The second installment in The Amish Matchmaker Mystery series continues to develop the characters and relationships of Book 1. Millie and Lois are the classic example of opposites attracting in almost every way, and their friendship is the strongest component throughout. The mystery itself is well thought-out and developed, with a satisfying conclusion. The emotional depth of the characters creates a genuine sense of empathy or at least believability around them.

Despite all of the technical positives, there is a proverbial fly in the ointment, at least for me. The emphasis to the point of exaggeration that this book is about the Amish (it seems that a page doesn’t go by without the word) gives me pause. I became increasingly uncomfortable as the book continued, wondering if there isn’t a bit of cultural appropriation at work. Being placed on display or used as a commercial hook seems to violate the proud and private nature that is the essence of many Amish communities. While I certainly can’t say that the series is disparaging in any way, I can’t help feeling that its premise and purpose may be disrespectful. For this reason, I will not be continuing with the series.

Thank you NetGalley, Amanda Flower and Kensington Books for the ARC of Courting Can Be Killer. This is my personal review.
I enjoyed this second book in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery series.
The friendships between the characters is wonderful.
The cozy mystery is another series written by Amanda Flower, who knows how to spin a story to keep me reading. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

This is the 2nd installment in the Amish Matchmaker mystery series. This is also a spin off of the Bailey King mysteries. The mystery is set in Harvest Ohio and the Amish live along with the English in town. Millie Fisher is back in Harvest having spent about a decade taking care of her sister in Michigan. It is there she meets young Ben Baughman who would help Millie with chores. Ben has recently moved to Harvest from Michigan and is working 4 jobs to try and impress Tess Lieb’s father as he wants to court her and is in love. Millie goes to find Ben along with her English friend Lois at the Harvest Flea Market where Ben is working as a security guard at night. Millie lets Ben know that Tess’s father is opposed to the match and suggests that he be patient. Ben thinks of Millie as an Aunt and patiently listens but he feels Tess is the one for him and Tess appears to also be interested. The next day, Millie and Lois learns there has been a fire at the flea market and that a young man has died. Millie knows that it is Ben and along with Lois is convinced that Ben did not fall asleep nor did he set the fire as rumors are suggesting. Lois has dubbed Millie Amish Marple which is funny and they set out to figure out what happened. Deputy Aiden Brody warns them against this as the fire is suspected to be arson. I love the friendship of Millie and Lois as they compliment each other and accept each other as they are. Everyone needs friends like that. The mystery was a good one and looking forward to the next installment. Highly recommend.

I enjoy the books that Amanda Flower writes with the setting of Harvest, Ohio, home to Amish and Englisch families. This story is a crossover between the Amish Matchmaker Mysteries, main character Millie Fisher, an Amish woman, and the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries, main character Bailey King, whose grandmother is Amish. Millie is an Amish matchmaker and helps the Amish find a match. Her best friend Lois is an Englisch woman and the two have been friends since childhood and have recently reunited after both moved back to Harvest. They also like to solve mysteries. In Courting Can Be Killer, the two are trying to find out who caused a fire that killed Ben Baughman, a young Amish man, and to clear his name. Some believe that he started the fire that burned down a flea market where he was a night guard. Ben followed Millie to Harvest from Michigan where he was living with his father and Millie was looking after her sister before she passed away. Millie is like an aunt to Ben and is heartbroken when he dies. Is his death an accident or foul play?
This is a funny series of two opposite women who unite in friendship and enjoy each other's company. I like the town of Harvest and the different characters. It feels like a real place that I enjoy visiting through the books. I look forward to the next adventure with Millie and Lois. Millie has another friend, this time an Amish man, who would like to court her but Millie is trying to stay loyal to her deceased husband. Maybe they will spend some time together in the next book.
I received a complimentary ARC from Kensington Publishing through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

This was a wonderful sequel in An Amish Matchmaker Mystery. I'm a huge fan of Flower's numerous cozies, but I especially love how this one weaves together her other popular series, the Amish Candy Shop Mystery. Both take place in the same town of Harvest, OH and it's so fun seeing favorite characters pop up in both. It truly is a perfect setting and a wonderful cast of quirky characters - both human and animal!! I especially loved that this story took place during Autumn. The visits to the local apple farm were fun for this Southern girl. Also leave it to Margot to bring an Oktoberfest celebration to an prominent Amish village.

