A terrific book by Amanda Flower! This is the second book of hers that I've read, with the first being Assaulted Caramel (Amish Candy Shop Mystery, #1). I thoroughly enjoyed that book and need to read more Candy Shop mysteries because characters from that series make an appearance in this series as well. Both are based in the same Ohio county. (great to support an author in my great state of Ohio!)

Matchmaking Can Be Murder follows the delightful Millie Fisher, a widow who has recently returned to her District in Holmes County in Ohio to be closer to family. She's a fun, yet well-centered character who sees the joy in life as well as the need for justice for her niece who discovered the body of her ex-fiance in her greenhouse.

As with all cozies, it has likable and quirky characters, but Lois, an Englisch woman living in their village who also happens to be a good friend from Millie's school days, was especially wonderful! She is genuine and hilarious and had me laughing anytime she interacted with Millie. What fun!

One thing that especially stood out to me in this particular book was the strength of all the women portrayed in this story - from Millie herself, to her niece, Edith, to Lois and to all the ladies in the Double Stitch Quilting group. I loved how they all worked together and never once questioned the need to stick together to help and support one of their own. I really loved that about this book!

For anyone who has read the Amish Candy Shop mysteries, you'll enjoy getting to better know some familiar characters such as Deputy Aiden Brody and a few others. They fit into this story perfectly and help welcome the reader into this new story line.

I can't wait to read the next book in this series. In the meantime, I'm going to finish the Candy Shop mysteries and enjoy Flower's other books while I wait!

This book was provided to me as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The latest mystery from the prolific Amanda Flower is very enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the free galley. Millie Fisher has returned to her Ohio hometown after several years away. She is a matchmaker for the Amish. In the beginning, we see that she is not particularly happy with her niece Edith's match with her suitor Zeke. Edith decides to break it off with him. The very next day Zeke is found dead in Edith's greenhouse.
Millie decides to help the sheriff's deputy with his investigation. Bailey King and her deputy fiancé Aiden who appear in The Amish Candy Shop series make their appearance in this tale too. Aiden is a much more prominent character than Bailey in this book.
Millie investigates the murder with the help of her old time friend, Lois. I laughed at their interactions. Lois is an "Englisher" who is crash and crude. Millie, of course, is the counter opposite. Both of them are generous of heart. I also laughed with the other secondary characters, Millie's goats and their antics.
I think Amanda Flower does a brilliant job of connecting the characters and their different worlds. I would give this book 4 and a half stars, if half stars were possible.

I have enjoyed all of Amanda Flower's series and was eager to read this new series. It's another winner. Set in the same Amish town as the Amish Candy Shop series with Bailey King, we get to see more of the residents we have only seen in passing. What a treat. Millie Fisher is the focus of this spin off series and she is wonderful. She has been away from Harvest, Ohio for ten years and it takes some adjustment. Matchmaking becomes her new focus and her first challenge is her own niece, also a widow with a couple of children and a thriving garden business. Too bad her choice of a new husband is ruining the business. In Amish tradition the husband controls the business and Edith has let him take over running things - right into the ground. He is definitely not a good match for Edith and soon she calls off the wedding, making Millie happy. That happiness soon vanishes when Millie goes to see Edith and finds her standing over the very dead body of her ex-fiance. So, if she didn't kill him, who did? Millie and her childhood friend, Lois - the exact opposite of Mille but her best friend - set out to track down the killer and keep Edith out of prison.
The Amish Candy series has Jethro the polka dot pot bellied pig and this series Millie has a pair of goats named Peter and Phillip. The humor had me laughing and the mystery had me guessing, both things I expect in an Amanda Flower book. Now I have another series to put on my must read list.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

When Millie moves back to her childhood hometown, she notices that the young members of the Amish community are making of mess of their choices in life partners, so she sets out to help steer them in what she sees as the right direction. When she finally convinces her niece to break off her engagement, Millie is thrilled – until a body is found in the niece's greenhouse and all signs point to Edith as the killer.

This is the first book in this series, a spin-off of the author's Amish Candy Shop series, also set in Harvest, Ohio. As such, the groundwork for the setting was already well established, as well as the cooperative co-existence between the Amish and the Englisch. While the Candy Shop series is told from the perspective of an Englischer, it appears that this new series will be told from the point of view of a member of the Amish community, and I think that's going to present interesting opportunities for story and character development.

As always, Ms. Flower knows how to write a good story, a book that draws the reader in almost from the very first page. It was hard to put the book down, and while several suspects rose to the top of my list, I wasn't able to identify the culprit until just before it was revealed in the book. I look forward to reading the next book in this series!

