Claire Weatherly is the owner of a gift shop in Heavenly,
Pennsylvania, which
is a mostly Amish town. Her gift shop has become a safe
haven for her since
she's settled into the town with her aunt Diane, who owns
Sleep Heavenly, the
town's inn. She, along with the rest of the townspeople, is
getting ready for
the annual Amish Food Festival, where local Amish flavours
will be displayed.
But that's not the only thing that has the town buzzing.
Toy manufacturer
Rob Karble has decided to start a new line of toys based on
Amish toy
designs, and he's in town to discuss this with local Amish
toymakers and
designers.
However, the atmosphere at the Food Festival gets a bit less
festive when
Karble's body is found. Immediately, suspicion is cast on
two Amish men --
Daniel, a toymaker; and Isaac, who works with Daniel and
designs toys. While
Detective Jakob Fisher (who was baptised Amish, but then
left the religion)
begins his investigation, Claire is determined to prove that
an Amish person
could not have possibly killed anyone. Claire's parallel
investigation helps
Jakob as many Amish people are reluctant to talk to him
since he left the
Amish, especially since his investigation is targeting
fellow Amish people.
However, since Claire has been a friend to the community
since she moved
there, people are willing to confide in her.
Claire also gleans information from guests at Sleep
Heavenly, where she helps
her aunt. Rob's widow and one of their employees are still
staying there while
the investigation continues, and Claire is able to get
valuable information that
points to a motive. However, revealing the motive could
mean changing the
course of some lives in the community, and Claire isn't sure
if that's the right
thing to do.
ASSAULTED PRETZEL is a nice continuation of the Amish
Mystery series. The mystery
itself is well-written and includes plenty of intrigue while
still educating
readers on Amish ways. I like that the Amish education
isn't watered down or
condescending, too. Detective Jakob's inner conflict is all
too apparent as his
own family members are forbidden from speaking to him, and
Claire
empathises with him as their friendship deepens. While I
enjoyed the subplot
that Claire was torn between two suitors, her courtship with
Benjamin grew
tedious quickly, so I was happy that the conflict was
resolved (or seemingly
so, anyway) by book's end.
Claire Weatherly found the simple life she always wanted
when she opened a gift shop in Heavenly, Pennsylvania—a
small town in the heart of Amish country. But when murder
disrupts her Heavenly home, it’s up to Claire and Detective
Jakob Fisher to find the not-so-simple truth.
The quiet town of Heavenly is buzzing with excitement over
the latest guests at the local inn, Sleep Heavenly. Toy
manufacturer Rob Karble is in town to meet the members of
the Amish community who will soon be crafting a new toy line
for his company. But when word gets out that Karble intends
to use the Amish designs without employing the Amish to make
them, someone sends the interloper to his final reward.
No one wants to believe anyone from the Amish community
could commit such an act, but as Claire and Detective Fisher
have learned, no one is above sin—or suspicion.
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