Note: Kristin reads and reviews both Christian and secular fiction on A Simply Enchanted Life. Out of respect for my readers, I am including a content review. This content review will help you decide whether this book is suitable for you.
Christian or Secular: Christian
ASEL Rating: mild violence (though no detailed description)
Content to be aware of: A man has an affair. There are threatening phone calls and letters written. Nothing graphic.
Suggested Age: 15+
Murder Tightly Knit is book #2 in the Amish Village Mystery series by Vannetta Chapman. Other books in the series include Murder Simply Brewed (#1) and Murder Freshly Baked (#3).
Murder Tightly Knit by Vannetta ChapmanContent Rating:
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Women Sleuths
Pages: 384
In a town where Amish and Englisch Mingle every day, a grisly murder leads to mutual suspicion. Can Amber and Hannah find the killer before fear unravels the community . . . and before he strikes again?
Even before she heard of Owen Esch’s death, Hannah Troyer knew something was amiss at The Cat’s Meow yarn shop. The store has been closing at odd times, the ever-dependable Mary isn’t always at her post . . . and an Englisch man has been loitering around back.
Now, as leaves of brown, gold, and orange blanket Middlebury, Indiana, Owen lies dead on the Pumpkinvine Trail. The only clues to the murderer’s identity point in two very different directions—one of them leading right to The Cat’s Meow.
The police call in a federal investigator, but Hannah and village manager Amber Bowman are in no mood to wait for them to figure out what they already know—that no one from the Amish Village killed Owen Esch.
Amber and Hannah need to work quickly to solve the murder mystery and bring harmony back to the Amish community.
This is a fun read! If you’re like me and love a good clean, cozy mystery—you’re going to love this fun series by Vannetta Chapman.
If you happen to read my blog, you’d see that I’m a big Nancy Drew fan. The reason I love this series so far is that it has a similar feel. In Murder Tightly Knit, Amber (a 40-some-year-old woman) and one of her employees (a young Amish woman) find themselves solving another murder.
Here’s the thing about cozy mysteries. They’re not always realistic. You have to just go with it. Let loose and let yourself enjoy the companionship, the conversations over coffee and cake. And you just have to accept that two women without any police training happen to solve a murder.
This book is just fun. I have no complaints at all. I did notice a few descriptions of people in the story that seemed slightly stereotypical. An example would be a woman putting on pounds after she married. Then there was an African-American woman wearing safari animals on her clothing. She also mentioned fried chicken at one point. And you know, I think the author was going for a Texas reference but it made me go, “hmm,” for half a second. These things pulled my focus momentarily but it didn’t keep me from the story. I was having too much fun with the characters to sit and ponder it.
One of my favorite parts about this book is the random chapters from the killer’s point of view. I just find that so interesting to hear how he could justify what he had done.
If you’re a fan of Amish and cozy mysteries then you should definitely pick up this series by Vannetta Chapman.
About Vannetta Chapman
Vannetta Chapman holds a BA and MA degree in English and has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving over two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace in Albion, Pennsylvania. She published a novel with Abingdon Press called A Simple Amish Christmasin October of 2010. Her first Quilt Shop Murder Mystery, Falling to Pieces (Zondervan) was released in September of 2011 and received the 2012 Carol Award for best mystery. She currently lives in the Texas hill country.
LOVED the killer’s POV… :) Such a great idea to throw that in there. Loved this series…hoping you enjoy the last book!!!
Lovely review! Sounds interesting I’m not sure if it’s something I would read but I’m always open to trying new things haha. I really enjoyed reading your review :)
I read a bit of everything. I mostly review Christian books here on the blog as I belong to a lot of different street teams or get the opportunity for review. So, I guess I’m that way too! I’m open to trying different things. :-)
Lovely. You had me loaughing a bit while reading your review. That is good.
This book was a lot of fun :-)