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Lemon Drop Dead
Lemon Drop Dead
Lemon Drop Dead
Ebook325 pages5 hours

Lemon Drop Dead

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this ebook

Murder always leaves a sour taste . . .
 
Although baby showers aren’t an Amish tradition, Bailey King wants to celebrate Emily Keim’s forthcoming bundle of joy. It’s the least she can do for her hardworking assistant at Swissmen Sweets, especially with Emily being estranged from her siblings. Everyone in Harvest, Ohio has gathered at the town gazebo—decked out in lemon-themed décor to add some of Emily’s favorite flavor to the festivities—including Juliet Brook, Jethro the Pig, and in a last-minute invite, Emily’s sister Esther Esh.
 
But Esther isn’t the only surprise guest. A mysterious Amish woman confronts Emily claiming to know about her secret shame—the child she had as a teenager who was given up for adoption. The stranger vanishes before Bailey could find out who she was and if she knew what happened to Emily’s first baby. Later that evening, the woman reappears—dead in Esh Family Pretzels, with a threatening letter written by Esther found on her body.
 
Emily knows her sister is not a murderer and convinces Bailey to help clear Esther’s name and put the squeeze on the real killer . . .
 
Recipe Included!
 
Praise for Amanda Flower and her Amish cozies
 
“As it turns out, Amanda Flower may have just written the first Amish rom com.”
USA Today
 
“Flower has hit it out of the ballpark . . . and continues to amaze with her knowledge of the Amish way of life.”
RT Book Reviews
 
“Reading the book is a visit to a town that feels like home.”
Kings River Life


 

 
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 27, 2021
ISBN9781496722072
Author

Amanda Flower

Amanda Flower is an Agatha Award-nominated mystery author (Maid of Murder), who first caught the writing bug in elementary school. She is also the author of Andi Unexpected, the Andi Boggs series, Appleseed Creek and the India Hayes series. When she’s not writing, she works as a librarian at Ursuline College near her hometown of Tallmadge, Ohio. Visit her online at www.amandaflower.com and www.isabellaalan.com.

