One Man's Meat (A Flaxborough Mystery #9)

Author:  Colin Watson
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780413347800; 9780413516909
Farrago Publishing
192 Pages
Various Prices
June 14, 2018 (Reissue)

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With Old World charm and a military air, Mortimer Rothermere makes a most convincing conman.

Just now he is employed by the Cultox corporation, to ensure that no breath of scandal taints the reputation of their successful pet food company near Flaxborough, as the acrimonious marriage of its unsavoury MD, David Harton and his wife Julia, threatens to boil over.

But even Mortimer's habitual sang-froid deserts him in the face of ruthless villany and actual murder - what a relief that an old friend lives nearby, the incomparable Miss Lucy Teatime, and she is willing to dig out the dark secrets of canned WOOF (with turkey), 'the caviar of the canine world'.

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A young man named Tring is having a fun night at a local fair when for a seemingly unknown reason, he falls to his death from a ride.  But his family is having none of it and insist that his death was murder.  After the general inquest, DI Purbright isn't sure what to make of it, but he's willing to listen to what Tring's grandmother has to say on the subject...

Julia and David Harton heartily dislike each other and he wants a divorce.  Badly.  But not enough to part with any of his money, which is why she won't grant him one.  Yet she soon receives in the post a very strange letter from a company called "Happy Endings" that professes to offer her just that.

When she meets with the sender - a Mr. Mortimer Rothermere - he merely states that he has been retained by someone who knows of her plight and is willing to offer her a way to achieve her ends - to the tune of ￡20,000.  After hearing the details she agrees.  She is merely to "disappear" for a time, leaving trace evidence of her husband having done away with her.  Then, when he is desperate for her to return, she will - but only if he meets her price...

Somehow these two events are related, but how?  And will Purbright be able to connect them, thus solving the disappearance of Mrs. Harton and the death of Mr. Tring?  Perhaps...with a little luck, the mild assistance of Miss Lucy Teatime, and the reluctant help of Mr. Rothermere...

While at first this seems to be a tale of the murder of a young man and a plan to convince a husband his wife has been kidnapped, it soon becomes something else entirely.  The young man's grandmother goes to Purbright telling him that a picture of her grandson is missing, along with the silver frame it was in - taken by a supposed reporter - and also missing is a small round medal that he had possession of.  Who would want either of these items?

Then when Julia Harton agrees to a plan to be "kidnapped" in order to force her husband - who wants a divorce but does not want to give her any kind of financial settlement - to do so, it is soon found out that something very different than what Mrs. Harton had agreed to has been put in place.

But while these two things seem to have nothing in common, it turns out that they most certainly do.  And when Miss Lucilla Teatime pays a visit to a friend and discovers that one of her beloved dogs has passed away it only adds to the mystery...

What seems like a couple of forthright cases soon turn into a mystery indeed for Detective Inspector Purbright.  Certain things start to come to light, both for him and for the 'grieving' husband who begins to realize that things are starting to go awry; partly because Mr. Rothermere - who has begun to realize that he might have made a terrible mistake - turns to Miss Teatime for help in unraveling himself from the situation.

When Mrs. Harton also begins to realize her role in the matter may not have been as straightforward as she thought, she also wonders how to extricate herself and that is when things start falling into place for Purbright.  With plenty of twists and turns, it is delightful indeed to watch everything weave itself into place giving us a nice historical mystery; while those today are indeed much more complicated, this is still a very nice endeavor.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/One-Mans-Meat-Flaxborough-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07BPHCNTD/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2421853169

More on Colin Watson's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/colin-watson/

The Naked Nuns (A Flaxborough Mystery #8)

Author:  Colin Watson
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780413452504; 9780571255030
Farrago Publishing
176 Pages
Various Prices; $3.99 Amazon
May 31, 2018 (Reprint)

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Flaxborough has its share of fat-cat businessmen, like the brash Councillor Henry Crispin and snobbish Arnold Hatch, proprietor of the Floradora Country Club.  Their bitter rivalry is well known, so when Crispin's luxury river cruiser, the Lively Lady, is ruthlessly sunk, shortly after Hatch's night-time shenanigans had been lit up for the world to see, no one expects the feud to die away peacefully.

But there is a death, a far from peaceful one, and DI Purbright and Sergeant Love have information that it might be linked with the arrival in town of a certain Sicilian-American gentleman.

