016
1389 people are currently reading
1226 people want to read
About the author
Grace Lemon
3 books27 followersWhen she's not racing around after her three busy kids, or reminding her husband to pick up his dirty socks, author Grace Lemon loves to whip up a deliciously devious cozy mystery from her country home in the Northern Canadian backwoods.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
March 2, 2017
Maple Syrup Murder by Grace Lemon was a lovely surprise, not only was it well written and easy to read it was also a free download for me last week on Amazon. I very much enjoyed this mystery set on a Maple farm. It reminded me of the time I was in Montreal during sugar shack season at Cabana Sucre, a wonderful experience if you ever get the chance to visit and sample Maple Syrup Celebrated and watch it in its purest form turn into liquid gold! This story was easy to picture and oddly plausible as a cozy short. It is fun, fast and has a great leading lady as a character. I would not hesitate to read another in this series for sure. A quick cozy short that made me smile!
March 27, 2019
Kindle Freebie
The computer ate my review and I don't feel like retyping it. This book is too short to really get a feel for the small town and some of the secondary characters. The main character Ida Noe (yes she knows how her name sounds when you say it fast) is a nosy old lady. She's hyper critical of older people and younger people and constantly is an odds with her best friend. The mystery is a little odd. I figured out who the killer was but the motive was a surprise. It's rather far fetched. There's a secondary mystery that sounds just as improbable but is not.
The included maple recipes sound really good and I'm not deleting this book until I copy some of them down. Maple caramel fudge sauce anyone?
The computer ate my review and I don't feel like retyping it. This book is too short to really get a feel for the small town and some of the secondary characters. The main character Ida Noe (yes she knows how her name sounds when you say it fast) is a nosy old lady. She's hyper critical of older people and younger people and constantly is an odds with her best friend. The mystery is a little odd. I figured out who the killer was but the motive was a surprise. It's rather far fetched. There's a secondary mystery that sounds just as improbable but is not.
The included maple recipes sound really good and I'm not deleting this book until I copy some of them down. Maple caramel fudge sauce anyone?
October 23, 2018
The first thing I’ll say about this book is that I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. I have read several cozy mystery books recently, and just about all of them had more to offer than this one.
Now, I understand that not everyone can spell or fully understands grammar, and that the stressful process of e-book publishing can lead some people to rush the proofreading process, but fundamentally this book comes over as either lazy, cynical, or just badly written.
The protagonist, astonishingly named “Ida Noe”, makes and sells maple syrup fudge somewhere in Canada, and so far EVERY SINGLE mention of this fudge has an over-the top adjective, such as “delicious”, “scrumptious”, “mouth-watering” or whatever. Potential perpetrators are set up by way of some very cliched clues, but none of this is enough for the reader to even try and figure out the mystery. That requires the protagonist to look up something from fifty years before in the local library, and then not reveal it until the end of the book.
Sure, there are a lot of the the usual cozy tropes: pet sidekick, friend in trouble, dead two-dimensional character, clueless but good-looking cop and so on, but fundamentally it’s just not a very good book.
Now, I understand that not everyone can spell or fully understands grammar, and that the stressful process of e-book publishing can lead some people to rush the proofreading process, but fundamentally this book comes over as either lazy, cynical, or just badly written.
The protagonist, astonishingly named “Ida Noe”, makes and sells maple syrup fudge somewhere in Canada, and so far EVERY SINGLE mention of this fudge has an over-the top adjective, such as “delicious”, “scrumptious”, “mouth-watering” or whatever. Potential perpetrators are set up by way of some very cliched clues, but none of this is enough for the reader to even try and figure out the mystery. That requires the protagonist to look up something from fifty years before in the local library, and then not reveal it until the end of the book.
Sure, there are a lot of the the usual cozy tropes: pet sidekick, friend in trouble, dead two-dimensional character, clueless but good-looking cop and so on, but fundamentally it’s just not a very good book.
October 11, 2017
Solved the mystery faster than Jessica Fletcher. Funny, witty and downright easy to read. The author never put anything into the story that would hinder the plot or bore the reader.
February 22, 2018
A neat short cozy. I know more about maple syrup now than I did before too. Sounds like a complete overload of sugar and calories, but can't be any worse than the delicious salted caramel sauce my daughter in law gives out at Christmas :)
November 23, 2016
What a nice little novella it was short and too the point.
