Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.
Showing posts with label Amanda Flower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amanda Flower. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Book Review: A Plain Scandal by Amanda Flower

Title: A Plain Scandal
Author: Amanda Flower
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

About the Book: The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country are under attack. Soon after the dust has settled on a buggy accident that turned out to be murder, an unknown assailant begins cutting off the long hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men.

New to the area, computer specialist Chloe Humphrey may not share their customs, but she is certainly alarmed over these crimes against the Amish and worries how such events will impact her growing number of friends who are more connected to that way of life.

In this small community, when Chloe discovers the body of an Amish businessman who was stabbed in the back and whose beard was cut off, she knows that finding the murderer and restoring peace to Appleseed Creek is as much her responsibility as anyone else's.

My thoughts: This is book 2 in the Appleseed Creek Mystery Series but it reads well as a stand alone.  They give you some information from the first book, so if you don't like spoilers, I would recommend that you read them in order. 

Chloe is very likable as a young woman trying to find her place in the community.  Being new, she has made a few friends, many of them Amish, or Amish who have left the Church.  Actually, her roommate Becky is one of the "formerly" Amish as is Becky's brother Timothy.  Chloe is sweet on Timothy and suspects he feels the same way, but the differences in their backgrounds has left Chloe wondering how, or even if, to pursue him. 

The three of them had been in the center of the buggy accident from the summer before and they once again find themselves in the center of the mystery surrounding who is cutting the Amishs' hair and beards.  Curt and Brock, the two who had been sent to prison for the accident have been released and they are back to harrassing Chloe.  So far they haven't crossed any lines, but Chloe wonders if they are involved in the recent crimes.  

When she doesn't think her life can get any more messed up, she finds that the house she and Becky are renting has a new landlord.  He is intent on restoring it to it's original style and doesn't seem to care that it might disrupt Chloe and Becky's lives. 

I liked the chemistry between Timothy and Chloe and look forward to seeing how that develops in future books. 

~I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from B&H Publishing via Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.~

About the author: Amanda Flower is an academic librarian for a small college in Ohio and grew up visiting the state's Amish Country with her family. An avid traveler, she has taken trips to Slovakia, Ireland, Israel, and Great Britain. Her 2010 debut, Maid of Murder, received an Agatha Award nomination for Best First Novel.

Previous books reviewed by Amanda Flowers - Maid of Murder.

Purchase Links


A Plain Scandal
Publisher/Publication Date: B&H Publishing, Feb 2013
ISBN: 9781433676987
336 pages

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Maid of Murder by Amanda Flower (Book Reviews)

Title: Maid of Murder (An India Hayes Mystery)
Author: Amanda Flower
Publisher: Five Star

Synopsis (from back cover): India Hayes is a lot of things. . . starving artist who pays the rent as a college librarian, daughter of liberal activists, sister of an emotional mathematician, tenant of a landlady who has kissed the Blarney Stone one too many times, and a bridesmaid six times over. But she's about to step into the most challenging role of her life: amateur sleuth.

Childhood friend and now knockout beauty, Olivia Blocken is back in town to wed her bodybuilder fiance with India a reluctant attendant. . . not just because the bridesmaid's dress is a hideous mess, but because she's betraying her brother. Mark still carries a torch for the bride who once broke his heart and sent his life into a tailspin.

When Olivia turns up dead in the Martin College fountain and the evidence points to Mark, India must unmask the real culprit while juggling a furious and grieving Mother of the Bride, an annoyingly beautiful Maid of Honor, a set of hippie-generation parents, the police detective who once dated her sister and is showing a marked liking for her, and a provost itching to fire someone, anyone -- maybe even a smart-mouthed librarian.

India's investigation leads her on a journey through childhood memories that she'd much rather have left in the schoolyard, but to avoid becoming the next victim, it is a path she must follow.

Maid of Murder is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud mystery set in an amusing world of academia. Readers will fall in love with India Hayes' fierce loyalty and wit.

My thoughts:  I thought this debut novel was a lot of fun.  I love that the amateur sleuth is a librarian.  I worked in a library in high school and would love to be a librarian.  There is just something trustworthy and loyal about someone who loves books.  Anyway - India's family,  inspite of all their eccentricities, really care for each other and and India really goes all out to prove that Mark is innocent. But don't think just because it is a cozy mystery that you will figure it out quickly.  It kept me guessing. I look forward to reading more India Hayes mysteries!

About the author: Author Amanda Flower, a native of Akron Ohio, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. Like her main character India Hayes, Amanda is an academic librarian for a small college near Cleveland. When she is not at the library or writing her next mystery, she is an avid traveler who has been to seventeen countries, forty-eight U.S. states, and counting. Maid of Murder is her debut novel and the first in a series featuring amateur sleuth India Hayes. Amanda is also currently seeking a publisher for her middle-grade children’s mystery, The Mystery of the First Andora. She lives and writes near Akron.

You can find Amanda at her website, Amanda Flower, or on Facebook.

~I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review.~

Publisher/Publication Date: Five Star, June 16, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59414-864-4
282 pages

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