Book Review and Giveaway: Falling to Pieces, Shipshewana Amish Mystery Series #1 by: Vannetta Chapman

This is a very nice gentle mystery.
Falling to Pieces, Shipshewana Amish Mystery Series #1
by: Vannetta Chapman

• Series: A Shipshewana Amish Mystery
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 26, 2011)
• ISBN-10: 0310330432
• Genre: Amish Fiction, Mystery
• My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Product Description
When two women-one Amish, one English-each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town's reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer.

Review:
Deborah is a sweet and strong Amish wife, mother and friend. She is concerned for her two best friends, Melinda who has a very sick child, and Esther, who is grieving after the death of her husband. The three have been making beautiful quilts which they sell through Daisy’s Quilt Shop, which was run by Daisy, an Englisher who had become an accepted part of the community. But Deborah found Daisy dead in her garden and now the shop is owned by Daisy’s niece, Callie.

Callie left her job in Texas and is struggling with depression. She expects to sell the quilt shop and move on but until then she is hunkering down in the apartment above the shop. Callie inherited Max, a faithful Labrador, along with the shop and although a bit of a nuisance he is also turning out to be a good companion.

Deborah and Callie form a tentative friendship when Deborah talks Callie into opening the shop and into selling their recent quilts on eBay. The news editor in town accuses Callie of taking advantage of the Amish even though that is untrue. Callie argues with the man when she demands a retraction and now Callie is under suspicion for his murder. Deborah and her friends take a strong stand to support their new friend, Callie.

Officer Black is the investigator who pushes witnesses until he uncovers the facts and gets his man, or woman. Esther and her friends have had experience with Black when he pushed in the investigation of her husband’s death. Although Officer Black seems really rough, he has a good heart.

The Amish and Englisher characters and relationships are very lovely. The added element of a good mystery makes this a really enjoyable story. I also liked the nuggets of gentle faith and wisdom shared through the real life circumstances. The writing is straight forward making it an easy read.  All of the ladies from book club enjoyed this too and we would be glad to read more by this author. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Amish stories and also to those who like a good mystery.

I picked these books up at a bargain price at Christianbook.com for our ladies' book club selection for June.

Giveaway:

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