I really like Millie. I typically don't read a lot of protagonists who are mature sleuths because they often tend to be too light for me, but I rather enjoy her temperament and points of view. Her rambunctious side kick, Lois is an absolute hoot. Pairing an Amish and Englischer as childhood friends is brilliant. Their confusion over beliefs and cultural differences really adds to the humor. Lois's actions and thoughts made me laugh out loud numerous times.

The mystery was very engaging. I was stumped for a bit and honestly thought Tess's story was going in a different direction. A fire at a local flea market really left room for many suspects and definitely kept me guessing for awhile.

Peter and Philip are just an added bonus. These mischievous goats are such a wonderful addition to the cast and truly add to the story in every single scene they appear in. Jethro, my favorite pot-bellied pig, still managed to steal the spotlight though. His appetite at the orchard was perfect and I loved the fact that Juliet has a Lederhosen outfit for him! You just can't compete with that.

I so look forward to this series continuing. I'm anxious to see where this story line is going between Millie and Uriah. I truly hope she gets the courage to give love another chance and that he decides to stick around!

I like the main characters Millie and Lois and how they complement each other’s strengths. And that the author brings in characters from her Amish sweet shop mystery series. The story is well written and I only managed to figure out part of the mystery. I do find that this series is slightly darker than than the sweet shop books but the goats bring needed comic relief.

I won't be finishing this. It wasn't bad in any way. I liked the writing style well enough. Plot-wise it just wasn't what I thought, and I wasn't interested.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity., This is the second in the Amish Matchmaking series and as delightful as the first in series. This series has a fun protagnist, great sleuthing and the charming setting of Harvest a small Amish community. .

Millie has met up with a old childhood friend and they get along great. Lois is not Amish
yet their differences do not affect their friendship. A man Millie knows has moved back to Harvest and falls for a local girl Her Father vehemently disapproves. When he is found dead Millie feels a obligation to step up her investigation skills and determine what happened to him with the help of Millie and her local friends .

The charcters are rich and all add to the story and to the culture of Amish country. The sleuth was very well done and kept me guessing to conclusion. I highly recommend this charming series by our cozy author Amanda Flower.

Amanda Flower always delivers and such is the case with this new book. Well written and entertaining. I highly recommend it. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

Millie, matchmaker for the Amish community in Harvest, Ohio, could have told Ben that the woman he was courting was not a goo match for him, but some men just don't know what's good for them. When tragedy strikes, Millie and Lois, her Englisch friend of more than 60 years, are determined to figure out what happened and who is responsible.

This is the second book in this series, which is a spin-off from the Amish Candy Shop series by the same author. While you don't *need to read the Candy Shop books to enjoy this series, I highly recommend it, as it gives you a more complete view of who's who in Harvest, Ohio. The cameos from some of the Candy Shop series felt like visits from old friends, and I like the antics of Phillip and Peter as much as those of Jethro from the original series :) There didn't seem to be many suspects to choose from in this story, but the possibilities kept me reading and guessing almost till the reveal in the book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Courting Can Be Killer
An Amish Matchmaker Mystery, Book #2
Amanda Flower
5 Stars

Synopsis:

In the second Amish Matchmaker Mystery by USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower, Millie Fisher has plenty to keep her busy through her golden years, whether it's minding a pair of rambunctious goats, meetings with her quilting circle, and matchmaking. But the witty widow always makes time to solve the odd murder...