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When a concerned citizen comes to Detective Inspector Purbright with a cryptic letter that could imply almost anything, Purbright is stumped as to what is meant by the "naked nuns" about to arrive.  Then the police in New York receive a letter that implies a crime is about to occur in the town of Flaxborough, England, they forward the letter onto them.  DI Purbright tells Chief Constable Chubb that nothing can be done until they find the person who is going to commit the crime, and hopefully the victim also.  Then Arnold Hatch receives a letter apparently written by the same person intimating that he will soon be the victim of this crime.  When he takes it to Purbright, they now have the victim, but are unsure of who is going to commit the crime...

Miss Lucy Teatime, meanwhile, receives a visit from a brash American who claims that her distant relative said to look her up and ask for her help.  He tells her only that a crime is going to be committed and he's trying to prevent it.  While he doesn't say so, Miss Teatime is positive he is one of those "American gangsters," or at least was one at one time...

While Purbright and his policemen try and figure out what the cryptic letters mean, Henry Crispin is planning on getting even with Hatch for destroying his boat.  On the night of one of Hatch's revelries at his Floradora Club, Crispin has designed a plan of revenge of his own, and he doesn't realize that it will mask a murder about to take place. 

It is only when a matter of coincidence occurs in Purbright's presence that all will be made clear as to what everything means...

While this book does begin a little slow, it leads into a plan that takes time to form.  The characters are introduced, and the red herrings begin.  While Purbright is seeking nuns - naked or otherwise - that may have drifted into his town (for what else could the letters mean?) life goes on pretty much as it should, but with Hatch growing ever more impatient and angry as he believes his life may very well be at stake.

The clues are well hidden in this little mystery, which has been reissued from its original date yet still remains quite a gem.  Anyone who has read the previous Flaxborough mysteries will recognize some of the characters from those books (they drift in and out) of which we have become fond.  I do love to watch Purbright go through the motions, as it were - while his chief thinks he is unambitious, he may very well be so; but he is an intelligent man who is able to take the clues and put them together nicely.

This book is no different than any of the others I have read.  I have become quite fond of DI Purbright and the others in this town; even Miss Teatime - whom I wouldn't trust any farther than I could see her - has grown on me.

When the ending comes and everything is put together it comes as a complete surprise.  In fact, it is only a matter of a chance meeting that puts it all together for Purbright himself.  A delightful ending to an engaging mystery.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C929JKK/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2421828305

More on Colin Watson's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/colin-watson/

Pet peeves (A Haskell Blevins, P.I. Mystery #1)

Author:  Taylor McCafferty
Genre:  Mystery

Paperback
ISBN #:  9780671728021
Pocket Books
216 Pages
Various Prices
October 1, 1990

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In Pigeon Fork, Kentucky, it's not easy to be a hard-boiled detective...

Being as how my office is over my brother Elmo's drug store, it's kind of tough getting the right private-eye atmosphere.  Fact is, since I'd left Louisville homicide four months ago, my biggest case was the mystery of the stolen feed sacks.

But things sure got interesting quick when Cordelia Turley sashayed up my stairs and hired me to find out who killed her old Grammy.  Not to mention Grammy's cat and a parakeet named Sweety-bird.  For one thing, Cordelia was real pretty - a Pigeon Fork 10, which was maybe a 7 or 8 anywhere else.  And she was willing to pay my standard rates.

Then came the slashed tired.  The threatening letters.  The folks who said Cordelia's dear old Grammy was a looney, and the ones who said she was a brazen, shameless hussy.  It was a real interesting case all right.  But nothing Haskell Blevins, P.I., couldn't handle...

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When newly minted P.I. Haskell Blevins is approached by an attractive woman to solve the case of who killed her dear Grammy, he jumps at the chance.  But after meeting Grammy's relatives, it seems that there may be more than one suspect.  Not to mention a crazy woman in town is claiming that someone is threatening her because she was concerned about Grammy's dead cat...

Okay, I read this book because it sounded interesting.  And the fact that the cat was already dead when I started the book didn't change that fact, since it was, well, after the fact as it were.  But the more I read, the less I enjoyed it.

It might have sounded cute, but Haskell comes off as a hillbilly (no offense to hillbillies).  It made the book less interesting to me.  But the reason I only gave it one star is because the author apparently has no problem with animal cruelty.  Killing cats isn't humorous.  And I'm not talking about the dead cat at the beginning.

