A sweet tooth for murder . . . Bailey King’s in New York wrapping up a six-week shoot on her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets, when she gets a call from her Ohio town’s resident busybody. With Easter around the corner, Bailey’s been recruited to create a giant toffee bunny for the weeklong springtime festival that will also feature live white rabbits. But back home in Harvest, death … But back home in Harvest, death becomes the main attraction when Stephen Raber keels over from an apparent heart attack—with Bailey and Raber’s pet bunny as witnesses.
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Except it wasn’t Raber’s heart that suddenly gave out—a lethal dose of lily of the valley was mixed into a tasty piece of toffee. Who’d want to poison a jovial rabbit farmer who reminded Bailey of an Amish Santa Claus? To solve the murder, she and her sheriff deputy boyfriend Aiden must uncover a twenty-year-old secret. She’ll need to pull a rabbit out of a hat to keep a healthy distance from toxic people, including one venomous killer . . .
Recipe Included!
Praise for Amanda Flower and her Amish cozies
“As it turns out, Amanda Flower may have just written the first Amish rom com.”—USA Today
“Flower has hit it out of the ballpark . . . and continues to amaze with her knowledge of the Amish way of life.”—RT Book Reviews
“At turns playful and engaging . . . a satisfyingly complex cozy.”—Library Journal
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Adorable, if you can say that about a murder mystery. The addition of Puff to the series was just the right touch.
Amanda Flower writes with such knowledge of the Amish and does a fantastic job of making the reader feel apart of Harvest, Ohio. You can almost smell and taste the chocolate creations from Swissmen Sweets.
Toxic Toffee is perfectly paced and the red herrings are perfectly spaced throughout. A wonderfully entertaining read.
I received a complimentary copy from Kensington through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
When I’m in the mood for quality cozy reading, Amanda Flower is my go to author. I know that I am in for a treat when I open one of her books and she certainly doesn’t disappoint in Toxic Toffee. With her sharp wit, her lovable characters and her knack for keeping me guessing who done it and why, the author makes it such fun to return to Harvest, Ohio. I feel at home there with Bailey, her grandmother, her friends and the precious animals she finds herself surrounded by. This time around, it’s bunnies and I mean lots of bunnies.
Bailey’s candy making skills are top-notch and she’s always commanded, I mean invited to participate in the towns festivities and when a giant bunny is needed for the springtime festival, she springs into action. Between her candy making, solving a murder and caring for the rabbit of the deceased Amish man she has a pretty hectic life. Now let’s be clear, murder is not a laughing matter until Bailey gets involved, then I find myself laughing at the situations she finds herself in.
This series wouldn’t be complete without the returning cast of funny and delightful characters like Jethro the comfort pig and his owner, Juliet who loves to wear polka dot clothing and kitten heels. Juliet wants her son to marry Bailey as much as I do and when she isn’t busy helping the reverend at their church she is very vocal about her wishes.
I loved everything about this book and highly recommend it. There are a couple of things to keep in mind before starting it though like getting settled in your comfiest seat with some chocolate and carving out some serious reading time because you will not want to put this book down.
I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley and was under no obligation to write a review. All opinions are my own.
This is the first book I’ve read by Amanda Flower and I really enjoyed it. It’s a cute cozy mystery that will keep you guessing and has a wonderful recipe at the end. I will be looking for more of her books. Thank you Kensington Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
TOXIC TOFFEE, the fourth book in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, is a joy to read. Amanda Flower’s delightfully developed characters, well researched setting, and smartly executed mysteries make her books among my favorites, and TOXIC TOFFEE did not disappoint.
Candy maker Bailey is back in Ohio, which is really starting to feel like home, from New York just in time for the town’s Easter celebration. Tasked with making a larger than life toffee rabbit for display in the town square, she is busy. When Amish rabbit farmer Stephen Raber dies literally at Bailey’s feet and his son Eli comes to her for help finding the killer, Bailey cannot help but assist. Even though I identified the murderer early on, it was quite fun to investigate alongside Bailey. There are plenty of clues strategically placed throughout the tale, and Bailey faces plenty of obstacles and personal danger. Humor is liberally sprinkled (Jethro the pig’s shenanigans are always laugh-out-loud funny). The best aspect of the book is the wonderful, authentic and genuine characters. As this is the fourth book, they all now feel like good friends.
I loved TOXIC TOFFEE and highly recommend it to any cozy reader.
I received a copy of this title from the author/Kensington Publishers and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.