Even if I'm a big fan of Amanda Flower mysteries I think this one was not of her best books.
It somehow felt awkward and even if it's entertaining it felt a bit disjointed.
I liked the characters, I found the mystery solid but I think it's not easy to write characters that belongs to another culture and get them right the first book you write.
It's an entertaining read and I will surely read the next instalment to see if it was just a case of "first in a series".
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Matchmaking Can Be Murder is an entertaining read with lots of humor and I especially loved the goats. The characters are well fleshed out and the mystery is engaging. Some of the characters, as well as the setting itself, can also be found in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery-series, so it was a bit familiar to me.

It's overall a good book, so feel free to check it out.

I always enjoy Amanda Flower's Amish stories and this new series looks to be great. It is a spin off of the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries and we do get to see an appearance of some of the characters from that series. Millie Fisher has returned to Harvest, Ohio, after living in Michigan for ten years taking care of her ill sister. Her sister has passed on and she is back in Harvest where her niece, Edith, owns and operates her family business, Edy's Greenhouse, left to her by her deceased father. Edith is a widow with three young children and is engaged but having second thoughts. Edith's twin brother Enoch left the Amish faith to pursue an Englisch life so is not in line to own the business. Now, he is in town for a visit. Things become tense around the greenhouse when Edith's fiance Zeke Miller is found dead in the greenhouse, a day after breaking the engagement. Edith is a suspect in his murder. Deputy Aiden Brody from the Candy Shop series is on hand to investigate along Deputy Little. It turns out that Zeke had an Englisch girlfriend, Darcy, who has just opened a cafe on the square. Her grandmother, Lois, is an old friend of Millie and the two unite to solve the murder and prove their girls are innocent. So you have two senior citizens that make a funny couple of sleuths getting into trouble. I am looking forward to seeing more books in the future in this new series.
I received a complimentary ARC from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

Millie Fisher moves back to her Amish community in Harvest, Ohio, after tending to her ill sister in Michigan. In Matchmaking Can Be Murder by Amanda Flower, Millie is a matchmaker and she notices love is not flourishing in Harvest including her with niece Edith.

Edith, a widow, has been engaged to rude, greedy Zeke Miller since the winter and the wedding is occurring soon. But Edith doesn't appear to be marrying Zeke for love. When she tells her aunt, she plans to break off the engagement, Millie is not surprised. It doesn't appear Edith is in love with Zeke and is only marrying him for the welfare of her children.

A very entertaining and enlightening book about the life and times of the Amish community, plus an interesting mystery. Looking forwards to the two senior detectives' next adventure.

I am on the fence between 3 stars and 4 stars with this new mystery by Amanda Flower. I really like the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series, so I thought I’d like this spin off series just as much but I don’t. Millie is a good main character. Lois is a fun side kick. It’s good to interact with the characters from the Amish Candy Shop series. But the investigation by a 60 something Amish woman felt forced and out of character. I didn’t really need more Ruth Yoder in the picture, but it’s pretty unavoidable when the main character is Amish in the same district as Ruth. The matchmaking was supposed to be a main theme but it falls to the wayside because of the mystery needing resolution.
The story is creative and there are fun elements to it. It didn’t work as well for me as I hoped. I wouldn’t be opposed to reading a second book to see if the author can get the idea to flow.

Millie FIsher has a talent for knowing when two people are right for each other and is responsible for several successful matches in her Amish community. Millie is pleased when her beloved niece Edith calls off her wedding to Zeke Miller. However, when Edith finds Zeke’s dead body in the greenhouse she manages, Millie is afraid her niece will be blamed for the murder. Millie teams up with her childhood, non-Amish friend, Lois Henry, to find the real murderer and finds out she has a knack for sleuthing as well.

This book is the beginning of a new series that is set in the same location as the author’’s Amish Candy Shop mysteries. Some of the Harvest, Ohio residents from that series, including Deputy Aiden Brody, who leads the murder investigation are also main characters in the author’s other series. I haven’t read all the books in that series and still had no problems enjoying this book. Those who follow that series or fans of Laura Bradford’s Amish mysteries will want to get to know Millie better. She is a devout Amish woman, but isn’t afraid to speak her mind especially if she is defending a friend or family member. She has a habit of sprinkling Amish proverbs into her conversations and I appreciate the wisdom of those sayings.