I should have known right away when I read how the first cat died (and it wasn't nice) but I continued on.  Even when I realized that the cat was only trying to survive.  I wish I hadn't.  What kind of person thinks it's perfectly fine to write a humorous mystery that includes the killing and torturing of pets?  It's horrible.  I don't trust people that don't like animals, and this author obviously doesn't care about them...or thinks it's okay to abuse them.

I didn't like the ending, either, but I'll let that one pass.  This is not a book I would recommend to anyone.

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Peeves-Taylor-McCafferty/dp/0671728024/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2419115498

 More on Taylor McCafferty's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/barbara-taylor-mccafferty/

Lethal Licorice (An Amish Candy Shop Mystery #2)

Author:  Amanda Flower
Genre:  Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Audio CD; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496706416; 9781541468375
Kensington Publishing (Tantor Audio)
352 Pages
$6.47; $26.20; $5.99 Amazon
February 27, 2018

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Harvest, Ohio, is a long way from New York City, where Bailey King left a coveted job as a head chocolatier to take over Swissmen Sweets, her Amish grandparents' candy shop.  Now, while caring for her recenrly widowed grandmother, she plans to honor her grandfather's memory by entering the annual Amish Confectionery Competition.  But between lavender blueberry fudge and chocolate cherry ganache truffles, Bailey may have bitten off more than she can chew when the search for a missing pot-bellied pig turns up a body suffering from sugar overload - the fatal kind...

A candy maker from a neighboring town who wanted Englischer Bailey disqualified for being an outsider, Josephine Weaver died from an allergy to an essential licorice ingredient.  The suspects include:  Josephine's niece, a young woman going through her rumspringa, or running around time, and Bailey herself.  Now it falls to Bailey, who's sweet on the local sheriff's deputy, to clear their names and entice a killer with a cast-iron stomach for cold-blooded murder...

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Bailey King has decided to stay in Harvest, Ohio, and help her grandmother run Swissmen Sweets, the candy shop her grandparents started.  She gave up a high-end job in Manhattan to do so, and was recently given the go ahead to stand in for her grandfather at an Amish candy competition.  But Josephine Weaver isn't happy about the decision, and has told Bailey she'll find a way to get her out.

Bailey also meets a young girl named Charlotte and discovers she's Josephine's niece.  Charlotte is in turmoil over staying or leaving the Amish faith, and Bailey finds her in the church playing the organ.  But the sound is off, and when they check, Charlotte finds the body of Josephine stuffed inside.

So now Charlotte is a suspect, and also Bailey because licorice was found in Josephine's pocket and the woman was allergic - licorice that has been stamped with the distinctive Swissmen Sweets logo.  In order to clear her name and that of Charlotte - whom she soon learns is a distant relative - Bailey will have to do a little sleuthing on her own...

First off, this book was slightly better than the first, but I still don't understand why the sheriff is in these books.  He's made no bones about the fact he doesn't like the Amish; and yet he's sheriff in an Amish community - and running unopposed for re-election.  Aiden says he doesn't want to run against him because it's wrong for a deputy to do that, but that's a crock.  Many deputies run against the sheriff in almost any community across the nation, so I don't buy that.  Yet the sheriff's superiors haven't noticed his attitude toward the Amish?  Or don't they care?

This book also makes the Amish look like bigoted jerks.  I’ve been around Amish people - a lot.  They don’t hate Englischers.  In fact, they deal with them quite nicely, as it is the Amish way to be decent to everyone (unless they have been slighted in some way).  It’s as if they don’t care that her grandfather died, they have no sympathy for her or the position her grandmother was put in.  Amish people accept the decisions made - yet they were unwilling to accept decisions by those in charge in this instance?  It didn’t ring true for me.

Following is a major spoiler of this book, as it contains major plot points, the reason for the murder, and a reference to an event in the previous book, so if you don't want to know these things, please don't read on.

The author contradicted herself when she said all Amish women have is their reputation and then in the last book has Emily have a baby out of wedlock. If that truly happened, she would be shunned by the community (including her friend Marisol) or hastily married to the man who impregnated her. It could not have been kept secret, as any man interested in making her his wife - she is 20 now - would have to be told the truth. How long can she stay single and no one wonders why? Then, the explanation for the murder also didn't make sense; if Josephine was blackmailing the murderer, and he responded by telling her he would tell the truth about their long-ago affair, why would she kill herself? All she had to do was agree that things should just be kept the way they were - she wouldn't expect him to allow her to win unfairly, and he wouldn't tell anyone about the affair. Also, if she was going to kill herself with licorice extract, how did she get Bailey's? Clara said no one entered the shop but her extra extract was missing - it would have been easier to use her own than steal someone else's. Wouldn't Clara notice if Josephine walked into her store and lifted the extract?

