By Kaylie Seed
Content warning: suicide, suicidal ideation, alcoholism, drug use
Food influencer Sabine Rose has decided that the best thing to help her career is to travel to her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Once there, she plans to show her fans everything about her family’s small-town bakery and the history surrounding the infamous ‘Persian’—a pastry whose recipe is a strongly guarded secret. After a decade of being away from family, Sabine is not prepared for the sudden passing of her father. Especially after she only finds out about his death from her family after landing in Thunder Bay.
Told from different points-of-view, in a few different times, what unfolds is a cozy mystery that follows Sabine’s past and present, snippets of her father Francis’s life in Italy and immigration to Canada, and Sabine’s assistant Wanda who is watching everything unfold in front of her.
Nancy Mauro’s novel The Sugar Thief is an exploration of family that spans generations. While there’s a strong focus on Sabine and her father Francis and how he developed ‘the Persian’, the secondary plot with Wanda is just as engaging. Each of the main characters and secondary characters felt like real people, and I appreciated that they were well fleshed out. There are a lot of characters, but they are all unique and easy to distinguish who is who. Mauro explores immigration and family relationships while also touching on themes such as substance abuse and how that impacts a person both personally and professionally.
Mauro grew up working in her family's bakery and her love and appreciation for food is evident throughout The Sugar Thief. The descriptions of the different foods had my mouth watering—I could truly imagine eating these delicious-sounding treats! As I am lucky enough to experience the real-life Persian, I will say that it is described slightly differently in the book as Mauro intends to keep the delectable pastry recipe a secret.
While at times The Sugar Thief’s pacing didn’t feel consistent, it was neatly tied together in the end. I would consider this one literary fiction, but readers who like cozy mysteries and books that have a heavy focus on family will also enjoy The Sugar Thief. Since this book is based in my hometown, it was neat to read about different landmarks in the area and know that others will get to imagine these for the first time.
I should also note that there are parts of Mauro’s story that are based on actual events, and she speaks more about that in her acknowledgements at the end; I encourage readers to read that as well. I also recommend this to those who have a love for desserts as they will appreciate the baking aspect in this novel.
Thank you, Penguin Random House Canada, for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.