Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman Series: Amish Village Mystery #1
Published by Zondervan on March 25th 2014
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Women Sleuths
Pages: 368
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads
When the coffee shop manager is murdered in Middlebury’s Amish Artisan Village, two women from different walks of life must join together to solve the mystery.
Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops—until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register.
When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop’s duties, the two women become fast friends—as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray’s death is a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren't convinced.
Clues that don't add up, a neighbor who is pulled into the midst of the investigation, a town with secrets to hide, and a blossoming romance—all will combine to push Amber and Hannah into unfamiliar roles in order to reveal answers to the mysteries around them.
"Chapman's latest is a mix of mystery and romance with vivid characters, a realistic setting and themes of loss, trust and love." — Romantic Times, four-star review
Vannetta, we gotta talk. Seriously. I mean who kills the barista?!? The giver of humanity! And in the first chapter. I was heartbroken. I mean, OK fine I didn’t know they guy, he wasn’t MY barista, but still. OK, fine he was kinda an antisocial jerky sorta guy, but he was the barista. You can’t kill the barista. But ya did. So now, we gotta figure this mess out. However, do not for one moment think that all is forgiven.
Before I jump into all the ways I loved this book I want to share with you why I rated it only 4 stars. I mean, this book is amazingly well written and kept me guessing (for the most part – more to come later) throughout. However, there were two things I just couldn’t look away from. First, instalove. This particular situation can be argued either way but I’m sticking to my guns here. Amber and Tate. Yes, the knew of each other for years. Yes, they had met and dealt with issues before. However, they weren’t friends, they were barely acquaintances, and their previous interactions weren’t exactly of the friendship building variety. Tate acknowledged that they hadn’t even spoken in over a year when things started pelting off the fan blades. But in the short time they were thrown together to figure out who murdered the barista they were in love?!? Nope. Sorry. Instalove. Secondly, what in the world was the fascination with everyone’s body type and/or weight? Almost every single character description, mostly for the women but it was there across the board, included body type. I was almost able to overlook it. I came so close to over looking it. Until the end when Hannah’s mom was described again in relationship to her weight/body type. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive but it just felt like it was a bit obsessive. End rant.
Now, we can talk story and good stuff. I want to start somewhere a little differently than normal and possibly create the most awkward paragraph I’ll write today. Hannah. There was this little detail that probably some people won’t really find focus worthy or even really remember. Hannah struggled with the idea of how to help her friend/boss Amber with what happened to the barista (fine, he has a name – Ethan Gray) and maintain her separateness as per the Ordnung. Why does this matter, you ask? Because how often do we get caught in the ‘rules’ of our faith instead of the practice of our faith? How often do we get so rigid in expectations and less on compassion? Following the ‘rules’ and meeting expectations, while admirable, without the ability to reach beyond ourselves to help someone who is struggling it’s all worthless (in Fizzy’s world). Following the Ordung is admirable, however it is merely a set of rules that have been adopted to help the Amish live their faith based on their interpretation of the Bible. Ignoring a fellow human in need and failing to show them the compassion and love of Christ in the moment where they are is the opposite of what Jesus taught. As Christians (Amish or otherwise) there is a time and place for rules and expectations, however there is also a need to realize that we are part of a great community and the best way to bring people to Christ is to show them the love of Christ right where they are.
It’s no secret that I love a good mystery. It’s no secret that I can usually decipher it all out before the end of the book, usually being the operative word. I was so very set on a cast of three, possibly four, potential killers. One felt a bit too red herring but I left them in the loop. One felt almost too obvious but I left them in the loop. One felt like it would be too easy but I left them in the loop. The loops picked up and dropped off and I still hadn’t set myself certain on the killer. Red herring? Obvious McObvierson? Too easy-peasy? I just kept vacillating. And I was still picking numbers when it was finally ironed out. Yes I was right. I was also wrong. But I was right too! This book kept me guessing with a solid story line, amazingly well developed characters, and a well crafted whodunit. I really did enjoy this book with the right touches of mystery, romance, and even humor.
About Vannetta Chapman
Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She is the author of many novels, including the Pebble Creek Amish series, Shipshewana Amish Mystery Series, and Plain and Simple Miracle series. Vannetta is a Carol award winner and also received more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She currently writes Christian suspense, Amish romance, and Amish mystery. She was a teacher for 15 years and currently resides in the Texas hill country.
I hope you come by and check out my blog when you have time. https://nrcbooks.blogspot.com/ – I am on Vannetta Chapman Street Team. Follow me If you want to. Follow though Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook Fan Page, Facebook, Linkedin and Booklikes.