There were also things said about the Amish that didn't seem believable to me.  They are treated as gossip mongers and people who have a hatred of outsiders (they keep to themselves and don't usually 'hang around' Englishers), and think the worst of everyone (except Bailey's grandmother).  Unless the Ohio Amish are different from the Pennsylvania Amish, I believe this is giving people a false view; no, they're not perfect, but they are God-fearing, and would consider anything against the Bible (as in treating people how you want to be treated) as evil.

I also don't see why Bailey was even wondering why she didn't win everything; Emily did all the work.  All Bailey did was help pour or stretch taffy.  She was never at her booth because she was off investigating (like she couldn't have done that after the competition had ended for the day).  Obviously she didn't take it seriously.

Plus I didn't understand why Bailey had to buy a clunker of a car.  She was first in line to be head chocolatier, was she not?.  What happened to all her money?  Was she being paid in chocolate?  She must have lived somewhere yet no mention is made of her giving up her apartment/condo or selling her furniture (maybe buy a decent car?).  Did she just abandon everything when she moved back to Ohio?  Did she waste her paycheck partying or shopping?  Again, I have a hard time believing she was in such a "high-powered job" and didn't make enough money to have a healthy savings account.  There's no way she should be so broke she can't afford a good vehicle.  Just because she made the choice to return home shouldn't translate to:  'I have to go back and care for my grandmother.  Unfortunately, when I make the move I'll have to abandon my bank account and have to start from scratch'.  (Honestly, I'm getting really tired of all these protagonists with 'high-powered jobs' returning home and not having any savings.  What are they doing?  Partying all night and paying the bill for all of their friends?)

Since there was a preview of the next book, here's a clue for the author:  The Amish don't like their picture taken.  They would never allow anyone to film them (these are not teenagers who have not been baptized into the faith, these are full-blown Amish).  The Amish hold humility as a highly-cherished value and view pride as a threat to community harmony.  Because photographs can call attention to one's self, they are prohibited at home.  Moreover, the Amish believe that photographs in which they can be recognized violate the Biblical commandment, "Thou shalt not make unto thyself a graven image."  They want to be remembered by the lives they lived and the examples they left, not by physical appearance; so they wouldn't allow anyone to come in and film them for a reality show (Amish teens on rumspringa are very different than the Amish community.  A film crew in the candy store would not have been allowed).  But then again, I've only been around the Lancaster Amish - maybe the Ohio Amish are different.

I realize this is a work of fiction, but I've always believed in the rule that unless it's sci-fi or fantasy, if it wouldn't happen in real life, it shouldn't happen in a book.  I would have liked to have rated it higher, but I honestly couldn't do so. 

https://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Licorice-Amish-Candy-Mystery/dp/1496706412/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2420782488

More on Amanda Flower's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/amanda-flower/

Broomsticks Over Flaxborough (A Flaxborough Mystery)

Author:  Colin Watson
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780413502203; 9780571254149
Farrago Publishing
192 Pages
Various Prices; $.99 Amazon
May 17, 2018; Reprint

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What could be more wholesome than the Folklore Society's quarterly "revels", with dancing, a bonfire, and a quaffing bench?  Well-upholstered matrons and town worthies enter most enthusiastically into the spirit.  So it's unfortunate when a younger woman, the freethinking Edna Hillyard, goes missing that night.

Then the manufacturer of "Lucillite" (gives your wash lightness, brightness and whiteness), filming a promotion locally, is dismayed to find a gruesome bull's head ruining his key scene, while desecrations take place in the church, and the press begins reporting on Black Magic and a Town of Fear!  Are DI Purbright and his team really battling against evil forces?

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There are a group of people in Flaxborough who consider themselves witches and warlocks (but are probably in reality just wanting to have regular orgies) under the guise of a folklore society...

When a couple of schoolboys find an abandoned vehicle with womens' clothing inside they anonymously call the police.  What is discovered is that the car belongs to a missing woman and during the investigation it is discovered that this woman was the mistress of a Mr. Persimmons, who has also become missing.  At first the police simply think that they have run away together, but then the body of Mr. Persimmon is discovered and a mysterious mask washes up in the river that makes DI Purbright rethink his initial conclusion...

