Courting Can Be Killer (Amish Matchmaker Mystery Book 2)
Amanda Flower
Kensington Pub
December 1st, 2020
Courting Can Be Killer by Amanda Flower is book two in a great Amish cozy mystery. It has a combination of quirky characters, close-knit community, and a fun suspenseful story. The main character, Millie Fisher, is becoming more of an amateur sleuth than a matchmaker.
The plot has a massive fire at the Amish flea market. Ben Baughman, who has set his heart on marrying Tess Lieb, is found dead. Millie is devastated considering Ben looked upon her as an aunt. After rumors start to fly that either Ben killed himself or that he started the fire when he fell asleep, Millie feels it is necessary to find out what happened and clear Ben’s name. She suspects foul play but must find facts to support her assumption. Getting help from her best friend, Englisher Lois Henry, both set out to prove Ben’s innocence.
“I got the idea from the time my husband and I were down in Holmes County, the setting for my books, meeting our builder. We saw huge amounts of smoke and found out this Amish flea market was on fire. It used to be a barn. First on the scene were the Amish pumping water and using buckets. Eventually the fire department came. Thank goodness no one was hurt. It was caused by a lightning strike so there was no nefarious situation. I decided to fictionalize it into a murder mystery.”
Lois and Millie are complete opposites. Lois is flamboyant, while Millie is reserved, but together they make for wonderful characters. Lois has dubbed Millie the “Amish Marple,” and they set out to figure out what happened. But her hair-brained ideas have gotten Millie into hot water not only with the local law enforcement, but also with her Amish community.
“Lois will be a prominent character in this series and will make an appearance in the “Candy Shop Mysteries.’ Lois is fun, curious, likes to get her hands dirty, and is helpful. She is also caring, nosy, unpredictable, and exuberant. I am going to give her character more page time because she is so much fun to write and is more like me.”
There are always tidbits of Amish life in each book. The author noted, “I put in this quote, ‘I understand that the convenience of having them could become a crutch, making us too dependent on gadgets rather than relying on community.’ This is a pretty firm Amish belief. They believe friends and family should connect face to face to keep the relationship strong. This is also the reason the Amish do not drive cars. They fear the community will fall apart as families would move across the US. Each community usually consists of forty families and many times different districts have different rules that are designated by the Bishop.”
Whether this series or the “Candy Shop Mysteries,” these Amish cozy mysteries make for a wonderful read. People will enjoy the books as they connect the clues to find out who committed the crime.
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