Member Reviews

Have you ever had the urge to binge out on peanut butter Reese Cups while reading a cozy mystery? This book is about peanut butter buckeyes with a heaping portion of Murder if the Vic happens to be allergic to nuts! Peanut Butter Panic is book seven of Amanda Flower's Amish Candy Shop Mystery series and so far I’ve read every book in the series. These books are so good I can’t wait for the next book to be released. Book seven certainly didn’t disappoint this cozy mystery reader. Readers are kept almost to the end before they get to find out who murdered the Vic. There were plenty of suspects with good motives to want the Vic dead but only one killer! I found this book to be a very good mix of English and Amish characters. It was entertaining and I found it to be an easy and quick read. I didn’t want to stop reading once I started. I was immediately drawn into the story and I was kept glued to the pages till the very end of the book. Five stars !!

Bailey King is very busy helping her Amish Grandmother and their two employees prepare for the Black Friday and Small Business Monday sales that will bring an avalanche of tourists to Swissmen’s Sweets. Not only that but the village event planner Margot Rawling has planned a community Thanksgiving Day feast with over 800 guest attending the meal in the village square and the near by church. What Margot hadn’t counted on was that her picky, fault finding mother was planning to attend the holiday feast. The two do not get along and Margot gets herself in a titter and asks Bailey for help while she runs to the airport to get her mother. Margot never allows herself to get this upset and is always in control of every situation but her mother springs another surprise on her daughter when she brings along a man half her age and claims he is her fiancé. Margot is beside herself and the entire village of Harvest Ohio knows it. Then Blaze Smith, the fiancé turns up dead with his face in a bowl of mashed potatoes, at the Thanksgiving meal. Things look bad for Margot!!

Bailey springs into action when both Margot and her Mother ask her to find out who killed Blaze. So Bailey is busy with the two biggest days of business of the year and also trying to dig up clues to find out who killed Blaze and keep Margot out of prison. Not only that but Aiden Brody, her boyfriend, is in town and she’s very insecure in her relationship with him ever since he quit his job as deputy sheriff at the Harvest Sheriffs Department . She has a lot on her plate and little time to get it all done! Can she hold everything together and find out who really killed Blaze Smith?

I recommend this book to readers of Cozy Mystery and to anyone who has been keeping up with this series. I recommend that the books be read in order because it is easier when you are familiar with the characters. As far as the mystery part of the story it could be read as a standalone. This book is scheduled to be released on 8/23/22

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions expressed here in this review are entirely my own.

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Peanut Butter Panic is the tenth story in the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries by Amanda Flower. I have found this series to be enjoyable and somewhat educational as the author has taken the time to explain many of the cultural differences between the Amish People and the "Englischers" throughout the series as individual situations arise. It is also interesting that the author is able to include the continuing characters from this series and her Amish Matchmaker series within the pages of both sets of stories without having the protagonists "stepping on each other's toes". Another intriguing element is the prevalence of characters who have ties to both sides of the cultural division and therefore are able to see both sides of many issues.

In this story, town event planner Margot Rawlings is in the midst of planning a Thanksgiving celebration that is to include both the Amish and Englisch when she receives word that her mother, Zara Bevan, a former Holmes County judge, is coming to town for a visit. This news throws her as she has never been able to live up to her mother's expectations and therefore wants everything to go perfect with the event. Unfortunately, her mother's boyfriend winds up dying from an allergic reaction shortly after the announcement of their engagement. As the mystery is unravelled, Bailey King uses her ties to the Amish community to investigate the past of both the deceased and Margot's mother. Throughout the investigation, Bailey learns that during her time on the bench, Zara had made a significant number of enemies in the Amish community due to the harsh sentences that she handed down to individuals convicted of crimes within the county. Bailey also soon discovers that, contrary to the information he had given, Zara's boyfriend was actually a former member of the local Amish community with family members and acquaintances still living there.

As with all of Ms. Flower's books, this story contains enough clues and misdirects so as to make the reading and solving of the crime enjoyable without it being too obvious as to perpetrator or motive until the final reveal. She also has made sure that the characters she has developed are multidimensional and relatable, even when they turn out to be the bad guys. She has also allowed the relationsihps between her characters the time to develop solid foundations while still facing the normal challenges of their everyday worlds. I look forward to more stories in this and all of Ms. Flower's series as I believe each of these characters have many more journeys and pathways to follow.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books and am voluntarily posting this fair and honest review.

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I love me a good cozy mystery when I need a break from the hard core thrillers and this book was a great read.

