Maple Sugar Murders (New England Cozy) [Mass Market Paperback]

Steve Sherman (Author)

Book Description

Series: New England Cozy | Publication Date: January 1, 1999

Private investigator Harvard educated Hugh Quint has moved to an idyllic church steepled New Hampshire town where he "has some rugged stubborn New England types to contend with"- as The New York Times reviewer puts it. This "New England Cozy"(in the tradition of the English village cozy) plunks the reader down between feuding landowners of maple sugar orchards. When a neighbor is strangled, sweetness and light fast turns sticky and dangerous as Hugh Quint closes in on suspects.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A good tale. You'll be surprised when the murderer is revealed. -- Janice Aitken Green, Mt Gazette, The Vermont Bookworm

An attractive job with a surprise ending -- Newgate Callendar, The New York Times

An attractive job with a surprise ending. -- Newgate Callendar, The New York Times, Nov. 1, 1987

Anyone who can sum up New Englanders neatly as this must be encouraged. -- Ray Browne, Clues, 1987

Anyone who can sum up New Englanders neatly as this must be encouraged. -- Ray Browne Clues

His hold on the subject is never less than personal. That's a central part of what makes Sherman's town and townspeople in "Maple Sugar Murders" convincingly and comically lifelike. The themes, issues, and characters in this book hit home. -- Andy Kollmorgan, The Monadnock Ledger

Sherman mixes philosophy, sugaring lore, and a little romance to come up with an appealing unhackneyed debut -- Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

The premier mystery of our New England Cozy Series , (in the tradition of the English village cozy), Maple Sugar Murders was listed in The Snooper (May, Florida) and in the newsletter of literary crime, Paper Chase (June, LA California). It was selected as "The Region's 10 Favorite Books of the Week" (Toadstool Bookstore, Peterborough Transcrip ) and as a Local Best Seller (Keene Sunday Sentinel ). Mystery fans may look forward to a new Hugh Quint paperback every six months. Forthcoming titles by Steve Sherman-HIGHBOY, and PRIMARY CRIME. Walker Inc. published the first two of the Hugh Quint series in hardcover ( Not Available).

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Appledore Books; 1st pbk. ed edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962716251
• ISBN-13: 978-0962716256
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,974,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Maple Sugar Murders, March 7, 2005

By 

Brian Niles "Brian" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maple Sugar Murders (Hardcover)

I purchased this book after meeting Steve. I really enjoyed the fact that it was written by someone who lives in New England. The plot was exciting and kept you wanting to read more. Never really a dull moment. Good Book for "New Englanders" as you can relate to much of what is going on as far as the way of life.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Very Sweet, May 11, 2011

By 

R. Fink "Armchair traveler," (Harrisburg, Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maple Sugar Murders (New England Cozy) (Mass Market Paperback)

A series of murders in maple sugar country suggest a syndicate may have designs on the properties involved with an eye toward development. This is generally a bumpy ride and some passages don't make a whole lot of sense or contribute to the story, I am afraid. The characters are for the most part irritating and/or uninteresting. Pretty sticky--but at least it is short.

2.0 out of 5 stars Hated it!, March 23, 2009

By 

Alice L. Ramirez (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Maple Sugar Murders (New England Cozy) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really HATED this book. Finished it only because I had spent hard-earned money to buy it.
The only two somewhat sympathetic characters -- the retired cop-sleuth and his local girlfriend -- were completely under-developed. It was impossible to care about them.

And why did the retired cop-sleuth need to call that odd out-of-town fellow so frequently? He should have figured out things for himself instead of resorting to this strange deus ex machina.

His local buddy, supposedly a good friend, was an unpleasant old fart who would get angry and shout at almost anyone who said anything. His "girlfriend" was the sort who, had she lived in California, would have gotten herself appointed to some unelected position on a governmental environmental protection board where she would busy herself driving businesses out of state, destroying agriculture and issuing edicts that would impair the personal freedom of the citizenry to use their fireplaces and barbecues. In short, a sanctimonious and obnoxious enviro-fascist. Loathesome creature!

Her bad-tempered boyfriend, a maple syrup-maker, was carrying on a feud with another equally unpleasant old fart who also made maple syrup and turned out to be one of the murder victims. The victim's brother, in from out of town, was equally unpleasant. All these local characters seemed to view the world at large with hostility and paranoia. Are New Englanders REALLY like that???

Another murder victim was completely undrawn. The reader only knows that he was a surveyor. Better to have killed off the strange character who wandered around, peeping, and saw things, including the perp shooting at someone. In a better-written book, he would have been a victim, because at least there would be a sensible reason (from the pov of the murderer) for his demise. And the hero, by unnecessarily getting himself into a very dangerous situation while unarmed and alone toward the end of the book, proved that he had more testosterone than brains.

Unlikable characters, pointless killings for the ultimate motive.... It all seemed so forced.