A Murder of Aspic Proportions by Amy Lillard is a cute, lighthearted cozy mystery. Amy Lillard has a casual writing style. It is reminiscent of talking with an old, Southern friend. The story moves along at a good pace. There is a cast of quirky characters that includes Sissy Yoder, Aunt Bethel, Lizzie, Gavin Wainwright, and indolent Earl Berry. Sissy Yoder temporary stay in Yoder, Kansas may become permanent. She is discovering that she likes life in the small town. Sissy especially likes the Chicken Coop, her tiny home that she shares with her small companion, a Yorkie named Duke. Sissy is getting to know her Amish relatives as well. She has a fondness for her Lizzie who is on bedrest awaiting the birth of fraternal twins. Aunt Bethel is quite a character. She is a bit of a grump, but Bethel loves her family. The mystery was simple and frustrating. Emma, a young Amish woman, confesses to the crime. Deputy Earl Berry should not be in charge of a donut shop much less a town. That he would let her confess without a lawyer or a parent present is appalling (it is a small town, and he should know that Emma could not have committed the crime). Earl Berry does no investigating (why is this man an officer of the law). I can understand why Bethel feels the need to clear Emma. Sissy, of course, is happy to tag along and help (plus, she has the car). The mystery is one that can be solved early in the book. The reason why is mentioned many times. The reveal was anticlimactic and unsatisfying. I did feel that A Murder of Aspic Proportions was a little long. Fifty pages could have easily been shaved off. There is repetition of information (Sissy’s convertible Fiat is mentioned eleven times, Duke is mentioned by name over fifty times, her column alias at least eight times). There is humor in the story which keeps things light. A Murder of Aspic Proportions is the second A Sunflower Café Mystery. It can be read as a standalone since the author provides the necessary background information on the main characters. A Murder of Aspic Proportions is a cute story that is good to read when you need something to lighten your mood or brighten a rainy afternoon. A Murder of Aspic Proportions is an upbeat tale with a snuffed-out farmer, a cozy convertible, an idle deputy, a false confession, stolen tomato plants, futile fertilizer, and a sleuthing Sissy.

A cute quick cozy mystery read complete with cute dog. Cute dogs always help make the mysteries. As they become they are own characters in the book.

This is the second book of this series with Sissy Yoder, as the town mystery solver. The man who was murdered wasn't loved by the community leaving lots of possible murderers to sift through. It was a cozy mystery and took place in Yoder, Kansas where there are lots of people of that same surname, which is highly likely among the Amish community. It was a cute story, with some hints of romance which weren't quite developed in this book but maybe will move forward in another addition to this series. We shall see!

It was a nice and enjoyable read and I am thinking there will be some more books in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Author Amy Lillard knows how to write a mystery with lighthearted moments to keep the story from becoming overtly morbid. What does a tiny dog with a big personality, farm fresh produce and Yoder, Kansas have in common? Sissy Yoder who has a knack for showing up at the wrong place and time. Local farmer Walt Sommers’ advertisement for “to die for tomatoes” takes on a whole new meaning and twenty-something Sissy once again takes a break from writing her advice column to start her sleuthing to find whodunit? A fun read with delightful characters. Do not miss it!
I received a copy from Net Galley. The opinions are my own.

2 stars
This is just not a good book. I had to force myself to read it.
I won't read Amy Lillard again.

This is the second book in the new cozy series "Sunflower Cafe Mystery Series". This is the perfect cozy series with all the right cozy elements that we cozy readers love. Set in small town Kansas with endearing charcters amid well crafted sleuthing this is a enjoyable series from start to finish.

We return to Yoder Kansas and Sissy Yoder who is managing her Aunts down home style cafe and hoping to expand her advice column and sleuthing . When a neferious disliked man in their small town is murdered Sissy is determined to solve her second case.. This case is important to her as a sweet local Amish woman has confessed to save another. The sleuth was enjoyable and well plotted from beginning to conclusion. I loved the charcters and how Sissy fits in to her hometown. This series has much potential and I look forward to the next in series., Well done to the author.

