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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman is a delightful Amish cozy mystery. It is the first book in the Amish Village Mystery series. Amber Wright is the manager of the Amish Artisan Village in Middlebury, Indiana. She lives in a Dawdy Haus (a small house for grandparents or that the parents move into when they pass the property/house on to a son or daughter) on the property with her cat, Leo.
At the beginning of a new day she gets a call that Ethan Gray, manager of A Simple Blend, has been found dead in the shop. The windows were also shot with a BB gun. It is ruled a heart attack, but Amber has a feeling that there is more to it than meets the eye! She receives a call at the end of the day of a threatening message left on a trail near the property line. Tate Bowman, who owns a farm adjacent to the Amish Artisan Village, spotted the message. It is written in red paint. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning.
Hannah Troyer is twenty-two and has been working at Quilting Bee. Amber asks her to take over A Simple Blend. Amber and Hannah start talking about Ethan’s death and the damage being done around The Village. Hannah talks things over with her friend, Jesse Miller. Jesse works on the grounds crew in The Village. They keep looking for clues to help solve the crimes.
After a threat at Amber’s home, Tate starts keeping a closer eye. Amber and Tate also get to know each other better. Tate lost his wife four years ago and has never been a fan of The Village. But, as he gets to know Amber, he sees things a little differently. Tate, Amber, Hannah, and Jesse work to see who is behind the threats and damage to The Village. Amber also thinks that Ethan was murdered and hopes to find proof.
I give Murder Simply Brewed 5 out of 5 stars. Enjoyable and relatable characters, interesting setting, well-written, and an entertaining mystery. I have wanted to read this book since it came out, but I have not had the opportunity. I finally pushed it to the top of my list and I am very glad. I cannot wait to read the next book in this engaging series.
At the beginning of a new day she gets a call that Ethan Gray, manager of A Simple Blend, has been found dead in the shop. The windows were also shot with a BB gun. It is ruled a heart attack, but Amber has a feeling that there is more to it than meets the eye! She receives a call at the end of the day of a threatening message left on a trail near the property line. Tate Bowman, who owns a farm adjacent to the Amish Artisan Village, spotted the message. It is written in red paint. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning.
Hannah Troyer is twenty-two and has been working at Quilting Bee. Amber asks her to take over A Simple Blend. Amber and Hannah start talking about Ethan’s death and the damage being done around The Village. Hannah talks things over with her friend, Jesse Miller. Jesse works on the grounds crew in The Village. They keep looking for clues to help solve the crimes.
After a threat at Amber’s home, Tate starts keeping a closer eye. Amber and Tate also get to know each other better. Tate lost his wife four years ago and has never been a fan of The Village. But, as he gets to know Amber, he sees things a little differently. Tate, Amber, Hannah, and Jesse work to see who is behind the threats and damage to The Village. Amber also thinks that Ethan was murdered and hopes to find proof.
I give Murder Simply Brewed 5 out of 5 stars. Enjoyable and relatable characters, interesting setting, well-written, and an entertaining mystery. I have wanted to read this book since it came out, but I have not had the opportunity. I finally pushed it to the top of my list and I am very glad. I cannot wait to read the next book in this engaging series.
rebeccasarine's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun read. It was well written. It is a new genre for me. Love and mystery. Amish and English.
wintermote's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
It was a fine story. I think it was maybe just a bit too light for me. 😆
justicepirate's review against another edition
3.0
Amber runs a large facility in Amish country that brings out many tourists. She even has a few Amish people who work for her such as 22 year old Hannah.
Hannah loves working in the quilt shop very much. One morning at work, she noticed something abnormal and finds a dead body.
Amber notices vandalism and pranks all around her home and work area. Even her widower neighbor Tate has seen some of it.
This whole story is basically a christian romance wrapped around a murder mystery. I don't really know if the plot was that well done, but the story was still interesting enough.
Hannah loves working in the quilt shop very much. One morning at work, she noticed something abnormal and finds a dead body.
Amber notices vandalism and pranks all around her home and work area. Even her widower neighbor Tate has seen some of it.
This whole story is basically a christian romance wrapped around a murder mystery. I don't really know if the plot was that well done, but the story was still interesting enough.
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting mystery. A very unexpected and odd ending, though. Boa constrictor, lol what? Where did THAT come from?
I also was weirded out by how there would be threats and then we’d have to wait 10+ pages to find out what the threat actually was. It felt like in writing the book, the author herself had to figure out what the threat was before she could reveal it to us (even though I’m sure that wasn’t the case).
I also was weirded out by how there would be threats and then we’d have to wait 10+ pages to find out what the threat actually was. It felt like in writing the book, the author herself had to figure out what the threat was before she could reveal it to us (even though I’m sure that wasn’t the case).
icygrl7's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book and the characters. It is a good book for those who enjoy mysteries and Amish reads. I am sure others will enjoy it too.
penapeed's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
webblywebb's review against another edition
2.0
Um yikes! Thought I was in for a cozy marple-esque romp, but instead I was in for a kind of boring, definitely ableist, DEFINITELY weird about women's weight (and if you're asking yourself 'how would the shape and size of women be relevant to an Amish murder mystery?' Well I'm asking myself that too) not even very Amish story. I was disappointed by the obvious storyline, and to be perfectly real with you guys the climax action scene was so horrendous I had to cringe. I was doing math to prove it stupid. And I was right, so that truly sucks for the book. Just super disappointed, not a super atmospheric, cozy, or frankly interesting read.
Plus as an aside, there's a bit the one character does where she's trying to put together the mystery like a puzzle. Then right at the end she says how "the pieces come together like a quilt". The puzzle thing is overdone and trite, but I didn't think anything of it until the author brought up a way better metaphor. The girl even worked in a quilt store????? Come on now.
I did notice one typo, in this case a missing quotation mark. I've turned mad over finding them, it's ruined reading. I make typoes every day of my mortal life but I see one in a book I'm like a rabid animal.
Plus as an aside, there's a bit the one character does where she's trying to put together the mystery like a puzzle. Then right at the end she says how "the pieces come together like a quilt". The puzzle thing is overdone and trite, but I didn't think anything of it until the author brought up a way better metaphor. The girl even worked in a quilt store????? Come on now.
I did notice one typo, in this case a missing quotation mark. I've turned mad over finding them, it's ruined reading. I make typoes every day of my mortal life but I see one in a book I'm like a rabid animal.
bethanyread's review against another edition
5.0
Really enjoyed this story. Great first book in the series. Like how the Englisch and Amish get along, how they work together for the village. Good mystery, great location, 2 fun romances going along. Can't wait for book 2