Bailey King is back from New York City after filming her show and is ready to dive back in to making delectable candies with her grandmother and Charlotte and Emily at Swissmen Sweets. However, no sooner is she back in Harvest when another death happens literally right at her feet. Bailey feels compelled to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.
I always enjoy my time down in Harvest whenever I visit there and this trip during Easter Days is no exception. I look forward to going there again in the next Amish Candy Shop mystery.
Toxic Toffee by Amanda Flower is book four in the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries. Again, Flower has hit it out of the park.
Bailey has returned to Harvest from New York and it’s close to Easter and that means chocolate Easter bunnies being made. In addition, the town square is having an Easter festival Now in addition to the chocolate bunnies and eggs,, she is enlisted to make a towing toffee bunny for the square, think 8 foot tall. Oh and it’s needed by yesterday! In addition, the square is taken over by little bunnies from a local Amish farm. While meeting with the locals on the square she meets the Amish rabbit farmer and his pet bunny. It’s not long before he drops over dead from an allergic reaction and the last thing he had eaten was a piece of toffee..
Again Bailey is in the middle of the investigation to find out who would want the farmer out of picture. Oh, and did I say, she is now the caretaker of his beloved pet. And will she be next…..
There are plenty of plot twists that will have you guessing to the end. Flower also gives us the normal likeable, relatable characters, a couple quirky ones, adorable pets, humor, and romance.
Overall this is a clean, easy to read, great cozy mystery that may have you hopping to get some chocolate..
I was given an ARC by Netgalley and Kensington books for an honest review.
TOXIC..TOFEE…..by Amanda..Flower
Stephan was busy with the preparation for the .Easter Days, being a bunny farmer, and now he has dropped dead. The created of a chocolate bunny with toffe, was also a disaster, having been outside.. The more she looks into the background of Stephen, there were secrets, an a confession he had left.
Another sweet story and mystery to figure out. Looking for the next in this series. Given ARC by Net Galley and Kensington for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.
Toxic Toffee is the fourth book in The Amish Candy Store Mystery series.
It’s always a nice to visit with the folks of Harvest and to catch up with what is happening in Bailey’s life.
Bailey and Charlotte returned from New York City where Bailey taped six episodes for her TV new TV series, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Easter is just a week away and Margot Rawlings, the towns super organizer has already started working on the celebration. She has asked Stephen Rader to provide a display of rabbits from his rabbit farm in the town square. Margot has been trying to see Bailey, who has been trying to avoid her as she is sure that nothing good will come of it. Margot finally catches up with Bailey and asks her to make a six-foot-tall rabbit to put in the town square. As they are discussing the rabbit that is to be made, Rader approaches looking as he is starting to get ill, and asks Bailey to hold his pet rabbit, Puff. No sooner had he handed Puff off to Bailey he grabbed his chest and collapsed, passing away in front of Bailey and Margot.
Later in the day Aiden Brody, Bailey’s romantic interest and deputy sheriff, informs Bailey that Rader did not have a heart attack but was in fact poisoned by a piece of toffee with a laced with Lily of the Valley.
A day or two later Eli, the son of the victim, approaches Bailey asking her to find the murderer of his father. He provides her with several with threatening notes that had been left in a shed that houses the telephone that Amish nearby use. He quickly leaves without giving much any explanation as to what the notes might mean. The first thing Bailey does is give the notes to Aiden, with the thought that might let her do some sleuthing without giving her too much grief.
A couple of interesting subplots in this book center around Ruth Yoder and a new character, Millie Fisher. Ruth Yoder, the wife of district Bishop, has never had anything decent to say about Bailey since her return to Harvest. Ruth seems to think that the Bishop’s powers also apply to her. So it comes as a shock to Bailey’s ears when she asks Bailey to find the killer of Rader. She hears this at a quilting group at Millie Fisher’s home. Millie is affectionately referred to as the Amish Matchmaker. Mille will have her own series, the first book coming in December 2019.
This another well-written story that reads at a very smooth pace.
Delicious sounding candy recipes are included with the book.
I’m definitely watching for the next book in this delicious series.
After wrapping up the shoot of her first cable show in New York, Bailey King returns to her home in Harvest, Ohio. With Easter just around the corner, Bailey is asked to make a giant toffee rabbit for the town’s Easter Days celebration. While at the park discussing making the toffee rabbit, a man falls over and soon dies. The man was Stephen Raber the local rabbit farmer, Mr. Raber’s son shows up at Bailey’s asking her to help solve his father’s murder. Can Bailey find out what really happened to Mr. Raber?