A Murder of Aspic Proportions by Amy Lillard is a new fun cozy mystery that is set in Yoder, Kansas. Sissy moves back to Yoder to help run her Aunt Bethel’s cafe. She also writes an advice column which her family members do not know about. One day, she finds Walt Summer dead in his garden shed. She had gone there to purchase some of his delicious “to die for” tomatoes. When a young woman confesses to doing the crime, Sissy is sure that she is not the killer. Therefore, she decides that it is time for her to solve another murder case.

A Murder of Aspic Proportions is a fun cozy with a little bit of romance included!

A Perfect Cozy Mystery

This was a perfect cozy mystery for sure! Sissy, Aunt Bethel and Duke make the perfect sleuths that kept me wondering "who done it" while keeping a smile on my face. While visualizing Aunt Bethel in a few of the situations had me laughing out loud, the mystery kept me guessing and took me quite some time to figure everything out.

A Murder of Aspic Proportions is a cute mystery mixed with a little romance and some wonderful characters. Add to that some great quotes and you have a real winner of a story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. All comments and opinions are voluntary and completely my own.

I must say I really enjoyed this fun read! In fact, I'm still smiling after finishing it late late night!
All I'm going to say is the last scene in this novel made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to you know what!
Poor Aunt Bethel always getting suckered into things! It's why I love her so much! She's a lot like me! A no nonsense person with a weird sense of humor! She tells it like it is and sometimes mumbles under her breath.
I definitely didn't like the sheriff! Ugh!
But Duke is the one who brings out the charm of this story along with Aunt Bethel. He's so sweet!
Lillard kept me guessing until almost the end and then I figured out who did it. She did a fantastic job with that part.
Lots of twists and turns that no one will see coming which is what made this book so much fun to read!
It has a little bit of everything for everyone in it!
I am looking forward to the next book in this series! I hope there's another one in the making!
I love the people of Yoder, Kansas. They're like family!
5 stars for a job well done!
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own

A Murder of Aspic Proportions is book two in Amy Lillard’s A Sunflower Cafe’ Mystery series. A young Amish woman with her entire life ahead of her decides to confess to a murder in order to protect a family member. The victim is the most hated man in the town of Yoder Kansas. Everyone in the town had a motive for wanting him dead. The town’s sleuth, pretty Sissy Yoder, can’t except that her cousin up and murdered that man so she and her Amish Aunt Bethel Yoder team up to find out who really killed Walt Summers and why Emma Yoder would confess to killing him. Trouble is the two sleuths lack clues and Emma doesn’t want their help. Should they except the fact that Emma killed Walt or try to find a trail of evidence that leads to the real murderer?

I thought this cozy mystery was witty and cute. Not that I’m saying murder is cute but the way the Author tells the story will make readers want to giggle a time or two. I felt like the story may have dragged it out a little longer than necessary as Sissy and Bethel seemed to be totally in the dark and unable the find clues. The dead body was found in the first chapter of the book so readers have the rest of the book to read before the whodunnit is revealed. I went back and forth as to whether I should give a five star or four star rating but in the end went for the lower rating. I did like the characters that were a part of this story . The dog Duke was mostly in the back ground and had no part in solving the murder. Romance wanted to be a part of this story but this may lead into something more in the next book of the series. I will be waiting patiently for book three of the series to be released.

Readers of Cozy Mystery, Amish Fiction and fans of Amy Lillard would enjoy this book. It’s scheduled to be released on 6/27/23.

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

#AMurderofAspicProportions#NetGalley

This was an OK cozy mystery. The storyline was a little drawn out in parts, and I would have loved a little more "thrill" but overall an enjoyable read.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

This is the second book in the Sunflower Café series. I give it a solid 3.5 stars. Some of the annoying bits of the first book were better this time. However, it still dragged on and the ending was very anticlimactic. If a wife expected her husband of murdering their neighbor and her friends husband would she really just pretend not to know? The entire scene at the end where we find out who really did it was just...blah for me. Simply taking a young Amish girl at her signed confession and not investigating at all because "I have a signed confession" is just disgusting police work.

