Amish-English sleuthing duo Deborah Yoder and Callie Harper set out to solve a murder. But more than an innocent man’s future is at stake. In book two of the Shipshewana Amish Mystery series, God’s grace touches the long-lost past as well as lives shaken by current tragedy. There’s more to the quaint northern Indiana town of Shipshewana than handcrafted quilts, Amish-made furniture, immaculate … immaculate farms and close-knit families. When a dead girl is found floating in a local pond, murder is also afoot. And Reuben, brother of Deborah’s best friend’s fiancé, is in jail as the suspect! Reuben refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn’t commit. So, with her English friend Callie–fellow sleuth and owner of Daisy’s Quilt Shop–Deborah sets out to uncover the truth. But the mystery deepens when an elderly man seeks Callie’s help in finding his long-lost daughter, missing since the days of the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes.
An old man who has lost his past. A young man who may lose his future. Once again Deborah and Callie find themselves trying to piece together a crazy quilt of lives and events–one that can bring unexpected touches of God’s grace and resolve the tragedy that has shaken this quiet Amish community.
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A perfect Square is about a group of friends. That group of friends seems to bring Mysteries to an English friend that become an owner of Daisy Quilt Shop. When a dead girl is found and an Amish young man is the center of it.
Callie and her friend Deborah need to find out who killed her or what happened to her. Who is Ruben Fisher covering for? Why will he not clear his name? There seem to be more going on than anything when and Old elderly man shows up at Daisy Quilt Shop, claiming to find his long-lost daughter? Will, it seems that this long lost daughter is really a clue to the dead young girl they find in a pond?
Vannetta Chapman does a wonderful job of giving the readers something to hang on to. Will God grace help and mend. There seems to be a family that thinks that their daughter is running and living in the English world? What happens when the parents find out the truth about their daughter? What about the young man that on the run? What happens on Palm Sunday in 1965 with the Tornadoes?
It was nice.
It should be no secret by now that Vannetta Chapman is one of my favorite authors. She takes a genre I appreciate, Amish Fiction, and mingles it with a genre I love, mystery, sprinkles a little bit of romance and a whole lot of faith and has yet to disappoint me. I reviewed the first book, ‘Falling to Pieces’, in the Shipshewana Mysteries series back in June and it’s been an interesting journey to get from there to here. While the journey is important, getting into this series is a perfect stop along the way. We are back with Callie, and Max, and her friends as yet another death comes up in this small, relatively crime-less, Amish town. It’s not even been a year before the girls are tugged into another body, another death, and one of their own on the line for it.
I have to wonder if Callie ever thinks that perhaps moving to Shipshe was perhaps not the best idea. I mean, yes she finds new friends and a social life but geez Louise Merry Christmas she also finds herself enmeshed in a lot of death. It’s been mere months and another body finds it’s way into her life. She sure didn’t experience that in her isolated life in Texas. She’s also found a few eligible bachelors who might perhaps maybe have an interest in her. Again, didn’t happen when she was living in Texas, even if she’s not quite sure she’s ready for a relationship since her husband’s passing a couple years back. I guess you take the bad with the good? (And I swear on my fuzzy socks I literally was singing the Facts of Life theme song in my head while I typed that!) That being said I have to share a couple of things with you that I loved, not only about this book but all Vannetta books. First, this is not a ‘story’, this is a life. All the depth of things that happen around you every day are woven in. Though I’m super grateful that she doesn’t have us tag along on potty breaks, it’s literally the woven fabric of life. It’s so multidimensional. Callie is running her store and falling, maybe, in like and finding a body with her friends and making time for an old timer with a few memory hiccups who wants to find his daughter missing for decades that no one believes exists. Sound familiar? I mean not that I just ran down your life but just that everything swirls and whirls and stacks up around you while you are making breakfast and doing dishes and trying to figure out if you dog likes wearing bandanas to match your clothes or not.
And while you are living life and making plans things come together that no one ever saw coming. Who knew that senile old guy would help to solve the mystery of the body. Who knew that dress seams were such a big deal, or that someone would even notice?!? Not I for sure and certain. The second thing I love is that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows and happy endings. Sometimes when you do something wrong, even if it’s an accident, there are consequences. I’ve said for years, and the Minions hate it, that everything in life has consequences. Positive outcomes are still a consequence of our choices. I guess, in my mind, I’m trying to help them break the stigma of ‘consequence’ to realize that life is about outcomes. Give and take, positive and negative, natural and enforced; it all comes down to choices and outcomes. I can’t wait to visit Callie and Deborah and the rest of the Shipshe gang next month when I bring you ‘Material Witness’ the final installment in the Shipshewana Amish Mysteries series.
It keeps you turning pages way past bedtime!
Great second book in the series. It was fast paced with characters that you really cared about. I’m sorry there is only one more book to read in the trilogy
Very good read for fans of Amish culture. The Amish life is an intricate part of the story line. The book explores the relationships between the Amish characters and the”Englishers”. In addition, the heroine and her Amish friends manage to help solve a mystery. Good read.
Love everyone of this authors books-
I love the Amish.
Just enjoyed it tremendously. Strong characters. Great story real life
I enjoyed this book very much! It kept my attention right from the very start! I couldn’t wait to get back to it to see what was going to happen!
The characters are believable and interesting! I suggest it as a good relaxing read!
I look forward to reading more from this author!
Always find Amish novels “can’t put it down”. They have slot to teach. A lot to teach about life and stenghthens my faith always. Thankyou.
A Perfect Square was a captivating story from the beginning. When Esther sees a young girl’s body on the pond at Rueben and Tobias Fisher’s farm the action begins with authorities being contacted. As usual Deborah and Callie could not set back when they knew Rueben could not be guilty. Bring in an elderly man, Ira Bontrager, history of a tornado and family separation, Callie just may be the one needed along with Deborah’s keen observation. There’s never a dull moment while reading this book and the pages flew as fast as I could read to see how the story would end. I had my suspicious but was surprised how Vannetta Chapman brought this story to a full square in a couple different ways with the characters.
I look forward to reading the Material Witness when time allows. I love the new covers for Chapman’s Shipshewana Amish Mystery series that were re-released. I was not required to write a review but have shared my own thoughts.
Light and enertaining
Good book. Just love the characters
Really enjoyed it! I love reading the books about the Amidsh.