Matchmaking Can Be Murder

A fun spinoff from Amanda Flowers Amish Candy Shop mysteries set in Harvest, Ohio. I do believe Aenti (Auntie) Millie is going to a favorite Amish character like the Felty’s from Jennifer Beckstrand’s Huckleberry Hill series. You can’t help but love the nosy elders.

Several characters from the Amish Candy Shop make appearances (Jethro the Pig) and add to the small-town atmosphere. I’m very excited to see how each series progresses and feeds off each other. If anyone can make it happen, Amanda Flower can.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

Matchmaking Can Be Murder
An Amaish Matchmaker, Book #1
Amanda Flower
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Matchmaking can be murder . . .

When widowed Millie Fisher moves back to her childhood home of Harvest, Ohio, she notices one thing right away—the young Amish are bungling their courtships and marrying the wrong people! A quiltmaker by trade, Millie has nevertheless stitched together a few lives in her time, with truly romantic results. Her first mission? Her own niece, widowed gardener Edith Hochstetler, recently engaged to rude, greedy Zeke Miller. Anyone can see he’s not right for such a gentle young woman—except Edith herself.

Pleased when she convinces the bride-to-be to leave her betrothed before the wedding, Millie is later panicked to find Zeke in Edith’s greenhouse—as dead as a tulip in the middle of winter. To keep her niece out of prison—and to protect her own reputation—Millie will have to piece together a patchwork of clues to find a killer, before she becomes the next name on his list . . .

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 (Amazon)

Review:

This book is a great beginning in a new series by this author. It is a spinoff from her Amish Candy Shop mystery series, and I enjoyed seeing some of my friends from that series in this book. I like the fact that this series has an Amish protagonist, it gives it a unique perspective.

The characters are well developed and well rounded. I enjoyed getting to know Millie, an Amish matchmaker, of sorts. I like the fact that she is older and has more life experience than most of the other cozy protagonists that I read about. As luck would have it, her best friend from childhood, Lois, has moved back and the two reconnect. She is an Englischer and she is a hoot. The difference between the two is like night and day, but they also compliment each other well. And Millie’s goats added so much humor to the book, and also provided a clue to the mystery.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and that pulled me into the story right from the beginning. The mystery was well plotted and moved along at a steady pace. There were enough clues to sift through, suspects to consider and red herrings to examine, and it was not easily solved.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am excited about this new series, and now I have even more books to look forward to reading.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

This is the first book of An Amish Matchmaking Mystery series. It is branched off from Amanda Flowers Candy Shop Mysteries. The story is told as though the main character Millie Fisher is telling readers about, or recalling it from her memories. I loved the humor that went into Millie’s account of what happened before the murder and during the police investigation and the amateur sleuthing. I thought the book was entertaining, at times scary, unpredictable, and a page turner. Although I had my own suspicions as to who the murderer was I never could pin it down to one person. It was a surprise when the guilty person was revealed near the end of the book. This mystery kept me on my toes and I was totally drawn into the story.
Millie Fishers niece Edith Hochstetler was a widow and mother of three young children. She ran a greenhouse that had been handed down to her from her late father. She was engaged to marry Zeke Miller in a few weeks. There was something about Zeke that Millie didn’t like. She felt Zeke was just marrying Edith to get her business. It didn’t seem that he loved her as a suitor who was about to marry someone should. Millie was finally able to convince Edith to break off the engagement and cancel her wedding plans. Everyone was shocked the next day when Zeke Miller was found dead inside the greenhouse. Police ruled it as murder and the search for the killer began. Millie and her friends in the quilting club couldn’t help but get involved in the investigation. Who could have killed Zeke and why did they want him dead?
I recommend this book to readers of Amish Fiction and Cozy mystery. Fans of Amanda Flower will enjoy it.
I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon. A review was not requested. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Not my favorite series by Amanda Flower, but since it was set in the same world as Amish Candy Shop Mysteries I’m already reading the sequel Courting Can Be Killer. I like:

1. The fact that characters from the other series pop up and in a meaningful way.
2. It (and the Amish Candy Shop series) doesn’t whitewash all things Amish.
3. The main character and her sidekick are mature women and accept each other as is.

The story just lacked that “spark” that made me quickly turn the pages. I could (and did-Miranda James’ Cat Me If You Can) put it down to read something else.

So, just an OK from me.

Loved this book!! A spin-off from the Amish Cans Shop mysteries, this book is about an Amish matchmaker. I love the town of Harvest and reading about the Amish. It was fun to see characters from the candy shop series pop up in this series as well. Millie is a matchmaker and her niece, Edith, ends up breaking her engagement to an Amish man only to find him dead in her greenhouse the next day. Millie and her friend, Lois, who has returned to Harvest, investigate to help ensure Edith isn’t arrested for the murder. Edith’s twin, Enoch, who had left many years ago, also returns to town. An intriguing story with loveable characters. I can’t wait to read more of this series and see Millie make matches, both friendships and romantic relationships.

