Lethal Licorice

GIVEAWAY

FLOWER, AMANDA
LETHAL LICORICE

Too many sweets spoil the murder

Harvest, Ohio is a long way from New York City, where Bailey King left a coveted job as head chocolatier to take over Swissman's Sweets, her Amish grandparents'candy shop.Now, while caring for her recently widowed grandmother, she plans to honor her grandfather's memory by entering the Amish Confectionary Competition. But between lavender blueberry fudge and choclate cherry ganache truffles, Bailey may have bitten off more than she can chew when the search for a missing pot-bellied pig turns up a body suffering from sugar overload -- the fatal kind.

A candy maker from a neighboring town who wanted Englischer Bailey disqualified for being an outsider, Josephine Weaver died from an allergy from an essential licorice ingredient. The suspects include: Josephine's niece, a young woman going through her rumsprings, or running around time, and Bailey herself. Now it falls to Bailey, who's sweet on the local sheriff's deputy, to clear their names and entice a killer with a cast-iron stomach for cold-blooded murder.

My Review:

Amanda Flower is my go-to cozy mystery author and I am loving this new series with it's clever and catchy titles! And my hero Jethro is back -- the charming troublemaker who just happens to be a polka-dotted pot-belly pig with plenty of attitude! In fact, as the story begins we discover that Jethro is on the ham...er, lam...and the craziness amps up from there.

Harvest may be a small Amish town but it is no stranger to murder just as Bailey is no stranger to being a suspect! Her naturally inquisitive mind and kind-hearted desire to help lead her on another crime solving spree. Love the quirky humour and unconventional characters! And the Amish connection makes me just plain happy.

I adore Bailey's Amish grandmother who is the source of steadfast calm in the midst of chaos. "Every person has to make a decision about how she will live her life. That is no different in the Amish world or the Englisch world. It is the free will that Gott gave us. It is not only a choice, but a responsibility to choose." (p 159) That theme of choice plays out over and over again in various ways as the story progresses.

And one of those choices might involve a certain sheriff's deputy who tries to keep Bailey out of trouble long enough to solve the murder before she does! It's a lost cause though, because she doesn't know how to butt out and even though Aiden finds that exasperating, he can't help but appreciate her spunky doggedness. A sweet stirring of romance with the promise of more to come in future books has me wearing my Cheshire grin.

And though this is book two in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series, it can easily be read as a standalone. Though, I highly recommend Assaulted Caramel too just because why wouldn't you want twice as much of this quirky goodness?

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you want a chance to win a copy of Lethal Licorice, leave a comment below ore email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca.  If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday April 1 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!