Millie’s friendship with Lois makes this book even better that it would be without their teamwork. Lois is loyal and soft-hearted, underneath a brash, bold exterior. Some of the members of the Amish community aren’t sure how to take her, but Millie knows Lois well since they grew up on neighboring farms. When the two team up to solve Zeke’s murder and clear Edith’s name, the book really gets entertaining. There are more suspects than you would think since Zeke is a seemingly hard-working Amish man, but they learn the young man was keeping many secrets. This gives Millie and Lois plenty of opportunities to question suspects in their own unique way. It’s no surprise with these two friends on the case, the surprising truth eventually comes out.

Like most cozy mystery series, there is some light romance included as well. This works perfectly in this book considering Millie’s vocation as a matchmaker. There are a few different potential pairings that she is considering that I assume may play out in future books. There is even a hint of romance in the widowed Millie’s own future that I look forward to reading about. I think “Matchmaking Can be Murder” is an excellent start to a new series and look forward to the next book.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Kensington Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Matchmaking Can Be Murder is the debut of the Amish Matchmaker Mystery series set in Harvest, Ohio and featuring quilter/matchmaker Millie Fisher. Having spent the last ten years in Michigan taking care of her ailing sister, Millie has returned to Harvest. She has purchased a tiny little farm and is happily residing with her two pet goats, Peter and Phillip and glad to be spending time with her widowed niece Edith and her three small children.

Millie has a gift when it comes to making matches between couples and friends and she knows that Edith is making a huge mistake marrying Zeke Miller. Not quite sure how to share her misgivings with Edith, Millie knows that she must say something so she travels to out to the family greenhouse and finds Edith standing over Zeke's dead body. Knowing that her niece is not a killer Millie sets out to clear her name and quickly discovers that Zeke was keeping a few secrets including the fact that he was also romantically involved with a local English girl.

This series is a spinoff from the author's Amish Candy Shop series, so readers will recognize some familiar faces. A lighthearted and fun plot with plenty of suspects and furry animals. I'm very much looking forward to spending more time with Amish Marple and her friend Millie.

I received an advanced copy of Matchmaking Can Be Murder from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Amanda Flower has done it again! This spin-off of the Amish Candy Shop mystery series is a must read. The elderly crime solving duo of Millie (Amish Marple) and Lois, her zany Englisch friend, is the crime solving duo I didn't know that I needed until I read this book. They are hilarious together. Factor in the goats, Philip and Peter, the kitten Peaches, and a cameo of Jethro the pig, and this caused me to laugh out loud in several spots. We get to see a different side of Ruth, the bishop's wife, and this made her much more likeable. And there are a few other characters in this series that we've already met. I cannot wait for the next book. Fortunately, we have Marshmallow Malice from the candy shop series to look forward to (an excerpt is included at the end of this book.) Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’ve read a number of books by Flowers, and I always find them fun and enjoyable. This book is the start of a new series, “The Amish Matchmaker,” and it’s a spinoff of the author’s “Amish Candy Shop” series. It’s not necessary to read that series first, but it could add to the enjoyment of this one.

Millie is an enjoyable character as a matchmaker and amateur sleuth. There are some humorous lines with Millie’s confusion of the Englisch culture (such as Wonder Woman).

The story unfolds at an appropriate pace, and the characters are well-crafted. If you’re a fan of Amish-themed novels or cozy mysteries, you’ll want to check this one out.

A wonderful edition to the Amanda Flower series of books - so far, she hasn't written anything that I have had a problem with and I am so glad. It is so lovely to have books that you just love from the get-go and so far, that has been the case with all the books by her that I have read.

I knew from the moment she introduced Millie in Toxic Toffee that she was going to be a great character. Add her niece Edith [and her rapscallion children], her long-lost Englisher friend Lois and some of the fun characters from the Amish Candy Shop mysteries [including Bailey and Aiden] and you have a hit book on your hands. This was fun from page one and I look forward to more in this series.

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

Matchmaking Can Be Murder
(An Amish Matchmaker Mystery #1)
by Amanda Flower 

Kindle Edition, 304 pages
Expected publication: December 31st 2019 by Kensington




Goodreads synopsis:
Matchmaking can be murder . . . 
 
When widowed Millie Fisher moves back to her childhood home of Harvest, Ohio, she notices one thing right away—the young Amish are bungling their courtships and marrying the wrong people! A quiltmaker by trade, Millie has nevertheless stitched together a few lives in her time, with truly romantic results. Her first mission? Her own niece, widowed gardener Edith Hochstetler, recently engaged to rude, greedy Zeke Miller. Anyone can see he’s not right for such a gentle young woman—except Edith herself.
 
