Truffle Trouble
An Amish Candy Shop Mystery #10
By Amanda Flower
ISBN 9781496743770
Author’s website: amandaflower.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie
Synopsis:
Horror d’oeuvres
Summer is finally upon the village of Harvest, Ohio, nestled in picturesque Amish Country, and folks are abuzz over their very own Bailey King’s upcoming June wedding. The Amish Candy shop owner and star of TV’s Bailey’s Amish Sweets is marrying Holmes County Sheriff Aiden Brody. To sweeten the occasion will be a scrumptious giant chocolate truffle wedding cake, made especially for the happy couple by Bailey’s New York City mentor, Jean Pierre. Other than the risk of the ring bearer, Jethro the pig, taking a bite out of the confection, what could go wrong?
As it turns out, a food-related disaster does befall the day. But with Bailey in the mix, it’s nothing so pedestrian as a peckish pig. At the reception, a wedding guest dies after sampling the hors d’oeuvres. Café owner and new caterer Darcy Woodin, who made all the food except the desserts, is pegged by police as the number one suspect. Even more incriminating, the victim is one of Darcy’s ex-boyfriends . . .
Still, Bailey is friends with Darcy, and she’s certain the young woman is innocent. Even before the first dance with her new husband, Bailey’s on the case. Can she help solve it in time for her honeymoon—or will a killer try to end her happily ever after before it’s even begun . . .?
Recipe included! (From Goodreads)
Review:
The beautiful, early summer days in Amish country make the perfect setting for a wedding, especially for this couple. Bailey is best known in Harvest, Ohio for chocolate, fudge, and other goodies at Swissmen Sweets, opened by her grandparents many years ago. She is also known for her cable television show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Bailey resolutely helps solve murders in Harvest. Bailey and Aiden, the sheriff in Holmes County, will be married in a simple, yet large, wedding.
Bailey’s former boss and mentor, Jean Pierre, prepared the most gorgeous, detailed, wedding cake ever, and flew it in his private plane from his famous chocolate shop in New York City to deliver it and attend her wedding. Jean Pierre saw Bailey as the daughter he never had, and put his whole heart into that cake.
The wedding was a sweet, memorable event. Bailey even had a very special, adoring, ring bearer: Jethro, the polka-dotted emotional support pig owned by Juliet, her new mother-in-law. Jethro steals almost every scene he is in, and that day was no exception.
The outdoor reception was nearby, outside of the new Swissmen Candyworks factory. Bailey’s friend and owner of the Sunshine Café, Darcy, prepared the picnic style fare for the reception. It would give her new catering business high visibility. And it did – until Jason, her ex-boyfriend, died. Darcy had just returned to the Candyworks kitchen after chatting with guests, to find Jason lying on the floor. Several thought Jason had seemed ill at the reception. He wanted to win Darcy back that evening, but never had the chance.
With a killer on the loose, they had to postpone their honeymoon. Part of a poisonous mushroom was found in Darcy’s specialty chef’s knife case. Had Jason ingested even part of that, it would have killed him. Bailey knew Darcy wouldn’t kill anybody, but Aiden had to follow the evidence.
The following morning, Bailey went to Swissmen Sweets instead of the factory. It would give her time to think about the situation, and visit with Clara, her beloved grandmother. When she arrived, Clara was lying behind the counter, unconscious. She had had a heart attack, and the doctor would surgically insert a stent the next day.
One of Darcy’s staff came to Bailey early the next morning. The café door was open but the lights were off. Bailey returned with her, and they found Darcy lying on the floor in back. She had a concussion, and remembered little of being attacked.
Early test results showed that Jason was poisoned by eating a tart made with the death cap mushroom inside. No other tarts were poisoned, nobody else sick. With the evidence pointing to Darcy, she was arrested, even with a concussion. Bailey was upset about her friend’s arrest, and saddened that her grandmother chose to recover at the Amish home of friends instead of with her and Aiden.
Margot, Harvest’s community planner, drafted Bailey into special service for the Summer Soiree, which featured four local vintners providing wine tastings with perfect pairings of Swissmen Sweets truffles. At least one of the vintners had a strong motive to murder Jason. Dakota, his only loyal employee, would serve his wine at the Soiree in his honor.
I love most of the regular characters in this series! They grow and change over time, and remain engaging and fun. Bailey and Aiden were made for each other. They had dated several years, and went through good and challenging times together. I have a new appreciation for Darcy from getting to know her better in this mystery. Bailey is a delight. She didn’t complain about postponing their honeymoon; her priorities were Aiden, Clara, and finding who really murdered Jason. When Jethro, the emotional support pig, went missing in the Harvest woods, she dropped everything to find him. It was such a treat to see Jean Pierre’s reaction to Harvest in general, and Darcy’s grandmother, Lois.
This mystery had many interesting twists. I only came close to the real solution half of a breath ahead of Bailey, after considering secrets that turned around the entire focus of the investigation. The end was very satisfying, and there is so much to look forward to! I highly recommend this mystery and series!