October 8, 2018
Quick read, and nice cozy mystery!
November 14, 2016
My thoughts: First, the disclaimer. "I purchased a copy of this book when it was offered free. All opinions are my own." That done, I was definitely intrigued by the premise of MAPLE SYRUP MYSTERY enough so that I took a chance on a new-t0-me author. Of course, it was free when I did so that sweetened the deal.
The story could've benefited from some basic editing (and the author could use a crash course on comma-usage) but it was a quick read, rather hokey in spots, but funny. As the author no doubt intended, I laughed out loud several places, so it is a great comedy cozy mystery. You know it will be funny when the main character has the name Ida Noe. (If you don't get it, say it fast.) And I will admit that even though I know the basic formula for cozies, I did NOT guess who the villain was, though it was so obvious when it was revealed.
There was no faith message, but it was sweet, clean, and cozy, with nothing to complain about. And it was short, only 61 pages, so a quick read for a quiet hour. I would read more by this author and might check out the Candy Corn Crime mentioned at the top of the page.
If you like cozy mysteries, check out MAPLE SYRUP MYSTERY
April 4, 2017
I liked the character of Ida Noe, even if she did get a lot of jokes about her name, and her friend, Eldon. This was an extremely short book and really didn't get into the investigation by the police and the usual antagonism between the law and the amateur detective. Still, it was a good, light read.
March 7, 2022
While searching the Kindle store for free cozy mysteries, I came along this interesting title and said to myself, why not?
When I first started reading I wasn't sure I was going to like it but I quickly gained interest once the plot picked up. The mystery was interesting enough. I figured out the culprit pretty early due to some obvious hints on but as for the 'why' part, that threw me a little and to be honest I think the explanation was a little thrown together at the last minute.
I didn't much care for the characters. Ida Noe, the MC, was ok but she came of kinda nasty towards others sometimes. As for her friend, Maura-not a fan. The dog, the plump black lab, was named Smudge- I mean how cute is that? I did like the librarian. She needed more screen time if you ask me. The author clearly enjoys giving her characters unique and memorable names with personalities to match.
I have two main issues with this story:
1) The negative light the new cop was given. I mean I understand the usual, "the cops aren't helping so I'll solve it myself" theme that these mysteries tend to carry which is cool because the average joe/jane gets to dip their toes into the crime solving gig. HOWever....the attitudes toward this new cop were negative to the point that it sometimes came off rude and uncalled for.
2) While I did like the general maple syrup and fudge aesthetic, there was so much of that it kinda made me ill. I felt as if I'd eaten way too many sweets and needed something savory, ya know? This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a personal observation.
I'm still debating on whether or not to continue the series. I really liked that it was clean and quick.. And Smudge of course. He's the real hero of the story after all. I'd recommend this to cozy mystery fans with a sweet tooth. 2.8 stars!
When I first started reading I wasn't sure I was going to like it but I quickly gained interest once the plot picked up. The mystery was interesting enough. I figured out the culprit pretty early due to some obvious hints on but as for the 'why' part, that threw me a little and to be honest I think the explanation was a little thrown together at the last minute.
I didn't much care for the characters. Ida Noe, the MC, was ok but she came of kinda nasty towards others sometimes. As for her friend, Maura-not a fan. The dog, the plump black lab, was named Smudge- I mean how cute is that? I did like the librarian. She needed more screen time if you ask me. The author clearly enjoys giving her characters unique and memorable names with personalities to match.
I have two main issues with this story:
1) The negative light the new cop was given. I mean I understand the usual, "the cops aren't helping so I'll solve it myself" theme that these mysteries tend to carry which is cool because the average joe/jane gets to dip their toes into the crime solving gig. HOWever....the attitudes toward this new cop were negative to the point that it sometimes came off rude and uncalled for.
2) While I did like the general maple syrup and fudge aesthetic, there was so much of that it kinda made me ill. I felt as if I'd eaten way too many sweets and needed something savory, ya know? This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a personal observation.
I'm still debating on whether or not to continue the series. I really liked that it was clean and quick.. And Smudge of course. He's the real hero of the story after all. I'd recommend this to cozy mystery fans with a sweet tooth. 2.8 stars!