This was just an OK cozy read for me. I normally enjoy Amanda Flower’s cozies but this one was not up to her usual standards. This one is a spinoff from her Amish Candy Shop series. Millie is an Amish Matchmaker in Ohio. Her niece is preparing to get married but Millie knows it is not a good match. Edith breaks off the engagement and he is found dead on her property. Since she is the prime suspect Millie sets out to solve the murder. Meanwhile at the new cafe in the village Millie’s childhood English friend, Lois, is helping her granddaughter and has moved back. When the granddaughter is also a suspect they team up together. The writing had a lot of repetition. Often times almost exact sentences were repeated. The mystery was very weak and easy to solve. Millie and Lois do not do a lot of sleuthing and they do not solve the crime. I did like the relationship between Millie and Lois. I liked the village setting and the author does a very good job portraying the Amish. I am not sure if I would read another book in this series but I will continue to read her other series.

Matchmaking Can Be Murder by Amanda Flower is book one in the Amish Matchmaking series. If this is how all in this series is going to be, I can’t wait to continue reading it!
The protagonist, Millie Fisher has recently returned to Harvest, Ohio following the death of her sister whom she was taking care of. She already has the reputation of being a matchmaker but she had nothing to do with her widowed niece, Edith, being engaged to her current fiancé. Millie is not surprised when Edith tells her she is ready to end the engagement but when he turns up murdered in Edith’s greenhouse, Millie knows she will have to investigate to prove her niece is innocent.
I love that Millie is a senior citizen and she has reconnected with her childhood English friend, Lois. Also, I like the setting is Harvest and has crossover characters.
This story has plenty of twists and turns and had me guessing until the end. There is also a hint of romance, a great setting with great characters, and humor. Did I mention pet goats? I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Kensington Books for an honest review.

Matchmaking Can Be Murder is the first book in An Amish Matchmaker Mystery series penned by Amanda Flower . In this book we meet widowed matchmaker Millie Fisher and her two rambunctious goats, Peter and Phillip and reconnect with characters from the authors series An Amish Candy Shop. Speaking of reconnecting, widowed Millie Fisher reconnects with Lois Kenny, her Englisch friend when she moves back to her childhood home of Harvest, Ohio. They soon become involved in a murder mystery much to the chagrin of Deputy Aiden Brody and much to my delight as I laughed throughout this novel.

Millie and Lois are really serious about their sleuthing, Lois has even given Millie somewhat of a code name, I had to admire their spunk and commitment to proving a persons innocence. They may be amateur sleuths but I can easily imagine many more investigations and justice being served with the help of this dynamic duo. There are some unexpected plot twists along the way and I honestly thought I knew who the culprit was but as usual in the end I was completely surprised.

Overall, I thought this novel was well written with well developed characters and that it moved a great pace. The description of the town, the businesses and the animals added to the story and held my interest throughout, making everything and everyone come to life. I am looking forward to the next book in the series to find out what the author has in store for her readers next. I have a feeling it’s going to be another fantastic read.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are completely my own.

This book is the first book in a new series that is a spin off of the candy shop mysteries. The main characters are two senior citizens trying to help the police solve a murder. Imagine your grandma out there with no training trying to solve a murder? Hilarious! Millie and Lois are an unlikely pair to be friends; one is Amish, and the other isn’t. But friends they are. This book was laugh out loud in several places. Lois is always referring to crime shows on television when her Amish friend Millie has no idea what she is talking about. Makes for a very funny read. I highly recommend this book.

MATCHMAKING CAN BE MURDER is the delightful debut in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series. It is a spinoff of Amanda Flower’s Amish Candy Shop series, but it can easily be read as a standalone book.

Millie Fisher, who has a reputation for being a reputable matchmaker, has returned after ten years caring for her sister to her home Amish district in Harvest, Ohio. She is thrilled when her niece Edith breaks off her engagement with the charming but unsavory Zeke. But when Zeke is found murdered in Edith’s greenhouse the next day, Millie finds herself in the new role of sleuth as she tries to clear Edith’s name and find the real killer.

Millie is a likable, older protagonist and fully developed from the first pages. I enjoyed getting to know her and the whole cast of supporting characters. Readers get an inside look at the Amish people, and there is a good mix of both “Englisch” and Amish characters to add dimension of the story. Aside from Millie, I really like her old friend turned sidekick Lois. These two ladies could not be more different from one another yet they balance each other so well. Also of note are Millie’s goats; they provide much of the comic relief throughout the book. Darcy is my least favorite character, but I hope I grow to like her more in forthcoming books. Even unpleasant characters, such as the district bishop’s wife Ruth, are interesting and endearing. Characters from the Amish Candy Shop series do make appearances, and it is nice to see them from another perspective.

The story moves along at a steady pace. The writing is descriptive and conversational, drawing readers in. I immediately cared about the characters and the mystery’s outcome. The mystery itself is well plotted with plenty of suspects and twists and turns to keep readers guessing. I did suspect the killer’s identity early on, but there was still plenty to contemplate, tempting me to change my mind throughout.

With MATCHMAKING CAN BE MURDER, Ms. Flower still remains at the top of my favorite author list. I look forward to many more adventures with Millie and company.

I gratefully received an ARC of this title from the author and Kensington Publishers and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.