A local reverend calls the police because there have been desecrations in his church and when they arrive they find odd things - corpses of a frog, a mouse, and what appears to be an effigy of the poor reverend.  They also discover that the reverend is part of group of four men who are concerned with the seemingly satanic worshippers and trying to help those that have been affected.

But it is from an unlikely source - one of a group of women who are working for a company promoting "Lucillite" - a product that makes your wash the brightest it's ever been - that gives them the break they have been looking for and it's not too long after that, with the help of intrepid Sergeant Love, that Purbright is able to put the clues together and find the truth of the matter..

Again we visit the village of Flaxborough where this time the mysterious goings on of a group of devil worshippers is about to be discovered.  It is only when a young woman disappears and the body of a man is discovered that brings things to the attention of the police, and their activities are about to be laid bare for all of England to see.

Purbright delights me.  He is an intelligent man who, with the help of his faithful Sergeant Sid Love and his other officers, manages to glean bits and pieces of information and put them together in a truly impressive manner.  This time out they are searching for a coven that has apparently committed murder and are brazen enough to believe they can get away with it.  Unfortunately, they don't count on the resolute DI Purbright, who is as good a detective as they come.

It is indeed a pleasure reading about the investigation and how thorough Purbright's crew is; at the end he masterfully creates what is nothing more than a coordinated raid on some of them to bring out the murderer into the open, and I was truly surprised by the result.  It is always satisfying to see the unexpected become the truth. 

When the book was finished and everything came together nicely, the tale was absorbing and written well; my only disappointment is that the author is deceased and when I am done with the series there will be no more.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Broomsticks-Over-Flaxborough-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07BPD82PW/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2417650487

More on Colin Watson's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/colin-watson/

Rockets' Dead Glare (A Tourist Trap Mystery #9.25)

Author:  Lynn Cahoon
Genre:  Mystery

Digital Book
Lyrical Underground
77 Pages
$1.99 Amazon
June 5. 2018

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South Cove's businesses are up in arms after volunteer fire chief Barry Gleason threatens to shut down anyone who doesn't comply with the fire code.  But when Barry schedules a training burn in an old abandoned barn, he is the only one who doesn't come out alive.  Jill Gardner - owner of Coffee, Books, and More - smells murder in the ashes.  She'll have to work quickly to nab a killer with a short fuse - or else everyone's holiday will end with a fizzle...

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During a Business to Business meeting of town members, Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More is dismayed to hear that fire chief Barry Gleason has decided that he will inspect the businesses and look for infractions, and if he finds any then the businesses will be shut down - perhaps even during the Fourth of July celebration.  Her dismay turns to anger when Barry inspects her business after the meeting and not only finds infractions, but hints that he can make them "go away" if there is a 'private meeting' between Jill and himself.

But soon she learns that he's given pages of infractions to every business in town, making nearly everyone angry, and the even Darla has refused to leave the mayor's office unless he does something about it.  But when there's a controlled fire and Barry asks three of his volunteer firefighters - Bill, who owns the inn, Matt, who helps run the winery, and Tiny, who is the cook at Diamond Lille's, to help him.  But when the fire is out and Barry is found inside dead, partially burned, then it might be a case of murder...

Normally I don't read short stories but I just had to because I really enjoy the books by this author so decided to take a chance.  However, I got the idea that this was written quite awhile ago and just now published, as things were said and done about circumstances that have since changed in previous books, as anyone who has been reading this story already knows; the timeline was off.

Still, it was a good mystery even if I did figure out the truth before Jill.  The clues were all there, and in a short story - and this is the reason I rarely read them - events are much closer than they would be in a regular book, so therefore the clues are easier to read and we are given less time to (in the words of Hercule Poirot) exercise our "little grey cells".  Hower, it was a nice interval of a story while we wait for the next full-length installment; I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read; and to those who have never met the characters Ms. Cahoon has written that we have grown to love.

https://www.amazon.com/Rockets-Kindle-Single-Tourist-Mystery-ebook/dp/B078LQ9ZLG/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2417616964

More on Lynn Cahoon's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/lynn-cahoon/

Assaulted Caramel (An Amish Candy Shop Mystery #1)

Author:  Amanda Flower
Genre:  Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Audio CD; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496706393; 9781541468368
Kensington Publishing (Tantor Audio_
352 Pages
$7.99; $24.99; $4.99 Amazon
August 29, 2017

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Bailey King is living the sweet life as assistant chocolatier at world-famous JP Chocolates in New York City.  But just when Bailey's up for a life-changing promotion, her grandmother calls with news that her grandfather's heart condition has worsened.  Bailey rushes to Harvest, Ohio, where her grandparents still run Swissmen Sweets, the Amish candy shop where she was first introduced to delicious fudge, truffles, and other assorted delights.