February 7, 2017
"Entertaining, quick read"
This is chock full of descriptive detail, and is a pleasure to read for the imaginative use of language and dialogue. I found it difficult though to see the 'wood for the trees'; I did finally manage to find the plot, hidden away in the undergrowth, and it was neatly resolved in the final pages. Is it a prerequisite for 'cozy' mysteries to have a few recipes tagged on to the end of the story? I do hope not. There's a time and a place, surely?
This is chock full of descriptive detail, and is a pleasure to read for the imaginative use of language and dialogue. I found it difficult though to see the 'wood for the trees'; I did finally manage to find the plot, hidden away in the undergrowth, and it was neatly resolved in the final pages. Is it a prerequisite for 'cozy' mysteries to have a few recipes tagged on to the end of the story? I do hope not. There's a time and a place, surely?
August 26, 2020
Well to me this was more like a short story rather than a book but it was still very entertaining and fast paced. I think we may have found our new Miss Marple or perhaps it should be Miss Maple .
Yea a little old lady out every thing together and solved not only the murder but also the......oops I almost gave it all away. I just can't do that , guess you'll need to read it your self.
Yea a little old lady out every thing together and solved not only the murder but also the......oops I almost gave it all away. I just can't do that , guess you'll need to read it your self.
November 8, 2021
I read a lot of cozies. This one just didn't do it for me. It felt very flat both in character development and describing the town. I also didn't like that the story wasn't done in a way that we could be along side the main character solving the mystery. Instead she randomly found a piece of paper that lead to her solving two mysteries but we were told at the end instead of show. I also strongly disliked the main character. She is judgmental and just boring.
June 17, 2019
It is a quick, fun read - perfect for an afternoon coffee break.
August 30, 2018
Short and sweet
Quick cute cozy mystery. Loved the names of the characters (Ida Noe, the sassy fudge shop owner and amateur detective) (a town resident, someone with the last name Blunder) and the setting, a cute little fudge shop. Probably the most shocking twist (and funny) in this little mystery, is the way the little old librarian hustles Ida out of two pounds of fudge for after hours time at the library. This book got me in the mood for Fall and fudge.
Quick cute cozy mystery. Loved the names of the characters (Ida Noe, the sassy fudge shop owner and amateur detective) (a town resident, someone with the last name Blunder) and the setting, a cute little fudge shop. Probably the most shocking twist (and funny) in this little mystery, is the way the little old librarian hustles Ida out of two pounds of fudge for after hours time at the library. This book got me in the mood for Fall and fudge.
September 30, 2017
This is a delightful little book! Being a "cozy" mystery, it's something between a novella and a short story in length. With a mere ten chapters, plus an epilogue, a reluctant detective manages to put together the pieces of a small-town murder AND smuggling ring!
I love that the heroine is anything but your typical sleuth. Ida Noe is a middle-aged, ordinary spinster, who is out of shape and overly plump, due to excessive indulgence in the homemade confections she makes to sell at her "Oh, Fudge!" sweet shop. This single point-of-view character does some amateur investigating at the urging of a frequent customer and former cop (also a romantic interest), when her long-time friend is accused of murder. She huffs and puffs and bumbles her way through, but manages to uncover the clues that point to an utterly unexpected suspect before the local constabulary even has an inkling of what happened. On top of that, some inconsistencies in behavior and circumstances with another acquaintance tip Ida off to the linchpin of a maple syrup smuggling ring, too boot!
If you are looking for good, clean fun, a bit of romance and a tad of suspense in an easy read, then this is the book for you. You could easily devour it (pun intended) in a single sitting, or nibble at the story during your lunch break or in the doctor's waiting room. With several delectable recipes at the end of the book, you may find yourself enjoying the sweet rewards of Maple Syrup Murder long after you've finished reading!
I love that the heroine is anything but your typical sleuth. Ida Noe is a middle-aged, ordinary spinster, who is out of shape and overly plump, due to excessive indulgence in the homemade confections she makes to sell at her "Oh, Fudge!" sweet shop. This single point-of-view character does some amateur investigating at the urging of a frequent customer and former cop (also a romantic interest), when her long-time friend is accused of murder. She huffs and puffs and bumbles her way through, but manages to uncover the clues that point to an utterly unexpected suspect before the local constabulary even has an inkling of what happened. On top of that, some inconsistencies in behavior and circumstances with another acquaintance tip Ida off to the linchpin of a maple syrup smuggling ring, too boot!