Some Amish men don't know what's good for them. That's what Millie Fisher told herself when young Ben Baughman set his heart on marrying Tess Lieb. With Tess's father refusing to give his blessing and Tess's ex-boyfriend being a wet blanket, the hapless couple was bound to butt heads more than Millie's Boer goats. But when Ben tragically dies in a mysterious fire, Millie wonders if someone in her hometown of Harvest, Ohio, wanted Ben out of the wedding picture altogether...

With the help of her quilting buddies, and her outspoken Englischer friend Lois, Millie is determined to patch together all the clues without even dropping a stitch. She only hopes it won't be the death of her... (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. I love the relationship between Millie and Lois. They are so different but they get along great and care about each other a lot. They spend a lot of time together, especially when they are sleuthing, which they seem to do a lot. When an Amish man is killed in a fire, the circumstances are suspicious. Millie and Lois decide to do some sleuthing to try to help law enforcement solve the case. I really enjoyed seeing some of the characters from the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series, that was a lot of fun.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and it added to my enjoyment. I felt like I was right there with Millie and her goats, seeing what mischief they would get into. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. When I have a book to read by this author, I know I am in for a real treat.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Who killed Ben? Yes, Tess' father didn't want him courting his daughter but he didn't do it. Millie, our intrepid mature sleuth has to figure this one out and luckily she's got her long time friend Lois to help. Millie, who is Amish, and Lois, who isn't, make a wonderful pair as they work their way through the possible suspects. This is a more pointed take on Amish fiction (it is murder, after all) and the addition of an Englisher cohort ups the ante a bit. I missed the first book but this was fine as a standalone. The dialogue is good, the mystery just twisty enough, and the setting works really well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm looking forward to the next one.

I fully enjoyed the second addition in this new series by the prolific author Amanda Flower; I am so glad that she is writing more in this series.
Millie [who is Amish] and her childhood "Englischer" friend Lois are at it again and it is one interesting romp from page one until the end. I love Millie and her open outlook on life and how she doesn't let being Amish dampen her interests and inquisitiveness, all while staying very true to her faith and what she believes at her very core. She is a good mix of how people of faith should be and I really like her because of it. And Lois? Lois is what everyone wishes they could be - a lover of life, a devoted friend and an instigator to the very end, Lois is absolutely an amazing character. I love how she teases Millie about her Amish life, but never, ever makes fun of her or what she believes; she in fact accepts and respects what Millie believes and supports her in that, but isn't afraid to speak real truth to her when needed. She is the bestest of best friends and we ALL could use a friend like that in our lives. I love how they work together and support each other [even in the face of dealing with the terrifying Ruth Yoder] and have the easy kind of friendship that is only comes out of being friends for years, even when distance has happened. Their relationship really makes these books and makes the mysteries more believable.
This mystery was good [and having Aiden and glimpses of Bailey and her crew is a fun addition], but very sad. And that is all I will say about it. This one you need to read from page one. Any review about it will influence the future reader and that would be a great disservice to them. So suggest you read it and find out for yourselves; and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amanda Flower, and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An older Amish matchmaker, Millie, and her dear friend, Lois, a flamboyant "Englischer" make for quite a pair and when Millie's friend dies a mysterious death Lois is right there to help her get answers. Rumors are flying and getting facts in a tight lipped Amish community seems to be almost impossible but Millie is determined to set the facts straight.

As a fan of Amanda Flower's Amish Candy Shop Mysteries I immediately felt at home with this series set in the same town of Harvest with some crossover characters. I also enjoyed the Amish proverbs that were sprinkled in throughout the story. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Amanda Flower’s Amish Candy Shop series is one of my very favourite cozy series. When the spin-off MATCHMAKING CAN BE MURDER came out, I enjoyed it but I wasn’t as fond of it as I was the original series. It was still a good, solid cozy though and I was interested to see how the sequel would go.

COURTING CAN BE KILLER is a great follow-up and, I personally think, even better than the first book.

