Bailey King is excited about the upcoming Harvest Christmas Market. She has just settled in with her grandmother to run Swissmen Sweets, an Amish candy shop, and they are featuring peppermint treats at their table. Unfortunately, Bailey's past rears its ugly head when her ex- boyfriend and New York celebrity tv chef, Eric Sharp, arrives and wants to insert himself back into Bailey's life. Eric wants to use Bailey and her store to film a show to soften his brash image on tv. Unfortunately, Eric's executive producer is murdered and now Eric is the primary suspect. Bailey doesn't want to help him, but she knows he's too selfish to be guilty. Can Bailey fend off Eric's advances and uncover the real murderer without ruining the budding romance she has brewing with Sheriff's Deputy Aiden Brody?
Amanda Flower does an excellent job with her characters! Bailey is a fun character and her best friend, Cass, is a total hoot. But can I just say I love Jethro? Jethro is a potbellied pig owned by Aiden's mom and appears to function as a pampered support pig. The scenes with him are priceless as Jethro, despite being voiceless, definitely expresses his opinions.
I haven't read many books about the Amish (only one book by Jodi Picoult comes to mind) and thus I found the tensions between the traditional Amish and the English to be quite intriguing. I love the tiny insights Amanda Flower gives us into the culture and the role the church plays in their lives. I look forward to more journeys into the Amish culture as I can't wait to read the earlier books in the series as well as the next book in the series!
PREMEDITATED PEPPERMINT is the third book in theΒ Amish Candy Shop MysteryΒ series and wow, how have I missed joining in on this fun series earlier? Amanda Flower is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery authors, which is why I stepped outside my comfort zone to read an Amish mystery by her and I was not disappointed. PREMEDITATED PEPPERMINT has it all - a solid mystery, fabulous characters, and some darned good humor!
Christmas is Bailey Kingβs favorite time of year. For her
first Yuletide in Harvest, Ohio, the former big-city
chocolatier is recreating a cherished holiday treat:
peppermint combined with molten white chocolate. But her
sugar high plummets when her former boyfriend walks into the
candy shop she now runs with her Amish grandmother. New York
celebrity chef Eric Sharp and his TV crew have arrived to
film an authentic Amish Christmas. Baileyβs not about to let
her beloved townβand Swissmen Sweetsβbe turned into a sound
bite. Unfortunately, she gets more publicity than she
bargained for when Ericβs executive producer is found
strangled to deathβand Ericβs the prime suspect.
With Baileyβs sheriff deputy boyfriend out to prove Ericβs
guilt, her bad-boy ex tries to sweet-talk her into helping
him clear his name . . . and rekindle their romance to boost
ratings for his show. Now, between a surplus of suspects and
a victim who wasnβt who she seemed, Baileyβs edging
dangerously close to a killer who isnβt looking to bring joy
to the worldβor to Baileyβthis deadly Noel . . .
No excerpt available.