If you are looking for good, clean fun, a bit of romance and a tad of suspense in an easy read, then this is the book for you. You could easily devour it (pun intended) in a single sitting, or nibble at the story during your lunch break or in the doctor's waiting room. With several delectable recipes at the end of the book, you may find yourself enjoying the sweet rewards of Maple Syrup Murder long after you've finished reading!
December 25, 2021
I wish Grace Lemon had written more novellas but it appears as if there are only two to read. Just a fun and clean maple syrup canadian mystery. I would have left out the secular reference to Brad Pitt but overall just a great senior sleuthing mystery!
September 8, 2020
A page turner:
It was a very fun book to read I enjoyed the directors I didn't to stop reading lol. I will recommend it to my friends.
It was a very fun book to read I enjoyed the directors I didn't to stop reading lol. I will recommend it to my friends.
June 3, 2024
Maple Syrup Murder is a novella by Grace Lemon. In the beginning of the book, we meet Ida Noe, a woman who owns a fudge shop. However, on this particular morning, there’s a police officer who wants to talk to her about an incident that happened at “Sweeney’s Sugar Bush” the prior day. There was a death and the police are looking into the matter.
I feel like the author is forcing their own opinion on these characters, rather than allowing us to form our own opinions. With a character like Ida, as an example, the author keeps trying to encourage the thought that she’s a good person. Yet the actual behaviour of Ida goes completely a different way. My first thought about the book is that Ida feels like a really rude person. She has all sorts of nasty thoughts about others. We’ll use Grover Webb, a “rookie police officer”, as an example. He’s relatively new to town, as Ida thinks. However, she thinks all sorts of mean-spirited things about him, making rude assumptions about him, even though this is the first time they’re meeting. She doesn’t even know him, yet has all these nasty things to say? Throughout the rest of the book, she continues making these mental remarks about him. Even though she barely knows him. I don’t think I would like to know her in real life. Considering Ida is meant to be a protagonist, it seems really awkward that she’s this much of a nasty person. She even later threatens the town librarian, Mrs. Bergen.
With the murder victim, characters keep trying to insist that he’s a bad person, because he’s a product reviewer for a newspaper. However, from his actual behaviour, he hasn’t done anything wrong. If there’s something wrong with the product, or way it was produced, that’s certainly not his fault. At least he’s honest about the product, and doesn’t lie about it. At this point, I’d like to note that a couple of times it’s mentioned that he showed up “uninvited” to the “Sweeney’s 3rd Annual Open House”. But… It’s an open house for the business. The mere fact that it’s an open house means that he is invited. That’s the entire point of them; they’re a promotional event for the business, where all sorts of people (critics and reporters included) can come to the event and see what’s happening at the business. I feel like maybe the author doesn’t know what an open house is…? With Maura as well, she’s a friend of Ida, soon to be suspected of murder. While Ida keeps trying to tell us that Maura’s a good person, her actual behaviour suggests otherwise. She bullies a teenage employee, referring to her as a “bubble-headed boob”, and yet she soon after remarks that “It doesn’t pay to have a heart as big as mine you know, Ida.” Ummm… What? The character was literally just bullying a teenager, and is certainly not a good person. Ida has her own rude thoughts about the teenager later, and it got pretty creepy with the way the author was writing it. REALLY CREEPY. Especially the way Ida was fixated on her, despite never having even one conversation with her. She would stereotype this teenage girl, mentally making creepy remarks and assumptions about her, despite never even talking to her. And with all sorts of characters, I feel like they’re not well written at all. The author has stereotypes and specific ways that we’re meant to think about these characters, even though this is basically encouraging hatred on people who weren’t doing anything wrong; using all sorts of negative stereotypes and degrading remarks about people. It’s really awkward and poorly done.
Also, I feel like a lot of the stuff mentioning the dog is somewhat awkward. So, as I mentioned earlier, she owns a fudge shop. And she brings this dog to work with her. However, a quick search informs me that some fudge is toxic to dogs, because of chocolate content; she even sells chocolate fudge in her shop). That seems like a very serious accident waiting to happen. And even the fudge without chocolate can cause some health issues for dogs (due to sugar, etc), from what I was reading. Another matter is that, considering it is a shop that primarily serves food, I feel like an ordinary pet dog (that is not for disability reasons) should NOT be there because of hygiene issues. As we move along to story aspects, the prior day (via a flashback) she has the fudge with the dog in the backseat of the car, that she’s taking to an open house. The fudge and dog should not be that close, because there’s the potential that it might try to eat it, which could make the dog sick. And considering it is for human consumption, the dog should not be that close because of the aforementioned hygiene reasons. It’s like the author does not understand the basics of pet dogs and why they should not be in food shops. I feel like the author ought to have done more research. Like, I understand that she wants her character to have a pet. But a lot of the points in the book featuring the pet feel completely out of place; the dog should not be in a lot of these scenarios.
