Sugarplums and Murder (Borrowed Pages Cozy Mysteries Bo… (2024)

"Sugarplums And Murder" is book #3 in the "Borrowed Pages Cozy Mysteries" series by Maggie Benton

"Sometimes to find true meaning…
You have to read between the lines.
Library director and amateur sleuth, Helen Bennett, is feeling the excitement of the holiday season for the first time in years.

Her little mountain town is aglow with twinkling lights, swags of greenery, and festive wreaths. Annie is gearing up for the grand reopening of her diner, the bird-watching society is preparing for their winter bird count, and the library is buzzing with holiday activities—everything from fireside story times to cookie decorating.

But at the annual Sugarplum 5k race, one of the runners tragically dies after eating Annie’s secret-recipe sugarplum pie, and Helen and friends have another mystery on their hands.

Can they crack the case to find out who is on the naughty list?"

My thoughts:
A fun quick read for the holiday season. The core characters are interesting with believable dialogue and interactions. Besides the murder, there is also a bit of holiday romance and some yummy sounding food. Alas, I'm not much of a pie person but the other meals that are described made me hungry!

Annie is Accused of Murder
Her little mountain town is aglow with twinkling lights, swags of greenery, and festive wreaths. Annie is gearing up for the grand reopening of her diner, the bird-watching society is preparing for their winter bird count, and the library is buzzing with holiday activities—everything from fireside story times to cookie decorating.
In this book Annie is wrongly accused of murder. Helen wants to prove that the supposition is wrong.
I borrowed this book from KindleUnlimited. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

Kindle Copy for Review

Running a 5K race can be a recipe for death.

The annual Sugarplum race has a contestant running their final race and then falling dead after consuming Annie’s sugarplum pie. Was the pie worth dying for?
Annie and her friends will have to figure things out before Annie’s reopening turns into a desolated diner opening. A smart cozy read that will have you guessing at the killer and their motives. A joy to read.

This was everything a cozy Christmas mystery should have: a compelling murder case, suspects with good motives, a cute town decked out like your favorite Christmas movie and best of all, friends to celebrate with when the case was closed. The ending was super sweet and I wished the book could’ve gone on since Christmas was pretty magical and awesome in Oliver’s Crossing. But the next best thing is being able to grab the next one from KU right away.

This is another enjoyable visit to Oliver's Crossroads, NC. The setting, the characters and the mystery are always an engaging afternoon read. I love visiting with Helen, Annie, Walter, Harry and Hazel as they ferret out clues to help Detective George solve the case. I hope there are many more in this series.

Can murder be sweet? This one is.

Maggie’s cozies are always a quick read at only 15 chapters but those chapters are fun and keep you interested. The characters are well developed even the new ones interjected into the story you find yourself liking and hope they don’t end up being the murderer. That would be my only problem

Really Good!

I enjoyed reading this latest book in this fantastic series. I love the characters and setting. Feels like friends and a place that would be great to visit. I look forward to more.

I enjoyed this story very much. I really love the characters. The story was great.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I have read all 12 books of this series in three days! I love these mysteries! They are cozy and not gory. The storylines are entertaining, and the characters are delightful. I highly recommend every book in this series. Start reading them in order because it will make more sense that way.