This is a delightful new mystery with two quirky but lovable characters in Kappy and Edie. At the beginning of the book Kappy, an Amish woman, says that she likes to read mysteries because they give her a glimpse of the Englisher world. And in return this book gives us a taste of the Amish world. Kappy is going to see her neighbor Jimmy Peachey, who has Downs syndrome, to chastise him for painting her front door blue and when she does she finds Jimmy in the barn standing over the dead body of his mother Ruth. With no one to care for him, Kappy takes over until she can find Jimmy's sister, Edie, who has left the Amish and is banned by them. After Edie shows up Jimmy is arrested and although Edie and Kappy are sure that he could not have committed the crime, the police are not willing to look any further so they take it upon themselves to investigate. They make a great team and the story had me enthralled from page 1.

Quirky and intriguing all rolled into one. This is not like any Amish Cozy you've read before and that in itself is refreshing . I enjoyed the author's prospective on how the Amish might view and deal with someone with special needs it was even more interesting in how they view other Amish that live in other district's besides their own. This was not just a solid and well written mystery it was also a teaching moment .

Kappy King and the Puppy Kaper is a new genre for Amy Lillard- Amish mystery, rather than her regular Amish novels. I found this to be quite a clever and well written adventure, in which Kappy, and her newly returned neighbor- Edie- set out to find out just who killed Edie's mother Ruth. By doing so, they aim to clear Edie's brother Jimmy of the crime, so he can be released from jail. Jimmy has special needs and the jail time is quite difficult for him, though the employees and police treat him kindly. Kappy and Edie experience great frustration interviewing local Amish neighbors- many of whom will not speak to Edie because she has been shunned. It was interesting and touching to read of the growing friendship between Kappy and Edie, as they slowly recognize and appreciate the others' strengths. I would definitely recommend Kappy King and the Puppy Kaper to fellow readers of Amy Lillard and of Amish mysteries.

So Initially i looked over this book because of the title. It didn't strike me as a usual cozy title. I decided to see what the blurb was about and discovered that it was an Amish Cozy.  I only began reading Amish cozies last year (and Christian cozies this year) and I really enjoy them.

In this book we are introduced to Kathryn King. Also known as Kappy in her community because she is the only Kapp maker in town (for those of you who don't already know what a Kapp is, it is a prayer head covering that Amish women and girls wear). She lives alone after her engagement has broken up and has resigned herself to being an old maid while running her Kapp making business.

Returning home one day from the store she discovers that her front door is now painted blue--signaling that there is an available woman of marrying age living in the home. Although trying to keep her emotions in check she is somewhat embarrassed. She feels as though she is already an outcast and she doesn't need another reason for people to find her strange. She is fairly certain that she knows who painted her door blue without permission--her neighbor, Jimmy Peachey. She doesn't believe he did it with any malice. Jimmy, a young man of twenty who lives with his Mamm (mother) across the street from Kappy, has Down syndrome. Kappy decides to go see if he in fact did paint her door and why he did it. From the moment she sets foot on the Peacheys property she hears the incessant barking of dogs. Jimmy's mother, Ruth Peachey, is a widow who leases her farm land left to her by her husband and runs a beagle breeding business. The dogs are at it in full force today. Although some people in her community enter homes without knocking Kappy prefers to knock (she doesn't like people coming into her home unannounced so she doesn't go into anyone else's home unannounced). No one answers although Ruth's buggy is home. Maybe she is in the barn with the dogs. Maybe that's why they are barking so much. Kappy makes her way to the barn. She notices Jimmy standing, rocking back and forth and very distraught. At his feet lay the body of his Mamm, Ruth. Dead.

Kappy notifies the authorities. The police arrive and question Kappy. Although they won't confirm, it looks like they suspect foul play.  The Bishop arrives and tasks Kappy with taking care of Jimmy. She isn't thrilled about it, and the Bishop tells her that his wife will help once she returns home but for the time being it was her duty to help Jimmy. She accepts it because it is part of her duty as a member of the church to help others in the community and even though he may be able to do many things for himself he does has a developmental delay and needs someone to look out for him.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book. I am the mother of a beautiful little girl who has Down syndrome. Anytime people with Down syndrome are portrayed in movies, television, and books I am critical. Not because I don't like seeing people with Down syndrome in media outlets but rather I don't like seeing people with Down syndrome portrayed in stereotypical ways. Getting on my soapbox for a minute, people like my daughter are not always portrayed as being able to do anything for themselves, or as the token disabled person (anytime a role calls for a disabled person it is generally either someone with DS or someone with Autism or a person in a wheelchair--I haven't seen much variance). I don't like when DS is portrayed negatively--it isn't something I feel sad about. My daughter is amazing everyone that I've met through parent groups is amazing. Everyone has their struggles but that's across the board for people in general, not just people who happen to have DS. They are people first and using People First language is important to me. Getting off of my soapbox, I was weary to even continue reading the book because if it began to stereotype the only thing that reading further would do is agitate me. But I decided to give the book a chance. It would either be something I could appreciate or something that casts such negativity and helplessness on Trisomy 21 that I would bring up in reviews, to other parents and support groups, and even the publisher if need be. Although it wasn't my favorite portrayal, as some of it just didn't seem realistic to me, it wasn't something that I took offense to.

The police follow up and believe that Jimmy is responsible for his mother's death. Surely this couldn't be the case could it? Not wanting to believe that Jimmy hurt his mother whom he loved dearly, and at the urging of Edie (Jimmy's shunned sister) Kappy is on the case.

The scene where Jimmy has to go with the police was so very well written. It made me sad. That being said in a few places I felt like the transitions and scenes jumped all over the place. More than once I found myself needing to go back and reread a page or two because I thought I missed something. It felt like there was an awkward scene jump. I prefer smoother changes. Still I continued reading the book. I don't feel like I can give an honest review if I don't see it through.

As the book progressed the writing seemed to get better. There weren't any more weird scene jumps. It didn't feel like the author was jumping all over the place. The transitions were much smoother and it made reading the book that much easier and honestly more enticing. When I began reading the book and would have to stop to do other things I wasn't overly excited to pick it up and read more. However, once the writing seemed to pick up I actually sat and read numerous chapters and made myself put my kindle away to charge. Twice I took it off of the charger, because I didn't want to wait, to read "just one more chapter" until there were only two chapters left. It felt like the author found her rhythm and everything just clicked.  I found myself smiling and even laughing out loud (literally) a few times.

I enjoyed the unlikely friendship between the two women. I liked that they bonded over a shared sense of not belonging and each woman dealing it and still being okay, even before finding each other. It was a fast friendship and I feel like it is something that would actually happen. Two people unknowingly in need of each other finding and supporting one another.

I will read the next book in the series.



I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.