As for the murder investigation aspects… Honestly, it feels like the author had no clue about any of it. So the basics are that Ida’s friend is a suspect in the murder. One of Ida’s regular customers is an ex-police officer. And… for some weird reason, he suggests that Ida should go and dig around for clues at the crime scene… Even though, of all people, he ought to know better, being that anything that she tampers with would be inadmissible as evidence. She later finds a notebook that belonged to the victim, which she uses to track down the supposed reason for the murder. But any half-decent defense attorney would be able to get the defendant off from the case. That notebook and the specific page was handled by multiple people, and any defense attorney could argue that it might have been tampered with by any of those people. As for the rest of the case, I doubt it would hold up either, because there was pretty much zero evidence to it, and the evidence that was there was absolutely rubbish that could have been explained by so many other things. For example, there are some tire tracks from a 4-wheeler at the crime scene. However, that doesn’t point to any one person. It could have been any number of people who drove it. The tire tracks could have come from any point before or after the crime; just because they’re at the crime scene, it doesn’t mean they are related to the murder. And the writing in the notebook, while Ida does find it relates to something, it certainly doesn’t mean that it was directly linked to the murder. A lot of her supposed “solving” of this case is just her making assumptions. But, because she’s the main character, this is the explanation that the author wants us to believe. Even though it doesn’t make sense, and there’s no way that the murderer would be convicted of it because there’s basically no real evidence to it. And the “maple syrup cartel” thing didn’t make sense either.
Overall, it was not a very good story, in my opinion. There are a lot of poorly written characters, where the author is telling us about all sorts of personality traits these characters have, yet the actual writing shows me they’re nothing like the author wants them to be. There are multiple characters that the author wants us to think of as “nice”, yet are actually really mean-spirited people. The actual murder investigation was terrible, it didn’t make sense and there was no proper evidence to it. If anything… I feel like the author really needed to do research into a lot of things about the book. Especially for the murder mystery aspect; there needed to be more evidence. Actual evidence, not the assumptions. It was a disappointing read, if I’m honest. I didn’t like any of the characters, and the protagonist was REALLY CREEPY towards that teenage character.
I feel like the author is forcing their own opinion on these characters, rather than allowing us to form our own opinions. With a character like Ida, as an example, the author keeps trying to encourage the thought that she’s a good person. Yet the actual behaviour of Ida goes completely a different way. My first thought about the book is that Ida feels like a really rude person. She has all sorts of nasty thoughts about others. We’ll use Grover Webb, a “rookie police officer”, as an example. He’s relatively new to town, as Ida thinks. However, she thinks all sorts of mean-spirited things about him, making rude assumptions about him, even though this is the first time they’re meeting. She doesn’t even know him, yet has all these nasty things to say? Throughout the rest of the book, she continues making these mental remarks about him. Even though she barely knows him. I don’t think I would like to know her in real life. Considering Ida is meant to be a protagonist, it seems really awkward that she’s this much of a nasty person. She even later threatens the town librarian, Mrs. Bergen.
