May's Book - Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman

[Rachel]

You're welcome to join us in reading Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman this month! I do believe the lovely Vannetta will be stopping by to answer any questions we may have :)



Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright can see profits in sight for her collection of Amish artisan shops—until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a single hole in the front window and Mr. Gray dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. Hannah Troyer takes over the shop’s duties, and she and Amber become fast friends as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray’s death to be a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren’t so easily convinced.

Old Testament clues that don’t add up, a neighbor who is pulled into the midst of the investigation, a town with secrets to hide, and blossoming romance—all will combine to push Amber and Hannah into unfamiliar roles in order to solve a mystery and bring peace to the Amish community.

Participation in group reads is not mandatory, but we'd love to hear your thoughts if you have read this book! If you think you may be revealing a major part of the book for those who haven't read or finished it yet, please use spoiler tags as found under the (some html is ok) link above the comment box.

[Natalie]

Finished on my Kindle. So good. Will definitely be reading .

[Vannetta]

I'm glad you enjoyed the book, Natalie. If you have any questions (w/o giving away the ending) let me know! :)

[Rachel]

I'm afraid I won't be able to join in with this group read, but I did just finish up A Perfect Square, which was a really fun read! I haven't read a lot of cozy mysteries, although I was a big fan of mysteries when I was a child (especially Nancy Drew). Does anyone else read much of this genre, or have any thoughts on it?

[Tina]

I enjoyed the book very much. Thank you Vannetta for writing such captivating books!
Blessings,Tina

[Melissa]

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next one. My question to Vannetta, is the setting based on Das Dutchman Essenhaus? I just stopped there briefly to get a pie from the bakery, but the layout seemed similar to the Amish village as described in the book.

Typically we send the day in Shipshewana when we visit the area, but I want to spend more time at Das Dutchman next time I go.

[Brittany]

Rachel, I really enjoyed the Southern Sisters mystery series by Anne George. They're definitely worth a read. :)

[Melissa]

Rachel wrote: "I'm afraid I won't be able to join in with this group read, but I did just finish up A Perfect Square, which was a really fun read! I haven't read a lot of cozy mysteries, although ..."

I probably read more cozy mysteries than anything else. There are some other Amish cozy series as well that are really good.

[Vannetta]

Hi Melissa. I love that story. I was thinking of it recently, as the old guy in the story is modeled after my f-i-l who I miss terribly. Thanks for reading!

Rachel wrote: "I'm afraid I won't be able to join in with this group read, but I did just finish up A Perfect Square, which was a really fun read! I haven't read a lot of cozy mysteries, although ..."

[Vannetta]

I'll have to try this one. I love cozies!

Brittany wrote: "Rachel, I really enjoyed the Southern Sisters mystery series by Anne George. They're definitely worth a read. :)"

[Vannetta]

Hi Melissa. Yes, the setting is the Essenhaus. It's such a nice facility and the workers and manager were very helpful when we were doing our research. I love the covered bridge there!

Melissa wrote: "I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next one. My question to Vannetta, is the setting based on Das Dutchman Essenhaus? I just stopped there briefly to get a pie from the bakery, but..."

[Vannetta]

Thank you for reading, Tina! Authors need readers ...

Tina wrote: "I enjoyed the book very much. Thank you Vannetta for writing such captivating books!
Blessings,Tina"

[Vannetta]

I read Nancy Drew too, Rachel. I also read the Cherry Ames books. Does anyone remember those? She was a nurse ... in each book she was a different type of nurse. Those books really captivated me as young girl.

Rachel wrote: "I'm afraid I won't be able to join in with this group read, but I did just finish up A Perfect Square, which was a really fun read! I haven't read a lot of cozy mysteries, although ..."

[Brittany]

I really wish I could've read this with you guys. Unfortunately, since it's still a pretty new release, it wasn't available at the library yet. :(

[Natalie]

@Brittany: Don't you have a Kindle? If so, is still half off for Kindle.

[Ruth]

I really enjoyed this book!

[Natalie]

@Ruth: Glad you are somewhat active in this group. I really enjoyed and , but I still haved to read at some point. I also really enjoyed and . Cannot wait to read once it's on Kindle.

[Vannetta]

Thank you, Ruth.
It was a fun book to write.
We're just this week going over final edits of Murder Tightly Knit. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the return to the Amish Village.

Ruth wrote: "I really enjoyed this book!"

[Vannetta]

Natalie, those are some great books you've listed. All wonderful gals writing them too.

Natalie wrote: "@Ruth: Glad you are somewhat active in this group. I really enjoyed and , but I still haved to read [bookcove..."

[Jeanne]

I just finished this book. Excellent!

[Vannetta]

Thank you, Jeanne. So what did you think about the surprise scene at the end? You know, the one where Amber is about to clean up the dinner dishes and gets interrupted. (I don't want to be too specific and spoil it for anyone still reading.) :)