IN THE BLINK OF A PIE

Murder threatens a maple farmer’s newfound equilibrium.

Life finally seems in balance for Leila Khoury. Although she still misses her murdered father, she’s improved her relationship with her mother, Selma, who now admits that she may have favored Leila’s younger brother, Simon, in the past. But Leila’s able stewardship of Sappy Endings, the maple farm and syrup business her father left the family, helps mother and daughter reconcile. Now Sappy Endings is so successful that they need another employee to help out in the farm’s cafe. But the same day Leila hires Jenna Fleming away from The Bagel Place, disaster strikes. The Khourys’ meddling neighbor, Margaret Middleton, sneaks a sample of a maple pumpkin pie that was supposed to be tasted first by the three judges at the inaugural Sappy Endings pie-baking contest. Pushy Margaret quickly falls down dead, and sales plummet nearly as promptly among locals who blame Sappy Endings for her death. To add to Leila’s stress, her college roommate, Taylor Hudson, surfaces to relitigate her grudge against Leila, who turned her in for cheating. Even Leila’s relationship with Noah Rivers, who runs the sugaring operations at Sappy Endings, hits a bump when his daughter, Emma, objects to their plan to combine households. But Sappy Endings is her first priority. Knowing that nothing will bring back business but solving the murder, Leila throws herself into unmasking Margaret’s killer and saving her dad’s legacy.

Although the solution is obvious, Bruns’ tale is good-natured enough for a happy—if, well, sappy—ending.