With the murder victim, characters keep trying to insist that he’s a bad person, because he’s a product reviewer for a newspaper. However, from his actual behaviour, he hasn’t done anything wrong. If there’s something wrong with the product, or way it was produced, that’s certainly not his fault. At least he’s honest about the product, and doesn’t lie about it. At this point, I’d like to note that a couple of times it’s mentioned that he showed up “uninvited” to the “Sweeney’s 3rd Annual Open House”. But… It’s an open house for the business. The mere fact that it’s an open house means that he is invited. That’s the entire point of them; they’re a promotional event for the business, where all sorts of people (critics and reporters included) can come to the event and see what’s happening at the business. I feel like maybe the author doesn’t know what an open house is…? With Maura as well, she’s a friend of Ida, soon to be suspected of murder. While Ida keeps trying to tell us that Maura’s a good person, her actual behaviour suggests otherwise. She bullies a teenage employee, referring to her as a “bubble-headed boob”, and yet she soon after remarks that “It doesn’t pay to have a heart as big as mine you know, Ida.” Ummm… What? The character was literally just bullying a teenager, and is certainly not a good person. Ida has her own rude thoughts about the teenager later, and it got pretty creepy with the way the author was writing it. REALLY CREEPY. Especially the way Ida was fixated on her, despite never having even one conversation with her. She would stereotype this teenage girl, mentally making creepy remarks and assumptions about her, despite never even talking to her. And with all sorts of characters, I feel like they’re not well written at all. The author has stereotypes and specific ways that we’re meant to think about these characters, even though this is basically encouraging hatred on people who weren’t doing anything wrong; using all sorts of negative stereotypes and degrading remarks about people. It’s really awkward and poorly done.
Also, I feel like a lot of the stuff mentioning the dog is somewhat awkward. So, as I mentioned earlier, she owns a fudge shop. And she brings this dog to work with her. However, a quick search informs me that some fudge is toxic to dogs, because of chocolate content; she even sells chocolate fudge in her shop). That seems like a very serious accident waiting to happen. And even the fudge without chocolate can cause some health issues for dogs (due to sugar, etc), from what I was reading. Another matter is that, considering it is a shop that primarily serves food, I feel like an ordinary pet dog (that is not for disability reasons) should NOT be there because of hygiene issues. As we move along to story aspects, the prior day (via a flashback) she has the fudge with the dog in the backseat of the car, that she’s taking to an open house. The fudge and dog should not be that close, because there’s the potential that it might try to eat it, which could make the dog sick. And considering it is for human consumption, the dog should not be that close because of the aforementioned hygiene reasons. It’s like the author does not understand the basics of pet dogs and why they should not be in food shops. I feel like the author ought to have done more research. Like, I understand that she wants her character to have a pet. But a lot of the points in the book featuring the pet feel completely out of place; the dog should not be in a lot of these scenarios.
As for the murder investigation aspects… Honestly, it feels like the author had no clue about any of it. So the basics are that Ida’s friend is a suspect in the murder. One of Ida’s regular customers is an ex-police officer. And… for some weird reason, he suggests that Ida should go and dig around for clues at the crime scene… Even though, of all people, he ought to know better, being that anything that she tampers with would be inadmissible as evidence. She later finds a notebook that belonged to the victim, which she uses to track down the supposed reason for the murder. But any half-decent defense attorney would be able to get the defendant off from the case. That notebook and the specific page was handled by multiple people, and any defense attorney could argue that it might have been tampered with by any of those people. As for the rest of the case, I doubt it would hold up either, because there was pretty much zero evidence to it, and the evidence that was there was absolutely rubbish that could have been explained by so many other things. For example, there are some tire tracks from a 4-wheeler at the crime scene. However, that doesn’t point to any one person. It could have been any number of people who drove it. The tire tracks could have come from any point before or after the crime; just because they’re at the crime scene, it doesn’t mean they are related to the murder. And the writing in the notebook, while Ida does find it relates to something, it certainly doesn’t mean that it was directly linked to the murder. A lot of her supposed “solving” of this case is just her making assumptions. But, because she’s the main character, this is the explanation that the author wants us to believe. Even though it doesn’t make sense, and there’s no way that the murderer would be convicted of it because there’s basically no real evidence to it. And the “maple syrup cartel” thing didn’t make sense either.
Overall, it was not a very good story, in my opinion. There are a lot of poorly written characters, where the author is telling us about all sorts of personality traits these characters have, yet the actual writing shows me they’re nothing like the author wants them to be. There are multiple characters that the author wants us to think of as “nice”, yet are actually really mean-spirited people. The actual murder investigation was terrible, it didn’t make sense and there was no proper evidence to it. If anything… I feel like the author really needed to do research into a lot of things about the book. Especially for the murder mystery aspect; there needed to be more evidence. Actual evidence, not the assumptions. It was a disappointing read, if I’m honest. I didn’t like any of the characters, and the protagonist was REALLY CREEPY towards that teenage character.
March 27, 2021
I absolutely loved this book from the funny takes and I read it from the very beginning to the very end.