It's a cozy book with family values but doesn't have me running to the store to purchase it.

The second Sunflower Cafe mystery finds Sissy ready to settle down from all the excitement of the last book. However, she is thrown into another investigation when a local farmer is murdered. I’d recommend reading the first one in this series first; otherwise, it’s a fine cozy.

We are back with Sissy Yoder, and she is still helping out her Aunt Bethel at the Cafe in Yoder Kansas! The place is full of Yoder's, and most are related to Sissy, even if she doesn't really know them. Her parents had left the faith, and she is now reconnecting with them.

Now this is the second book in this series, and again Sissy discovers a body! Is she again a suspect? Well, we are on a journey for answer, and enjoy the memorable people of this town, along with a lesson on fertilizer!

Could there also be a romance about to start for Sissy? Guess I'll wonder about that as I look forward to the next book in this series!

A fun read!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. This is a new author and a new series for me. I found the book to be just ok. It wasn't horrible but it definitely would not have me rushing out to get the next book in the series. Sissy is likable enough, although her worry about hiding her alter ego gets annoying, but it's a fish out of water trope that isn't totally successful as the Amish relatives seem to break the rules whenever it's convenient. The mystery was ok but dragged on forever. This was not a wonderful book, but it wasn't awful either, basically just a cozy "lite".

This was an absolute delight to read. This cozy mystery was perfect to curl up with on the couch and get lost into. So good!
I just reviewed A Murder of Aspic Proportions by Amy Lillard. #AMurderofAspicProportions #NetGalley
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A Murder of Aspic Proportions is author, Amy Lillard's, second book in the Sunflower Café Mystery series. I enjoyed this charming story just as much as the first one, Dairy, Dairy, Quite Contrary. One does not have to read the first book (but why wouldn't one?!!) as the author fills in background information so the reader is not questioning the past events. Books that are filled with a community of friends and neighbors who seem to know everyone else's business are such fun to read and this one does not disappoint. Sissy has been in Yoder, Kansas, helping her Aunt Bethel at the Sunflower Café and once again they stumble on a dead body and are quickly drawn into trying to solve the mystery of who murdered one of the most unliked men in the community. The challenge is not only narrowing down the number of suspects on the list but trying to refute the confession of a young Amish girl. The author kept me guessing as to the culprit right to the end. Readers who enjoy amateur sleuth mysteries will want to be sure to read A Murder of Aspic Proportions. I read a complimentary copy of the book and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.

“When you have ruled out the impossible, whatever’s left has got to be the truth – Auntie Bess”

With a cover like this, who could resist requesting this book on Netgalley? At 190 pages, this was a quick in-flight read which introduced me to Amish culture which was entirely new to me. This is the second murder mystery set with Sissy Yoder in the small town that shares her surname which is somewhat implausible.

The story was easy reading with the cute Yorkie featuring a little less that I had hoped and a hint of romance which was sweet and I assume will be built upon in the following stories. Perhaps I read too many murder thrillers but I suspected the answers to the different issues before they were revealed but all in all, this was a decent quick palate cleanser read. However if you are a frequent thriller/murder mystery reader, this may prove to be too simple for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with a copy for review purposes

What a cute fun read! Sissy and Duke are the perfect duo of characters. Lots of twists and turns. Just what a cozy mystery should be! I'm ready for the next! Thanks #netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This is the perfect gentle read - slow-paced, easy-going, with touches of humor, and the lightest of romance. Lots of fascinating information about Amish life. And manure, which I wasn’t expecting but was oddly interesting as well. Sissy's a likable MC and her Yorkie, Duke, is adorable. Overall a fun read.