1. Murder Simply Brewed, Amish Village Mystery Series #1
    Vannetta Chapman
    Zondervan / 2014 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$12.99 Retail Price$16.99 Save 24% ($4.00)
    4.8 out of 5 stars for Murder Simply Brewed, Amish Village Mystery Series #1. View reviews of this product. 45 Reviews
    Availability: In Stock
    Stock No: WW326168
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Displaying items 41-45 of 45
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  1. Carrie
    Virginia
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Enjoyable read!
    April 22, 2014
    Carrie
    Virginia
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    I've read many of Vanetta's other Amish stories. This one was a little different. The Amish village manager, Amber, is a 40-something single woman beset by a continuing string of problems. The death of the coffee shop manager, Ethan, is considered a heart attack but Amber soon realizes that Ethan may have been murdered. Trouble is the police (one of whom she'd been dating) don't believe her. A secondary storyline is with the young Amish woman who runs the coffee shop after Ethan is killed. Lots of suspense and some nice red herrings. Grab a cup of hot tea and enjoy this read! I read this book as a download from Net Galley and am under no compulsion to give it a certain rating. I enjoy this author's books and would buy more in the future.
  2. Maria
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Simple mystery with great characters
    April 22, 2014
    Maria
    Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman is the first book in an Amish Village Mystery. This story explores the lives of an older Englisch woman and a young Amish woman. As they try to solve the mystery surrounding the village shops, they become friends. I enjoyed reading this story, and I especially loved how you could read about the three main characters at different times during the story. It was well done and helped keep me glued to the book.

    Amber Wright, the general manager of the Amish Artisan Village, is extremely happy and content with her life. Living in the little Dawdy Haus for the past twenty two years, she has everything she could ever want. Things changed one morning when she woke up to the news of a tragedy in the village. Ethan Gray, the coffee shop manager, was found dead in his store. The police ruled his death a heart attack brought on by the gunshots to his shop window. But when other small disturbances keep happening, Amber is convinced something more sinister is going on. As she teams up with young Amish employee, Hannah Troyer, she hopes that together they can find the answers before someone dies again.

    Hannah Troyer loves her job at the quilt shop, but ever since Ethan's death she has had to take over at his coffee shop. Almost immediately, she starts hearing troubling news regarding Mr. Gray and begins to doubt his death was from natural causes. As Amber and her work to discover the murderer, things begin to go wrong all over the once peaceful village.

    This was a simple, easy to solve mystery with great characters who learn and grow throughout the story. More than anything the writing captured my interest and had me wanting more from this author. My favorite part was the love story between Amber and Tate. It was so well written. I was surprised that the story was more about Amber than the Amish character, Hannah, because it's marketed like it is an Amish book. It was more like a regular mystery with a little Amish thrown in. It was a nice surprise, and I actually liked it more because of that. On the Christian front, it's pretty mild, but it was an enjoyable read without being too scary or dark like some suspense.

    I was given this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.
  3. Wman4JC
    miami, fl
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Great Book with Lots of Coffee!
    April 16, 2014
    Wman4JC
    miami, fl
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 4
    My Comments

    I was so thrilled to get a review copy of this book, I've read so many of Chapman's books and they never disappoint. She has a unique talent of mixing Amish and Englischer characters within a small community and having her readers fall in love with these characters. I didn't connect with Murder Simply Brewed as much as I hoped I would, but I still really enjoyed what can be easily described as a cozy mystery.

    The two women in this book are Amber and Hannah. They make an unlikely bond in this story that becomes a sweet friendship as they investigate a death in their community that the police deem is not a murder, but natural causes. However there are just too many "coincidences" related to Ethan Grey's death that put Amber in a sleuthing role despite the risks that go with it. Hannah doesn't get as involved, but she does share any new information with Amber and they rely on each other throughout the story. Both women are very observant and eager to resolve the entire situation. The only question I have is, was Hannah finally able to taste the coffee she prepared or maybe that's for the next book?

    I couldn't believe some of the pranks in this book; some were totally outrageous while others were utterly creepy! Even though the story started out slow for me, once these pranks were put into motion I was eager to find out what would happen next.

    My two favorite characters were Tate and Elizabeth. They are both incredibly supportive of Amber and had me smiling.

    There was a sweet romance between Tate and Amber and Jesse and Hannah. However, I really enjoyed reading more about Tate and Amber even though they start out as total opposites in personality. Tate is still grieving his late wife when the story begins, but he ends up helping Amber with the investigation and I just loved the scenes they have together. Leo the cat was also an enhancement to the story.

    Even though I didn't connect with this story as I'd hoped to, it's still accurate to say that anything Chapman writes is wonderfully entertaining and always illustrates what it means to have faith in God no matter what culture you're from. The characters keep things interesting, I had no idea who the culprit was, the police had me suspicious because of their nonchalant attitude towards Amber, the romance is subtle but perfectly done, the friendships are pure delight, the Amish community stick together and help each other in such precious ways, and even when you discover who the "villain" is there is forgiveness available for this person. I'm grateful for authors like Chapman and I know her readers will enjoy this book as I did!

    I want to thank BookLook Bloggers and Zondervan for the review copy received. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
  4. Glenda Fowlow
    Age: 35-44
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Solid Mystery Novel
    April 5, 2014
    Glenda Fowlow
    Age: 35-44
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 4
    I've enjoyed Ms. Chapman's other novels that I've read and this one is no different. She has an organic way of drawing me into the story and setting me up for attachment with her main characters. I loved how ordinary people were in their looks, their age, their jobs, their hurts.

    She kept me guessing and I ended up jumping ahead because I had to know sooner rather than later! This is a sign of a good mystery if I have to solve the suspense.

    My only quibble is that I wish there was more romance.
  5. Kara
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    March 11, 2014
    Kara
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    Murder Simply Brewed: An Amish Village Mystery, by Vannetta Chapman, is a fascinating story. Set in Middlebury, Indiana, at the Amish Artisan Village, the tale begins with the death of Ethan Gray. It intertwines the lives of both Amish and non-Amish to solve the mystery.

    Amber Wright, general manager of the Village, has the perfect job running the inn, conference center, restaurant, bakery, and artisan shops. Hannah Troyer loves her job at the quilt shop at the Village. But the death of Ethan Gray changes everything. While the police insist that it is of natural causes, Amber and Hannah are not so sure. They begin investigating, sharing information with each other as they go. Tate Bowman and Jesse Miller become involved also, as the two couples' romance is woven into the story.

    I enjoyed this story. Although I was able to pinpoint the culprits early into the tale, I found myself wanting to finish it anyway. The characters were believable. I found it unusual to include an Amish and non-Amish friendship, but the author made it very natural. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Amish Fiction or suspense novels.

    Kara

    I received this book free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review.
Displaying items 41-45 of 45
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