I really loved Millie and Lois as a sleuthing duo. Two women in their mid-sixties -- one an Amish widow, one a spunky English grandma -- but close friends since childhood. Flower gives them some great odd-couple banter as they use their ‘little old ladies’ act to stick their noses in all over the place. Lois calls Millie an Amish Miss Marple, and that’s definitely a vibe this book gave me. I liked how the two older women were written -- believably older than most cozy protagonists (they ‘feel’ distinctly older) but not dottering or given a patronising portrayal the way you sometimes get.

While you don’t need to have read the Candy Shop series or the first book to enjoy this one, it does add to the world-building if you do. It’s nice to see familiar characters and locations make cameos and you do get a different perspective since Millie has different relationships with the townspeople than Bailey (younger and non-Amish) did.

I still haven't figured out why the Amish seek the approval of this "matchmaker," but regardless, I enjoy the series. It's always comforting to read about simple the Amish like to keep their lives and it's an interesting dynamic to read it while so much chaos is going on around their little environment. A quick cozy read, worth picking up.

Thank you Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed, are mine and mine alone.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3654872670

This is the second book in the Amish Matchmaker series and what a delight! Millie is back in Harvest, Ohio and has rekindled a childhood friendship with Lois. It is wonderful to see that the interaction between these two women considering their differing backgrounds. Millie is the local Amish matchmaker and Lois is a loud and proud "Englisher". Together they are the perfect pair to sniff out crime.

Ben moved to Harvest from Michigan after his father remarried, He knew Millie from when she was taking care of her ailing sister there. Ben falls for a local girl whose father does not want him courting her. Ben's body is found in the aftermath of a fire at the local farmer's market and our two ladies go into sleuth mode.

I love the small town of Harvest. This book can be read a s a stand alone although it is part of a series and a spin off of another series. I highly recommend that you read both to get the full understanding of the town and the Amish community. The characters are well written and I fell like I know everyone in town. Cameo appearances of townspeople from the Amish Candy Shop series is an added bonus.

Millie is a smart, capable woman of a certain age that knows how to take care of herself. Lois is an absolute hoot! I laughed every time a mention was made of what she carries in her purse. I felt a kinship with her as I could play "Let's Make a Deal" with the contents of my purse. The two of them together make a great team.

Animals always play a big part in Ms. Flower's books. Millie's goats, Peter and Phillip, make me smile. Their personalities shine even brighter in this book. Of course, it wouldn't be a visit to Harvest with Jethro, the pig. His scenes are some of the best written about an indulged pet.

The mystery is very well done and I suspected several people before the true culprit was revealed. Such a sad ending for a young man that had potential.

I can't wait for the next book.

I love this series and highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Company for allowing me to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the second in the series. I read a Christmas short story set in this town by the author. It piqued my interest and caused me to want to read the Amish Matchmaker Series. I found it enchanting and entertaining.

I liked the difference between the Amish and English communities. It gave me a greater appreciation of cultural diversity. Just because it’s different doesn’t make it right or wrong, just different.

I was flabbergasted when Lois ran off at the mouth about certain information that law enforcement asked them not to repeat.

The story was well-crafted and the characters were well developed. Millie and Lois are in their sixties. Millie is quite sensible and Lois is a hoot. They make a good team.

I did not guess who started the fire. This can be read as a standalone. I have purchased the first book just so I could catch up on the characters’ back stories.

I was given and advanced e-copy by Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.

This is the second book in the Amish Matchmaking series. I hadn’t read the first book, but still thoroughly enjoyed this volume. I really love the heroine, matchmaker, and amateur sleuth. I like that Tillie is more of a grandmotherly figure than most cozy mystery protagonists. Plus she and her English best friend Lois are an absolute hoot to read about. Tillie gets caught up int he mystery when her psed-nephew is killed in a fire and the whole Amish community seems determined to blame him. With lots of colorful characters including animals like naughty goats this book was fun to read.

'Courting Can Be Killer' is a heartwarming and thorough tale of friendships, love and conflict between two very different cultures in Pennsylvania. The mystery is sharp and full of misdirection that kept me completely engaged. There is romance, humor and most of all devotion to life-long friendships. I am totally in on both of Amanda Flower's series set in Amish country.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.