I thought the storyline was a laugh riot through out the whole book in my opinion.
I thought the characters were perfectly picked for this story in my opinion.
I thought the storyline was a laugh riot through out the whole book in my opinion.
I thought the characters were perfectly picked for this story in my opinion.
July 9, 2020
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ma...
Maple Syrup Murder
Oh Fudge! Cozy Mystery, Book #1
By Grace Lemon
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
Welcome to Cider Island – a town where anyone who’s anyone knows something about someone. It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush.
With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney.
With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder.
Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.
Review:
A delightful, quick cozy mystery read; the first I have read by author Grace Lemmon. Ida Noe is a unique amateur sleuth. At 62 years young, she runs her own fudge shop in town. She gets her maple syrup from Sweeney’s Sugar Bush.
While at Sweeny’s Sugar Bush, the body of Mr. Snellbottom is discovered. All indications point to it being a murder and Maura, the of Sweeney’s Sugar Bush and longtime friend of Ida is the main suspect.
All the characters are “unique” in their own way. And of course Smudge, her dog is a fun addition to the story. Ida goes nowhere without her trusty sidekick Smudge. Eldon is a retired 40-year veteran of the Cider Island police force and a budding romantic interest for Ida. Eldon is also a sounding board for Ida’s thoughts with respect to the murder. Ida must solve the murder as she is convinced that Maura is not the killer.
I found the story contained humor (of course – with a protagonist named Ida Noe), a wee bit of romance, and the usual amateur sleuth activities involved in solving a murder. I was kept in the dark as to ‘whodunit’ until the end. Additionally, there was a side storyline which certainly muddied the waters… but it was what added to the mystery and mayhem.
Maple Syrup Murder was an enjoyable, quick cozy mystery. Great when you have an hour to read and want something light and cute. I would definitely read more by this Canadian author.
Maple Syrup Murder
Oh Fudge! Cozy Mystery, Book #1
By Grace Lemon
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
Welcome to Cider Island – a town where anyone who’s anyone knows something about someone. It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush.
With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney.
With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder.
Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.
Review:
A delightful, quick cozy mystery read; the first I have read by author Grace Lemmon. Ida Noe is a unique amateur sleuth. At 62 years young, she runs her own fudge shop in town. She gets her maple syrup from Sweeney’s Sugar Bush.
While at Sweeny’s Sugar Bush, the body of Mr. Snellbottom is discovered. All indications point to it being a murder and Maura, the of Sweeney’s Sugar Bush and longtime friend of Ida is the main suspect.
All the characters are “unique” in their own way. And of course Smudge, her dog is a fun addition to the story. Ida goes nowhere without her trusty sidekick Smudge. Eldon is a retired 40-year veteran of the Cider Island police force and a budding romantic interest for Ida. Eldon is also a sounding board for Ida’s thoughts with respect to the murder. Ida must solve the murder as she is convinced that Maura is not the killer.
I found the story contained humor (of course – with a protagonist named Ida Noe), a wee bit of romance, and the usual amateur sleuth activities involved in solving a murder. I was kept in the dark as to ‘whodunit’ until the end. Additionally, there was a side storyline which certainly muddied the waters… but it was what added to the mystery and mayhem.
Maple Syrup Murder was an enjoyable, quick cozy mystery. Great when you have an hour to read and want something light and cute. I would definitely read more by this Canadian author.
September 15, 2021
https://openbooksociety.com/article/m...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
A delightful, quick cozy mystery read; the first I have read by author Grace Lemmon. Ida Noe is a unique amateur sleuth. At 62 years young, she runs her own fudge shop in town. She gets her maple syrup from Sweeney’s Sugar Bush.
While at Sweeny’s Sugar Bush, the body of Mr. Snellbottom is discovered. All indications point to it being a murder and Maura, the of Sweeney’s Sugar Bush and longtime friend of Ida is the main suspect.
All the characters are “unique” in their own way. And of course Smudge, her dog is a fun addition to the story. Ida goes nowhere without her trusty sidekick Smudge. Eldon is a retired 40-year veteran of the Cider Island police force and a budding romantic interest for Ida. Eldon is also a sounding board for Ida’s thoughts with respect to the murder. Ida must solve the murder as she is convinced that Maura is not the killer.