Pleased when she convinces the bride-to-be to leave her betrothed before the wedding, Millie is later panicked to find Zeke in Edith’s greenhouse—as dead as a tulip in the middle of winter. To keep her niece out of prison—and to protect her own reputation—Millie will have to piece together a patchwork of clues to find a killer, before she becomes the next name on his list . . .

***

4.5 Stars

This is the first book in the Amish Matchmaker mystery series by Amanda Flower.

I have read a couple of books by this author recently and each is in a different series. I believe they are all set in this same Amish community world because I see a few familiar people cropping up here and there. It is like Amanda Flower has her own spin-off series universe all centered around the Amish. Flower is so knowledgeable about the Amish culture that I am in awe as I read along.

Millie is the town matchmaker. She makes sure that the Amish couples are right for each other for the long haul. Millie herself is a widower. Her husband Kip had died many years earlier. There is even a possible guy for her waiting in the wings, but I feel this is just fodder for a future Amish Matchmaker book. Besides being a matchmaker, Millie is a decent sleuth. So, when the dead body of her niece’s fiancee is discovered in the greenhouse, she beings to search for clues. The police officer Aiden is an Englisher but familiar with the Amish culture. He is very honest, open and patient with a group that I feel can sometimes be hard to deal with.

You get a few chuckles here and there in this book as Millie’s best friend, an Englisher, wears her colorful clothing and tries to get Millie to understand some of her cultural references. Millie has no clue what the internet is or who Wonder Woman might be. These little touches really make this book show us how separate the Amish are from a normal life in the twenty-first century.

This is only book one in the series, so I look forward to other books and to see if my own idea of Millie’s perfect match might ring true with the author.

If you love cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I love the book and I couldn't figure out who the killer was, loved the character's and very good plots.

I absolutely love everything that Amanda Flower writes, and Matchmaking Can Be Murder is no exception.
This is the first in a new series, that is actually an offshoot of another series.
It was fun to see familiar characters and become introduced to new ones who are bound to become favourites.
This novel has everything a cozy should have, a fun heroine, quirky characters, a quaint town and of course a murder.
For me the only downfall to this book was that there was only ever one possible murderer for me, and the ending seemed a little light, just short of rushed.
Regardless of this one fact, I will look forward to the next adventure from these interesting characters.
A fun, cozy read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Millie Fischer has moved back to Harvest, Ohio after spending ten years in Michigan taking care of her sister. She has two mischievous goats and is known in her community as a matchmaker. Millie doesn't approve of her niece Edith's fiancé and is thrilled when she decides to call off the engagement. When he is found dead the next day in Edith's greenhouse, she immediately becomes a suspect. Millie and her childhood friend Lois work together to find the culprit.

Matching Can Be Murder is a wonderful start to a new series. The plot is engaging, well-paced, and is filled with laugh out loud moments. Millie is a likable and well-developed character. It's always a pleasure to be back in the wonderful town of Harvest, Ohio and I enjoyed seeing it through Millie's eyes. If you're a fan of the Amish Candy Shop mysteries, then you will be pleased to see quite a few familiar faces in this book. I was particularly excited to see Bailey make an appearance and we also learn some interesting news about Charlotte. The murder mystery is well-plotted and I didn't know who the killer was until the reveal. While I didn't love this book quite as much as I did the Amish Candy Shop series, it is still a page-turner and I look forward to the second book. Amanda Flower is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors and I highly recommend any of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Cozy mysteries are one of my most beloved genres and finding new gems like this one always puts a smile on my face! Amanda Flower has been on my radar for a while now and I'm glad I dipped my toes in her pool of books because she is sure to become of my favorite authors! This is the perfect start to a brand new series and I look forward to reading many more books in the series.

The first book in the new "An Amish Matchmaker" series, "Matchmaking Can Be Murder" is a fun romp in a small town that's a mixture of both Amish and Englisch. Millie recently moved back to her hometown where she has family and friends, but also some complicated familial relationships. When her niece Edith's fiancée is killed - right after Edith broke up with him - Millie knows she needs to help figure out who did it. She teams up with a childhood friend - an English woman with a loud personality - to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed the odd pairing of Millie and her childhood friend Lois. They're opposites who likely wouldn't be friends if they didn't share a past. It's funny how comically mismatched they are. Edith and her children are likeable characters, and I even grew to appreciate Millie's pet goats. I look forward to seeing where the series goes next.