by Tracy Condie & Catherine Bruns

The week we have a review of another food mystery for your Thanksgiving reading, along with a recipe from the author Catherine Bruns that is perfect for your Thanksgiving dinner! Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

In the Blink of a Pie by Catherine Bruns
Review by Tracy Condie

Welcome to Vermont’s own Sappy Endings maple syrup farm, where the syrup is sweet and the pastries are perfect. Well, at least the tasty treats that Leila’s talented mom, Selma, bakes at the Sappy Hour Café are. This is the 3rd book in the Maple Syrup Mystery series, and it has been perfectly named. In the book, the well-earned reputation of the Sappy Endings farm goes from great to deadly because of a killer pie baking contest. Leila, manager of her family’s farm, was just trying to do a good deed and generate some revenue for the local food bank. No one could have foreseen the community backlash over an unexpected death that turns out to be murder. It does not help that the local paper, where Leila’s brother Simon is the lead journalist, has printed an article sensationalizing the unfortunate incident.

This isn’t Simon’s doing, but he cannot stop the rumor mill in this small cozy town. If only gossip was as slow as the molasses in a Shoofly pie. Did they not get the email that this was really an attempt on Leila’s life and not Margaret Middleton’s? Although, I could see how Margaret, with her acerbic tongue, could incite negative thoughts or even actions, in others. Someone is out to get Leila.

This stand-alone story does a good job of keeping the reader in the loop by giving plenty of backstory to explain how this is not Leila’s first time dealing with a murder. Leila takes on the management of the farm while at the same time coming to love farm worker Noah and his daughter Emma. Leila and her best friend, Heather, look for clues in a variety of places. Suspects include a past high school student who was turned in for cheating. Also on the list, is Leila’s former college roommate who was in trouble for stealing money from Leila to buy drugs. Margaret’s son Eric, the big city New York attorney, is threatening to sue the farm for his mother’s death. Eric may still be upset with Leila for not agreeing to date him in the past. Last, but not least, is the mysterious pie baker named Sandy Sweets, who could in fact be one of the suspects.

As you can see, there are multiple threads for Leila to pull while trying to keep safe. The story is engaging as well as entertaining. The clues are well-placed, as are the red herrings. In addition to a happy ending, the book also delivers on some sweet and satisfying pie recipes. There are six recipes to choose from. I selected the Pumpkin Spice Maple Pie (recipe below) and can attest that is perfect for pairing with this Thanksgiving-themed cozy.

Tracy Condie is a paralegal by day and cozy armchair sleuth by night. When she is not working or reading, she enjoys preparing the recipes found in culinary cozies or researching recipes of meal items described therein and sharing reviews of both books and food on Instagram and on KRL. She lives in Corona, California with her husband and dog Zoolie, and looks forward to visiting with their grown sons when their time permits.

Pumpkin Pie with Maple Syrup
From Catherine Bruns

Ingredients
1 9-inch pie crust prepared but not pre-baked
4 medium eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree, homemade if possible
? cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin spice blend
½ cup sweetened whipped cream for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Keep the pie crust chilled in the refrigerator while you mix up the pie filling. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and cream together until blended. Add the pumpkin puree and the maple syrup and again whisk well. Finally, add the vanilla, salt, and spice blend to the pie filling and combine.

Remove pie shell from the fridge and place on the middle rack of the oven. Slide the rack out carefully a couple of inches and pour the filling into the pie shell*. Slowly, slide the oven rack back in place, taking care not to spill the contents of the pie shell onto the bottom of the oven. Check pie after about 30 minutes and rotate, if necessary, to ensure even browning of the pie crust. When the center of the pie has puffed up and jiggles only slightly when the pan is moved, the pie is ready. This will take about one hour. Remove pie from oven and cool on a wire rack. When the pie is room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pie will keep, covered in the fridge, for up to three days, or well-wrapped and frozen for up to 8 weeks. Serves eight people.

You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.

To enter to win a copy of In the Blink of a Pie, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “blink pie” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 30, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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