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Reviews for Lemon Drop Dead

Rating: 4.291666666666667 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

24 ratings6 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "Lemon Drop Dead' continues the series about the Amish candy shop, although it can be read as a standalone novel. This cozy mystery features Bailey, a candy maker who assists with her family's Amish candy shop, although Bailey is not Amish. In this installment, Bailey works to solve the mysterious death of a woman who is connected in some way to Bailey's friend Emily. The story involves Amish horse-racing, a deaf Amish child, and a huge Amish hardware store! These surprising elements add new twists to the Amish Swissman Sweets series. Readers of the series will enjoy connecting with old friends from the previous novels (including Jethro the pig!) and meeting some new characters as well. Newcomers to the series will also enjoy the fun of getting to know Bailey's backstory and the characters who populate the town. Although loose ends are tied up satisfactorily, the author leaves readers with some new happenings to keep the series alive. This is a clean novel, without strong language, graphic sexual scenes, or overt violence. I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Emily and her husband are about to welcome their first baby into the world, but it is not Emily’s first child. Her first baby was taken away from her when she was an unwed teenager, and she was told nothing about the adoption of her daughter, nor did her family give her any choice in the matter. Some of the women of the town want to throw Emily a baby shower, even though that is not an Amish tradition. A mysterious Amish women shows up at the shower, knowing about Emily’s first daughter, something that very few people have knowledge of. When the woman is later found dead in Emily’s estranged sister’s business, it means trouble for her and her family. It’s an intriguing mystery, with more than one crime and more than one criminal. This series just keeps getting better, and although the mystery can be read as a stand-alone, the lives of the characters change along the way, and readers should start at the beginning of the series. There is plenty of interest in this story, from the mysterious death and unexplained accidents to the romance developing, or maybe ending between more than one couple to the cuteness of the animals, especially Jethro the Pig. And when you’ve finished reading the novel, you can follow the recipe at the end to make your own lemon drop candy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lemon Drop Dead by Amanda Flower is the 6th An Amish Candy Shop Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series, but you will be missing out on a delightful series of books. I found Lemon Drop Dead to be well-written with steady pacing and charming characters. I enjoy visiting Harvest, Ohio where there are Amish and Englisch residents. There is a great cast of characters that includes Bailey King, Clara King, Charlotte King, Aiden Brody, Juliet Brook, Margot Rawlings, Emily Keim, and let us not forget, Jethro. Jethro is a show stealer along with Bailey’s cat, Nutmeg and rabbit, Puff. Bailey is friendly, talented, and helpful. She is actually a little too obliging as she finds herself babysitting Jethro more and more often as Juliet performs her duties as a pastor’s wife. There is a sweet scene with Jethro, Puff, and Nutmeg that I just loved. I like that we get to know more about Emily is this story as well as what happened to her little girl. The whodunit was enjoyable. I had to laugh at the 9-1-1 operator’s response when Bailey called in the dead body. I enjoyed following Bailey as she interviewed people and collected clues. This mystery was more complex that others in the series which I loved. It is nicely wrapped up at the end of the book. I enjoyed the addition of Hannah (such a sweetie) and look forward to seeing more of her in future tales. Jethro, as always, added plenty of humor to the story. He is one cute and amusing pig. I was dismayed at Aiden’s news. It certainly puts a crink in Aiden and Bailey’s relationship. I was glad that Millie and Lois from An Amish Matchmaker Mystery series made an appearance in Lemon Drop Dead. They are a part of Harvest too. Fans of the series will be happy to know that Charlotte is ready to make a decision about her future (you will have to read the book to find out the answer). I am eager for the next tale in An Amish Candy Shop Mystery series. Lemon Drop Dead is an engaging cozy mystery with swine sitting, a child conundrum, a mystifying Amish woman, creamy chocolate, a baby shower bash, a sour sister, and relationship tribulations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bailey King operates Swissmen Sweets with her Amish grandmother in Harvest, OH. A young Amish woman, Emily has worked with Bailey at the candy shop ever since her family shunned her because she had a baby out of wedlock. Few knew Emily's secret but now that she is happily married and expecting a baby, the town wants to help her celebrate by throwing her a baby shower. A stranger appears talking about Emily's first child and then that night the stranger is found strangled in the shop of Emily's estranged family.Since no one knows about the stranger, Bailey takes what little she knows and starts hunting. The information and details that Bailey finds could tear apart friends and family, but can she ignore what she knows?Terrific story, create character development, love the news that rocks all. can't wait for the next one!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amish, law-enforcement, small-business, small-town, family, family-dynamics, friendship, harness-racing, greed, Ohio, adoption*****I want to read others in the series because this one is so good, not because I got lost and needed the background. I had read a short story in this series and fell in love with the quirky pets. Bailey has a TV spot in NYC on a regular basis, but her main calling is operating a candy shop with her Amish grandmother (Bailey was not raised Amish) and two good Amish friends. Her other superpower is finding dead bodies and solving the crimes, often to the consternation of her deputy sheriff love interest. The publisher's blurb is pretty good for a start but can't tell you about the engaging characters, plot twists, red herrings, and some other interesting sidelines. Loved it!I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bailey King works at her grandmother's candy shop. Swissmen Sweets, along with having her own television show in New York that she tapes several times a year. Her employee Emily Keim is ready to have a baby, and people want to throw her a shower. While Emily agrees to it, Bailey's other employee, her grandmother's young cousin Charlotte, wants to be the one to do it. So all Bailey has to do is show up and enjoy...that is, until an older woman shows up and wants to reunite Emily with her first child that she had given up for adoption.Stunned, Bailey doesn't know what to do, but the woman disappears as quickly as she arrived. It isn't until later that night when Bailey is locking up the shop that someone is pounding on her door. It turns out to be Esther Esh, Emily's sister, and a woman who hates Bailey. But now she's asking for help, and Bailey can't refuse -- it turns out that the woman is dead in Esther's shop, and when the clues all lead to Esther being the murderer, Emily wants her to find the real killer. But Bailey finds more than she bargained for, and what she finds could rock the world of both Englisch and Amish alike...This is the seventh book in the series, and I certainly hope it won't be the last. We are once again in Harvest, Ohio with Englischer Bailey King and her Amish relatives, and the story line continues with more than one person having to make a life decision. Then a woman shows up claiming that she has Emily's first child and wants to reunite them, but is murdered before she can do so. It is by chance that Bailey stumbles upon the child, and must make a decision of her own.While I am not going to tell you who or what the decisions are that need to be made, I will tell you that I was gladdened by most but disappointed in another. I do hope that it won't change future books, as I liked the way things were turning out (you will have to read the book to see what I am talking about, and hopefully can decipher it).There are plenty of twist and turns in the book, and enough action to keep one interested in reading it in one sitting. I enjoyed all (mostly, considering what I've mentioned above; but that is my own opinion and shouldn't be relevant to whether you read the book or not) and I will definitely read the next in this series, and anyone who's following this series should, too. When the ending comes and everything is resolved, it is a bit of a surprise, but not unexpected, and things are all as they should be. Recommended.

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Lemon Drop Dead - Amanda Flower

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