When delicious baked goods become lethal, a trail of poetry leads to a sweet-toothed killer.
Don’t taste it / Don’t share it /Just throw it away / If you try my bakery pie / You won’t live to see another day.
The Amish Artisan Village of Middlebury, Indiana, might be the last place you would ever expect to find a murderer. But Amber has been managing the Village for decades and there’s nothing she hasn’t seen. Or so she thought.
When poetic notes begin appearing around the bakery, warning that some of the pies have been poisoned, Amber is as confused as she is concerned. Who poisons pies? And more to the point, who leaves poems of warning after they’ve done it? When Amber decides to help the police track down the sweet-toothed saboteur, she enlists Hannah Troyer for another round of Amish-style detective work.
Can Amber and Hannah help the police before the Poison Poet strikes? Both women will need to draw on their faith to preserve the peaceful community they’ve built in Middlebury . . . and to protect the girls who work in the Amish Artisan Village.
Review:
Let me just say that there are many things I enjoy about Vannetta Chapman’s writing. But, one of the things I enjoy most is that her books in a series can be read as standalones. And yet, each book in the series gives you just enough background information without overshadowing the current story. As always, Ms. Chapman has done her homework and it shows in the details of the story. She does a wonderful job describing the Amish ways. She also does a wonderful job describing the setting, so much so, that the reader can easily visualize everything. However, there was one thing that the author changed up in Murder Freshly Baked . Unlike the rest of the series, the story begins with the end and then flashes back to the events leading up to that point. And it’s no surprise that this formula hooks you right off the bat and keeps you on the edge of your seat, turning pages as fast as you can to find out “whodunnit.”
However, do not be fooled by the fact that Murder Simply Brewed is a mystery. It is so much more than that. It is also a story of redemption, forgiveness, faith, acceptance, and love. The author weaves all of these elements together in such a way that they all blend beautifully with the main theme of the story. As in true Chapman style, expect the unexpected where you will find yourself saying, “Didn’t see that coming.” And best of all, you will be kept guessing “whodunnit” up to the very end.
Vannetta Chapman has once again done a flawless job of tying everything together as she brings this series to a close making Murder Freshly Baked a great finale to a great series.
*****I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and viewpoints are my own.
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