She finds her grandfather is doing better than she feared.  Unfortunately, the same can't be said for a local Englisch developer, whom Bailey finds dead in the candy shop kitchen - with Jebediah King's chocolate knife buried in his chest.  Now the police are sweet on her grandfather as the prime suspect.  Despite the sincere efforts of a yummy deputy with chocolate-brown eyes, Bailey takes it on herself to clear Jebediah.  But as a cunning killer tries to fudge the truth, Bailey may be headed straight into a whole batch of trouble...

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When Bailey King is called by her grandmother to say her grandfather is very ill, she rushes back to them in Ohio.  But when she arrives she sees her grandfather arguing with a man and he falls to the sidewalk.  She rushes to help him and he is pleasantly surprised to see her there.

But the next morning when she can't sleep, she goes down to the candy shop where they have electrical outlets to see if there are any messages on her phone, and she steps in something sticky.  When she turns on the lights, she sees that it is blood, and the man she saw arguing with her father is lying in it, with a knife in his chest.

When the police arrive, they know that her grandfather couldn't have committed the crime due to his health, but they immediately suspect Bailey of it.  She knows she's the main suspect, and when she's ordered not to go back to New York - where an almost-certain promotion awaits her - she knows she has to find a killer since it's certain the police aren't looking anywhere else except in her direction...

I was hoping from the title that this would be a mystery set around the Amish.  But it’s not.  Most of the people are Englisch, so you have to wonder how many Amish actually live in this town, or why so many Englisch people live there instead.  My husband grew up in Pennsylvania, and I’ve visited many Amish towns and they pretty much keep to themselves.

I would have liked to enjoy this book more, but when I met the sheriff, it pretty much killed it for me.  He wants to pin a murder on Bailey because she's new to the village; but it's insane to say that she killed a complete stranger because she saw him arguing with her grandfather.

As to the 'incident' that occurred three years prior, that's like saying if someone breaks into your home and you defend yourself you have a history of violence.  One-time circumstances do not make you a violent person.  I was truly hoping the sheriff wouldn’t be a stereotype as in other books of this sort, but I was wrong.  He hates Bailey and accuses her, telling her he knows she’s guilty; there is nothing redeeming about him, and I can't see reading other books where he is a character.  Especially since he tells her he has more right to be in the county than the Amish since he's the sheriff.  Then Aiden tells her that the sheriff is toying with her until he gets tired of it and arrests her.  Say what?  She's just part of game to him until he gets bored with it?  Then it's said that he doesn't care about the Amish.  He's a horrible person and should be a sheriff anywhere!

But I found that most of the characters were unlikable, especially Cass, who has 'I'm from New York so I'm better than you' attitude and seems to look down on the people in Harvest as not being good enough to be in her company; she even disparaged the rental car as not being good enough.  I couldn't wait for her to leave, and Bailey's better off without someone like that in her life.

Plus, an Amish theme park? Really? Who in their right mind would think it was a good idea - and better yet, who in their right mind would go? "Hey, honey, grab the kids! We're going to Amishland!" What kind of rides would they have? Buggy rollercoasters? Baling your own hay? I also didn't like the fact that the author killed off her grandfather after he'd been in the entire book. He was one of the few likable characters they were; the plot and ending could have been carried on in exactly the same manner without it. Not to mention that an Amish shopkeeper would not cheat on their taxes. A man is head of the household, and when she turned in the store's receipts, he would know how much product is being sold and what the total should be. They consider crime of any kind to be "devil's work" and these are God-fearing people. They file taxes as a group and not individually so the head of household would notice discrepancies. Also, keeping Emily's pregnancy secret doesn't make sense. She's of marriagable age, so people would wonder why she isn't wed. She would be shunned by other members of the community if they found out.

The ending was a bit of a letdown, and there was no reason given why the killer murdered Tyson, so it didn't make any sense.  The sheriff said that Bailey had a motive, but why wasn't there one given for the actual murderer?  In fact, it felt as if everything going on was left hanging without resolutions anywhere, except for the fact that we knew all along Bailey would stay, so there's no spoiler there.  I will read the second in the series, but if it doesn't improve then I'm finished with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Assaulted-Caramel-Amish-Candy-Mystery/dp/1496706390/

Goodreads:

More on Amanda Flower's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/amanda-flower/