Horse and Burglary

Amish Inn Mysteries #14

by Virginia Smith

Liz Eckardt, proprietor of the Olde Mansion Inn bed-and-breakfast, couldn't be more excited. She and her friends, the Material Girls, are working on a quilt for Liz's Amish cousin, who's expecting a baby. But the anticipation is quickly tempered when they receive news that Mary Ann's friend, Louise Younger, has lost her bid for life. She's been murdered, and her possessions are being auctioned off. Despite the fierce competition, Liz buys some items for the inn.

When Louise's loser nephew appears on Liz's doorstep, she can't turn him away. But she soon finds out that Gavin has a long listing of past misdeeds in reserve. Nobody's happy he's back in Pleasant Creek, least of all the local Amish bishop and the father of the young woman from whom Gavin bought a promise then stopped payment. When theft and vandalism of Liz's auction purchases occur, she can't help but get involved. She'll stop at nothing when the price of truth is at a premium in her own house.

As if all this frenzy weren't enough, Liz has some other suspicious guests: a trio of troubadours having trouble proving their provenance. A woman with a brother who's definitely not a winner. And a pair of overbearing parents with a son who becomes an absentee. Are any of them low enough to have teamed up with Gavin to commit the crimes at the inn? When the stakes climb higher, Liz has to wonder if any of them are involved in something even more sinister.

Can Liz, the Material Girls, Beans, and Pleasant Creek's mayor, Jackson Cross, bang the gavel on a killer before someone else is going, going, gone?

Genres: Cozy Mystery

Unknown Binding

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Virginia Smith has written over fifty books with sales exceeding 1 million copies worldwide. Her book, Guilty Secrets, was recently produced as a movie now streaming on Lifetime. She lives in Kentucky with her husband, 27 chickens, a barn kitty, and a barky Maltese named Max. Learn more about Ginny and her books at www.virginiasmith.org

Reviews

[Pamela Pavkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horse and Burglary is another interesting mystery written by Virginia Smith in the Amish Inn Mystery series. The author has done an amazing job spinning this mystery thru some very sinister characters. When the death of one of the Material Girls friend is reported in the newspaper, the girls decide to go to the estate sale of her belongings. When Liz Eckardt purchases several items the story takes on a life if its own. Gavin Younger arrives at the B&B unexpectedly and Liz rents him a room. He is definitely not someone the townspeople's want to see. He was trouble as a teenager plus he encouraged a young Amish girl to leave her community. When destruction to Liz's property starts happening the first one accused is Gavin but there are a few unsavory guest at the inn as well. Liz starts putting the pieces together and someone causes real destruction at the inn. The Material Girls along with Beans, the inn's pet Bulldog sniff out the real suspects. This story has a great storyline that will have the reader trying to figure it all out.

I was not given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review. I was not approached to post a favorable response and all opinions are my own. I have rated this story with five stars for meeting my expectations of a wonderful story that I can highly recommend to others.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this series while looking for books in a different series but by the same publishers. I believe this is the last one of this series that I currently have but I will keep on the lookout for more.

I didn't necessarily find that horses figured prominently into the story (as the title might imply) though the Amish in the story do use horses and there is one character who returns to her Amish family and another character that plans to become Amish.

There are several burglaries within the story: Fort Knox, Loretta Younger's home, the inn. There were quite a few suspects. I guessed right in part but didn't guess the whole story.

Frank (a cat) and Beans (the dog)--I didn't realize until I went to write the review: Frank and Beans (LOL). Their interactions made the story interesting.

[Lis Sigona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Amish Inn Mysteries Series with Liz and the Material girls. This story focused mainly in and around the Inn and Liz and the regular characters as usual with the guests of the inn. Interesting topics came up about leaving the Amish congregation and one non-Amish wanting to join them to find peace inside his life. Of course, there were murders and mayhem going around Pleasant Creek, gossip and blaming but turning out to be surprisingly someone else! Suspicions galore… missing items and items surprisingly turning up of great value!

[Bess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, I am an avid reader and I like to pretend I’m fairly intelligent. Are these books Deep and Important? No. Am I learning New Things? Also no. Are they as comfortable as a bowl of soup on a cold day? Yes. Don’t judge. 😀

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this series! Even with all the different authors writing for it, it maintains the same relaxing, feel good reading experience. Once again, I'm coming away with so much baking motivation: cinnamon cake, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, cheese and sausage casserole. Yum!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things are missing from all over town. Liz is on the case!

[Sharon Bezrutczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new series for me and I can’t wait for the next one

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to take a break from reading to do some knitting, but was able to finish this one. If I could only knit and read at the same time.