This the 4th book in the series but my first book. I had no problem understanding this book, so it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone mystery. I really enjoyed this book and have added the previous books to my To Be Read List. The characters are interesting and realistic. The setting of an Amish community is interesting to me, I really enjoyed reading and learning a little more about the Amish. The mystery is well plotted with several red herrings. I recommend this book to cozy mystery fans.
I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book supplied by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.
Series: An Amish Candy Shop Mystery – Book 4
Author: Amanda Flower
Genre: Cozy Mystery/ Culinary
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 512
Publishing Date: June 25, 2019
Toxic Toffee, published by Kensington Books written by Amanda Flower, is the fourth book in the cozy “An Amish Candy Shop Mystery” series and may be the best one yet.
Bailey is working on her new TV show, but when they wrap up the final scene, she is happy to be going home to her grandmother and her friends. New York no longer holds her heart. When a member of the community is killed and drops dead while she is standing nearby, she can’t help but get involved and figure out what happened and why. Who would want to murder what appears to be a sweet, loving, kind Amish man? It doesn’t take long for Bailey to find herself in the thick of things, doing whatever she can to help catch the killer and keep her grandmother safe. Along the way, she ends up with the dead man’s pet rabbit and finds herself falling for the little ball of fur as does her cat, Nutmeg.
The writing in Toxic Toffee is flawless. The plot is twisted just enough to keep readers guessing until the end, the pace and plot are easy to follow. I caution readers that this is a long cozy book. The reader will need to dedicate more than a few hours to finish from the first page to the last. Plan for a late night if you want to complete this book in one sitting. However, it is worth every minute.
Favorite characters such as Cass, Bailey’s best friend, Charlotte her cousin, Aiden her deputy boyfriend, and Juliet, Aiden’s mother are all back to delight readers. The setting in this cozy has the feel of a real small midwestern town, with old buildings, resident-centric life, small-town gossip, and politics. It is detailed enough to make the reader want to visit or even move to this little taste of heaven. Readers will be thrilled with the outcome and will be on the edge of their seat until the killer is revealed.
Readers will love the small Amish candy shop that Bailey owns and runs with her grandmother in the small town of Harvest, Ohio, and will love this cozy and this series.
It won’t come as a surprise to those of you who read my reviews that Amanda Flower is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors. She is such a wonderful storyteller that as a reader I am immediately immersed into her stories and transported to whatever fictional town she has created. I am particularly fond of her Amish mysteries, and this series is no exception. Let’s start with the characters. They are well rounded, dimensional characters that come off the page as genuine. Her research into Amish life and the way she incorporates it into her books gives the stories such a authentic feel. Being a frequent visitor to the real Holmes County Ohio, I can see it jump off the page with the descriptions of the Amish and English. The mystery was well done and woven nicely throughout the story. Poor Bailey, she can’t help have dead bodies drop at her feet (literally in this case). Ms. Flower does a wonderful job of providing hints and clues throughout the story for the reader to find. While the identity of the killer was not a surprise, how it was revealed did come as a surprise to this reader. As an added bonus, we are introduced to the main character in the author’s next series and with just a little taste I cannot wait to read it.
I voluntarily read a digital ARC provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley.
Bailey is settling in to her life in the little village of Harvest, Ohio and now production of her new upcoming TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets, gives her the opportunity to regularly visit Manhattan. But for now, with the Easter season approaching, she needs to concentrate on getting the store ready for the upcoming visitors, and that includes making a six foot tall toffee rabbit to display in the town square. As part of the town’s festivities for the tourists, one of the local farmers, Stephen Raber, also has set up a display of his adorable white rabbits for sale. But as Bailey at her first meeting of the gentle rabbit farmer, Stephen drops down dead…a death that is soon proved to be murder, not natural causes. Once again, Bailey finds herself in the middle of an investigation, in part because the dead man’s son refuses to talk to the police and will only convey his suspicions through Bailey. This is a fun series and I really enjoy the various main characters. I like how Bailey interacts with her grandmother, adjusting to how different the Amish life is from how she was raised but still showing love and respect for her grandmother’s ways. I also like the interaction with the various animals in this story, including Nutmeg, her cat, and of course, Jethro, the black-and-white polka dotted pig. We have a new delightful pet in this story, Puff, a large white rabbit, who I hope will make more appearances in this series. Finally, we were introduced to a new and very interesting character and her two pet goats, who I was delighted to discover (based on a sneak peek at the end of the story) will be featured in their own new series…can’t wait. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book and all opinions are strictly my own.