I found the story contained humor (of course – with a protagonist named Ida Noe), a wee bit of romance, and the usual amateur sleuth activities involved in solving a murder. I was kept in the dark as to ‘whodunit’ until the end. Additionally, there was a side storyline which certainly muddied the waters… but it was what added to the mystery and mayhem.
Maple Syrup Murder was an enjoyable, quick cozy mystery. Great when you have an hour to read and want something light and cute. I would definitely read more by this Canadian author.
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
A delightful, quick cozy mystery read; the first I have read by author Grace Lemmon. Ida Noe is a unique amateur sleuth. At 62 years young, she runs her own fudge shop in town. She gets her maple syrup from Sweeney’s Sugar Bush.
While at Sweeny’s Sugar Bush, the body of Mr. Snellbottom is discovered. All indications point to it being a murder and Maura, the of Sweeney’s Sugar Bush and longtime friend of Ida is the main suspect.
All the characters are “unique” in their own way. And of course Smudge, her dog is a fun addition to the story. Ida goes nowhere without her trusty sidekick Smudge. Eldon is a retired 40-year veteran of the Cider Island police force and a budding romantic interest for Ida. Eldon is also a sounding board for Ida’s thoughts with respect to the murder. Ida must solve the murder as she is convinced that Maura is not the killer.
I found the story contained humor (of course – with a protagonist named Ida Noe), a wee bit of romance, and the usual amateur sleuth activities involved in solving a murder. I was kept in the dark as to ‘whodunit’ until the end. Additionally, there was a side storyline which certainly muddied the waters… but it was what added to the mystery and mayhem.
Maple Syrup Murder was an enjoyable, quick cozy mystery. Great when you have an hour to read and want something light and cute. I would definitely read more by this Canadian author.
October 5, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. First time author Grace Lemon has created a a community of likeable, well developed characters. Ida Noe, a 60 something fudge shop owner, her faithful black Lab Smudge, and origami aficionado Eldon Topper (who is the retired police chief) work together to clear Ida's best friend Maura of murder. The story is set on Cider Island in the heart of maple syrup country.
The story moves quickly and includes enough twists to keep the reader interested. Also included are some unique fudge recipes. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in Ida's story.
The story moves quickly and includes enough twists to keep the reader interested. Also included are some unique fudge recipes. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in Ida's story.
February 1, 2018
Ida owns a fudge shop in a small town. When she visits her friend's maple syrup business to get some for her fudge a body of a maple syrup critic in the barn. He friend is arrested for the murder and Ina is sure her friend didn't do it so with encouragement from Eldon, a former police officer and friend; she solves the case. This book also comes with a recipe for Maple Bacon Fudge.
July 4, 2018
It was okay. The definition of three stars. A cozy murder that was a super short read. I liked that the main character was older, I don't see that as often in the books I read. What annoyed me, and often does about cozies is the author's need to come up with creative, goofy sayings and force them into the dialogue. Super distracting. Otherwise, cute if you like quock, food based cozies.
May 8, 2017
A fast cosy-mystery read. This is the start of a new series which seems to have big potential. The ending was a bit of a surprise! Ida Noe and her dog are engaging charaters that I would like to visit again.
April 16, 2018
The book needs editing, but I did finish it which is more than I can say for most books I download free on Kindle.
When the librarian extorts fudge from Ida to let her into the library after closing, that's extortion, not bribery. She compelled Ida to bribe her; that's extortion not bribery.
When the librarian extorts fudge from Ida to let her into the library after closing, that's extortion, not bribery. She compelled Ida to bribe her; that's extortion not bribery.
March 14, 2019
Not so good
This was just not that good a book. Too many people who have same initials. Yes, I get that's part of the mystery, but it's a horrible device to use.
Doubt I'll read any more from this author.
This was just not that good a book. Too many people who have same initials. Yes, I get that's part of the mystery, but it's a horrible device to use.
Doubt I'll read any more from this author.
February 4, 2022
No more books by this author for me.
Story had promise, but even in this short read, there was too much filler. Fat shaming, stereotyping of others, dissing the new cop, and sarcasm galore. Not a character I would like to meet.
Story had promise, but even in this short read, there was too much filler. Fat shaming, stereotyping of others, dissing the new cop, and sarcasm galore. Not a character I would like to meet.
June 28, 2016
This was a quick fun read. I only wish it had been a bit longer and little more complex, but all in all a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews