A Sticky Inheritance: Maple Syrup Mysteries
- 4.4 out of 5
- 3,336 ratings
- 251 pages
Overall Content Rating: Parents Strongly Cautioned PG-13
This is a small-town mystery and suspense story built around an inheritance and questions about how a relative died. The heroine works through clues, interviews locals, and faces real peril at times, but multiple reader notes describe the book as clean, with little to no swearing and no explicit sexual material on the page. Language that parents might flag is mostly light name-calling about poor judgment rather than sustained crude dialogue. Romance in a book that is not a romance shows up as a secondary thread: the heroine has more than one romantic interest, and relationship tension stays in the background while the mystery drives the plot. Parents should expect talk of murder, autopsy findings, medication and alcohol in the victim's system, and occasional action sequences (including a weapon and a vehicle accident), described without the kind of graphic gore some reviewers say they avoid in modern mysteries.
Reviews first uploaded October 12, 2026 8:16 am. Page updated October 12, 2026 8:16 am.
These summaries are AI-generated from relevant Amazon reviews of this book.
Crude Mild
8Mild put-downs appear now and then, especially words meaning foolish or incompetent, including self-talk at a funeral, reasoning about suspects, and town gossip. They read as everyday frustration rather than constant harsh insults. Several sampled matches for other crude-sounding words are ordinary breathing or drinking descriptions, not vulgar usage.
Amazon reviews mentioning crude
Specific words
- idiot: 4
- stupid: 4
Violence Moderate
6The plot centers on a suspicious death and investigation. Physical danger appears in bursts: a struggle with bleeding from a facial injury, breaking glass to escape, a close-quarters scuffle involving a gun, CPR after harm, and a car crash. Blood is discussed in autopsy and medical contexts and as something the narrator avoids because it makes her faint. Reader feedback commonly describes the tone as a cozy mystery without graphic violence used for shock.
Amazon reviews mentioning violence
Specific words
- blood: 3
- smash: 2
- stab: 1
About this book
Knowing the truth… …is sometimes worse than believing the lie. Especially when murder is involved. When Nicole’s uncle dies and she inherits his maple syrup farm, she thinks it’s time to leave her career as a criminal defense attorney behind for a life that allows her to stay far away from murderers and liars. For half a day at least. Her uncle’s suicide looks like it wasn’t a suicide at all. The local police chief doesn’t want to reopen the case. Murder’s bad for business in a tourist town, after all. The handsome county medical examiner—who’s exactly her type and all wrong for her—is willing to help. But that means returning to the world of justice that Nicole hoped to leave behind forever. When the truth’s a sticky thing, it’s hard to know what’s worth risking your life for. If you enjoy small-town settings, quirky characters, and a touch of romance, then you'll love this sweet, clean cozy mystery. The Maple Syrup Mysteries is a complete series, so you won't have to wait to find out what happens next! **Mystery/Cozy Gold Medalist in the 2018 IPPY Awards** **Grand Prize Winner of the 2018 Writer's Digest Ebook Awards** Get it now! Read more