Murder, Simply Stitched

 Amish Quilt Shop Mystery, Book #2

By Isabella Alan

ISBN # 9780451413642

Author’s Website:  isabellaalan.com

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie

Synopsis:

When Angela Braddock enters her quilts in an Amish auction, she never expects one of her neighbors to end up going, going, gone….

Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late aunt’s Amish quilt shop, Running Stitch. But as the summer is winding down, so is business. To bolster support for the shop, Angie decides to sell her quilts in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction, including some of her aunt’s most prized works.

The quilts promise to be a hit—but the gavel comes down on the lively event when Angie stumbles upon the body of township trustee Wanda Hunt behind a canning shed. The cause of death: a poisoned blueberry fry pie from Rachel Miller’s bakery table. Now Angie’s closest friend is a murder suspect. With Angie taking the lead, she and the other women of her aunt’s quilting circle set out to patch together the clues and stop a killer set on shredding the simple peace of Rolling Brook.

Includes Quilting Tips!   (from Goodreads)

Review:

Isabella Alan has another hit with Murder, Simply Stitched!  If you enjoyed the first Amish Quilt Mystery, Murder, Plain and Simple, you will love this one!  The book opens with a hilarious scene of Angie Braddock, owner of her late aunt’s Amish quilt shop ‘Running Stitch’, grappling in the dust of the auction grounds with Petunia, the lovable goat that lives at the auction owner’s home.  Yes, this is the same Angie whose mother had her on the Texas beauty pageant circuit when she was a teen.  Angie was at the Amish auction to see how well her aunt’s highly coveted quilts would sell to help the shop through the non-tourist winter.  Petunia was on the loose, and Angie was determined to catch her and put her safely away until the auction was over.

Angie’s best friend, Rachel, had a table near Angie’s, and had been confronted by a town trustee, Wanda Hunt.  Rachel and Wanda hotly argued about the pie factory that Rachel’s husband, Aaron, was preparing to build on a huge parcel of land recently purchased.  The trustees were not going to allow the bakery to be built.  When leaving to take care of other business, Rachel gave Wanda a blueberry fry pie that had been made in their existing small Amish bakery.  Shortly afterwards, Angie takes her English bulldog, Oliver, for a walk and finds Wanda by the auction owner’s canning shed.  Wanda was dead, with part of a blueberry fry pie still in her hand.

Thus begins Angie’s newest quest, to help find the murderer, as she knew that her best friend wasn’t capable of killing anyone and as an Amish woman, would not defend herself.  In her typical cowgirl boot-scootin’ style, Angie annoys more than a few of the Amish and town trustees who she questions while she could very well be putting herself in the path of Wanda’s killer.  The handsome sheriff has his hands full as he investigates the murder and tries to keep Angie safe from her loyalty-based actions.

This cozy is at times hysterically funny and at times fraught with suspense.  I can happily say that I didn’t solve the crime before the killer was revealed, which I always appreciate.  And I love the addition of Dodger, Angie’s … Oliver’s new, tiny kitten, and how well Oliver and Petunia get along as if they were old friends.  Oliver protects Dodger as if he were the proud papa, while Angie learns how curiously active a tiny kitten can be.  Angie is an intelligent, well-read lady who names her pets after favorite literary characters. That intelligence carries over into the way she considers the clues and learns about various town practices.

This novel is a bit longer than many cozies, which this reader absolutely appreciates so she can linger a while longer in Rolling Brook.  This novel is very well-written with just the right amount of descriptives and spirited conversations to make this reader feel part of the activities.  This novel can easily stand alone without providing too much, or too little information duplicated from the first book.

Angie is my favorite character, with Rachel a close second.  Angie is smart, plucky, and impulsive, a delight to most of the town.  She no longer resembles the woman who worked for years in a Dallas hi-rise; she returns to a small, Midwest Amish town with new vigor.  She takes risks that I would never have the courage to; she puts herself in the way of danger, to track down murderers faster than Petunia can escape from her yard.  Rachel, as a proper Amish wife and mother, cares for her husband, home, and bakery with skill and a servant’s heart.  Both excel in the art of quilting and are loyal to family and friends.

Murder, Simply Stitched receives my two thimbles up for a great mystery with the designed with humor, suspense, and a touch of romance.  The setting is a favorite of mine, a small Amish community where the traditions of faith and hard work are practiced and making handicrafts of all kinds is still valued.  Anyone who likes well-written cozies that can make you laugh out loud or make sure the doors are locked when something goes bump in the night, will enjoy this novel.  Those who appreciate Amish culture and mysteries will also appreciate this.  Young adults and adults of all ages can read and enjoy Murder, Simply Stitched.  And this reader eagerly looks forward to the next book in one of her new favorite series!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review as part of their ongoing blog tour*