Tag Archives: Maple Syrup Mysteries

Review: Stumped, by Emily James

Book cover with a maple leaf. Main image is a suitcase with a bloody handprint, sitting in a pool of blood. Text" Maple Syrup Mysteries; Stumped; Emily James.

Stumped, by Emily James (Stronghold Books, 2020)

She left high-pressure city life behind and is now part-owner of a maple syrup farm in Michigan and a partner in a small-town law firm. She’s also a wife and expectant mother—and an amateur sleuth with a knack for digging out the truth.

There weren’t supposed to be any new cases for Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes-Cavanagh to tackle before her baby’s birth. But when a man shows up at her office covered in blood, with no idea what happened, she knows he’s going to need a defense attorney.

Nicole only represents innocent clients. How can she be sure he’s telling the truth?

And how did we get to 13 books in the Maple Syrup Mysteries series? I’ve enjoyed them all.

This series is written for a mainstream audience. As such, although Nicole and her husband are Christians there’s not an overt faith thread. In this novel, I appreciated watching her wrestle with one of the murder suspects being a priest.

She can’t dismiss the possibility of his guilt, but she doesn’t want to be one of those people who look at church scandals and automatically assume the worst. Because of her faith—and her experience with believers who sometimes do wrong but who often are simply misunderstood—she’s glad to be the one pursuing this investigation because she can approach it with more sensitivity.  

Stumped is a strong ending to an engaging series. The Maple Syrup Mysteries are cleverly plotted, the characters have depth, and there’s enough quirky humour to make me smile.

I’d encourage anyone new to the series to start at the beginning and follow the characters and their relationships. You can get a free ebook copy of the prequel, Sapped, at the author’s website by signing up for her newsletter. Here’s the link: authoremilyjames.com/book/sapped.

Emily James is also the author of the Cupcake Truck Mysteries and the Cat and Mouse Whodunits. There’s at least one other author with the same name, so to see more about this Emily James and her work, it’s best to visit her website at authoremilyjames.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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Review: Almost Sleighed, by Emily James

Almost Sleighed, by Emily James

Almost Sleighed, by Emily James (Stronghold Books, 2017)

Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes is beginning to learn the intricacies of running the maple syrup business she inherited from her Uncle Stan. When one of her employees is attacked and the police won’t investigate, Nicole decides it’s her responsibility to find the truth.

She’s still avoiding her favourite co-sleuth, Mark, and changes at the police station mean she needs to avoid her friend there, Eric. Help comes from an unlikely source, and it’s good to see Nicole find another friend in town.

It’s also good to see the misunderstanding between Nicole and Mark finally resolved. Then the question becomes, will they survive long enough to begin a relationship?

Almost Sleighed is book 3 in the Maple Syrup Mysteries (not counting the prequel Sapped), and it’s my favourite so far. It’s complex, with some funny lines and plenty of well-turned phrases.

I’m definitely enjoying this series from Emily James. At the moment there are seven books plus the prequel (free for signing up for the author’s newsletter). For more about the author and her books, visit authoremilyjames.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]