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celebrity-pet-pig, pet-bunny, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, family, family-business, family-dynamics, friendship, small-business, small-town, Amish, Ohio, cat, candy-shop, cozy-mystery, culinary, rural*****

First, I was surprised by the choice of victim, I was sure that it would be the very obnoxious retired judge who seemed to disdain everyone, including her perfectionist daughter. As the publisher's blurb tells, it was that woman's "fiancé" who was decades younger who was murdered by anaphylaxis. The noxious woman bullies Bailey into sleuthing the case even as Bailey's state police boyfriend is assigned to work with the locals on that very same case. Good sleuthing is done by all, but I still don't know why everyone's teeth don't fall out. A really good whodunit in a captivating series.
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 e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

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3.5 stars

This is the 7th book in the series, though they can be read as standalone novels.

It's fun to be back with the cast of Swissman Sweets. Margot has big plans, but as we all know, things rarely go according to plan. And that's the case here, as well. Bailey has to sleuth out the truth before someone gets away with murder.

This is a quick, fun cozy mystery. As is usually the case, Jethro the pig makes my day!

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We are back with Swissman Sweets, Bailey and the whole crew. Margot has yet another grand event planed for the square. A town wide Thanksgiving dinner to bring both English and Amish together. Everyone is looking forward to the event until Margot's horrible mother shows up. A former judge who hates the Amish and made sure they would get unfair prison sentences is the last person many in town want to see. When her fiancé has an allergic reaction and dies she quickly starts pointing fingers at the Amish. Bailey must find out the truth before the real murder gets away with it. This was a fast interesting read. I was sorry when it ended. Always the mark of a good book. I look forward to the next book.

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Peanut Butter Panic is the 7th book in this fun cozy mystery series by Amanda Flower.
Bailey King may not be Amish, but that doesn't stop her from being protective over her Amish friends or family.
As the town prepares for their harvest festival, Bailey is shocked and surprised when she meets the mother of Margot, the leader of the festival.
Zara is a retired judge, and not well liked by the local residents, or her own daughter.
Zara doesn't seem to like the people of the Amish community, and she certainly likes to voice her opinion.
During the harvest meal, Zara makes an announcement that shocks her daughter, and possibly causes the death of another visitor.
I became intrigued with the story immediately and I could relate to Margot on so many levels regarding her relationship with her mother.
The surrounding stories were well done and of course, I loved reading about Jethro and his silly antics.
This is a great series and I recommend it to any reader who enjoys a solid mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
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This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Kensington Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The seventh in the well known and established cozy mystery series. Bailey’s charming and charismatic, a wonderful character for this genre.
A great addition to the series.

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Baily is at it again, trying to solve another murder. This is book 7 of the series, and another hit. Love Jethro, and he is in here too with all his polka dot pride. Wish there would have been more with her hunky cop boyfriend, and her friend from NY, but otherwise liked this one and would recommend it. Now I want to try the recipe in the back.

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Bailey King is a candy maker, cable television cooking show host and an amateur sleuth. In Harvest, Ohio a small Amish town. Her boyfriend Aidan a former deputy for the local police department and now working for BCI. He's gone a lot more even on Thanksgiving. The village square is hosting a big dinner between the Englishers and Amish. When someone dies and goes head first into the mashed potatoes.

This is book 7 of the Amish Candy mystery series. I have read almost everything of Amanda Flower and this series is one of my favorites. I was so excited to see that my request to read it early was granted by Netgalley.

I love Bailey King and her gang of animals, a bunny, cat and the pig. I love Jethro the pig and his shenanigans. Bailey is so kind to everyone and is a great friend to the community. Also, great at cracking cases. I hope to see more romance in the future. 😉

The writing and story were so well done that I finished the book in hours.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for a free e-copy of the book for an honest review.

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Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of PEANUT BUTTER PANIC (Book 7 of the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries) by Amanda Flower in exchange for an honest review. I liked it and look forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book to fans of the series and the series to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring Amish living, candy shops, and town events.

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Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and when the English and Amish communities come together to celebrate, it’s a perfect setting. Too bad a murder tarnishes the day.

With Bailey being asked to find the murder by both Margot and her mother, Bailey can’t help but do a little digging. But who would kill a man who had never been to Ohio, moreover Harvest? That’s what Bailey intends to find out, even if Aiden is in town looking into things as well.

I adore this series. How can I not with the Amish, Jethro, oodles of homemade chocolate and a solid whodunit each and every time? Amanda Flower is the queen of Amish Cozies and I adore all of her series, even the non Amish based ones. If you haven’t read one of her books yet, you’re missing out!

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