Review: Murder Freshly Baked

Murder Freshly Baked by Vannetta Chapman
Published June 2015 by Zondervan
Source: eGalley ARC from NetGalley

Kindness is a virtue / Meanness is a sin / Better watch your bakery pies / For poison I've slipped in

The Amish Artisan Village in Middlebury, Indiana, has been decorated with every color of balloon and flower for the Race for a Cure. As manager of the Village, Amber Bowman is thrilled to see the turnout—and relieved to have something to distract her from the “Poison Poet”—an individual who has been sending notes containing bad poetry to warn of poisoned baked goods.

Then Ryan Duvall crosses the finish line of the race—and falls down dead, murdered in broad daylight. But who did it? And why? The police suspect Preston Johnston, but Amber refuses to believe her employee could do such a thing.

Amber once again looks to her young Amish friend Hannah Troyer to help her find the killer—and to determine if it's the same person leaving the cryptic poems and pies. Can they help the police before the Poison Poet strikes again? Both Amber and Hannah will need to draw on their faith as they fight to preserve the peaceful community they've built at the Amish Artisan Village.

My Thoughts

Murder Freshly Baked is the third mystery set in Amish Artisan Village, a retail complex with an inn and conference center. In the midst of wedding plans for Hannah and Mary, tensions rise from the delivery of threatening notes and e-mails. Amber Bowman, the manager of Amish Village, is standing at the finish line of the 5K Race for a Cure charity event when Ryan Duvall is shot. Who is responsible for his death? And is it related to the threats? Amber and her husband Tate are right in the middle as the authorities pursue these questions.

I definitely recommend Murder Freshly Baked to all those who like wholesome entertainment. Though categorized as "Christian", it's not preachy. The mystery is well developed and while the clues are pretty broad, I didn't feel disappointed when the murderer was revealed. As the third book in a series, the characters and their relationships had already been developed, yet one could read this book as a stand-alone—it's not essential to read the prior books. But DO! They're all just that good.

I had thoroughly enjoyed the previous book in this series, Murder Tightly Knit, one of the first books I received from NetGalley, so I was thrilled to receive a copy of Murder Freshly Baked to review. I certainly hope that this is not the end of the series.

Vannetta Chapman is the author of over one dozen Christian novels, most of them set in Amish communities in Indiana and Wisconsin.

★★★☆☆

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Murder Freshly Baked from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.