This was a good start to a new Amish cozy mystery series. I've always liked reading Amish fiction. This one reminds me of books similar to Amanda Flower or Laura Bradford.

Set in a small Amish community nestled in Blueberry, Pennsylvania. In this story, the MC, Petunia, is a young Amish woman who at twenty-two is already destined to become an old maid. She is a tad outspoken and cooking is not in her skill set. However, she is very intuitive and quickly finds herself becoming a local consultant as she works alongside Detective Asher, helping him interpret the Amish lifestyle and interrogate several suspects.

I really liked Petunia. She's a bit spunky and made an excellent sleuth. I absolutely adored her father, Elias, and the relationship the two shared. There's already a spark of interest between Asher and Petunia so it will be interesting to see how and if their story line can develop into an actual relationship.

The mystery was well written and full of secrets with plenty of twists. The victim was easy to dislike so there were several believable suspects. I actually had the wrong one selected until right before the reveal. My only complaint would be that the ending and conclusion seemed too rushed and sudden, especially after such a well written and detailed story line.

I would love to see this series continue and help these characters solve another mystery!

This is the first book that I've ready by Patricia Johns but it won't be the last. I have read lots of books with Amish characters and I appreciate that research that the author apparently did to give the characters and setting an authentic feel. Add a well-planned mystery and you get the beginnings of a fun and engaging series.

Loved reading this book. Amazing story and the characters lend to the charm of this book. I would highly recommend this book. You would not be disappointed.

Really tried to start this book multiple times but could not get into it the storyline enough to enjoy it.

Another great book from Patricia Johns! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and trying to guess who did it. It is a must read! Thank you Netgalley for letting me read an ARC. This review is my own.

A great start to a new series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

A charming new cozy series that takes place in Amish country. The main character, Petunia, is sweet, funny and very engaging. Looking forward to more in this series.

Petunia is a wonderful cozy mystery heroine. She does not quite fit society's mold for her which people from all walks of life can relate. The mystery kept me waffling back and forth. I love that Petunia's dad is supportive even if it is reluctantly at times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a free e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Murder of an Amish Bridegroom
An Amish Seamstress Mystery
by Patricia Johns

Publisher’s Summary
The quiet Amish lifestyle isn’t all that it seems in this debut cozy mystery series, for fans of Amanda Flower and Wanda E. Brunstetter.
Petunia Yoder is Blueberry, Pennsylvania’s youngest old maid, at twenty-two years of age, and completely unmarriageable. But she’s determined to celebrate her friends’ weddings with joy and a full heart. Unfortunately, Petunia’s best friend, Eden Beiler, is playing a dangerous game with a man who is ruining her reputation.
Ike Smoker is the community’s iceman—the one who cuts, stores, and sells the ice—and when Petunia discovers him dead with an ice pick in his chest, Eden is found on the scene with blood on her hands. Homicide detective Asher Nate is new to the area, and he has a challenge on his hands. The Amish community sticks close together, and he doesn’t understand the subtleties and nuances of the clues he uncovers. He needs an Amish interpreter, and he asks Petunia if she’ll help. In a bid to keep her best friend out of prison, she agrees.
The community is filled with people who had good reason to hate Ike Smoker, especially as Petunia and Asher begin to uncover his secrets. Was someone trying to protect their family’s reputation? Or to exact revenge for a sin buried deep in the past?

My Thoughts
Patricia Yoder is the antithesis of the ideal Amish woman. She can’t cook, speaks her mind, and asks a lot of questions. She’s dubbed the youngest old maid in her Amish community, and no Amish man in his right mind would consider her for his wife. Patricia seems to have accepted this with a sense of humor. But the characteristics that alienate her in the Amish community are ideal as a detective investigating a murder. She teams up with Detective Asher Nate as a liaison between the detective and her Amish community. But her best friend, Eden Beiler, is accused of killing Ike Smoker, and her liaison role becomes secondary to her goal of clearing Eden’s name.
The mystery has several solid suspects. I had a suspicion of the murderer’s identity, but the misdirections kept me guessing.
Overall, this is a quick, entertaining read. 3.5/5

Publisher’s Info
Hardcover: $29.99
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Pages: 272
ISBN: 9781639105328

I’m a big fan of author Patricia Johns already, and I’m excited she has delved into the world of cozy mysteries! In Murder of an Amish Bridegroom, she kicks things right off with Petunia Yoder finding Ike Smoker, a most hated Amish man, dead. Unfortunately Petunia’s best friend Eden, also Ike’s girlfriend, is covered in his blood. She insists she found him down and was only trying to help. Petunia is determined to make the police (specifically Englisher Detective Asher Nate) realize the murderer is not Eden, and find the culprit herself. But there is no shortage of suspects, and for sure and certain Petunia has her work cut out for her.
I’m so excited that this seems to be the kickoff to a new series, and I can’t wait for more!
I received a complimentary copy of this book, but my opinion is entirely my own.

Oh, this is a delicious start to a new series! I really liked Petunia and think she is going to be a fine sleuth. The writing was atmospheric of the Amish community and the town of Blueberry was a perfect setting. I’m confused by the title, as there was no bridegroom murdered
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Murder of an Amish Bridegroom by Patricia Grooms is an amazing whodunnit. I enjoyed going around investigating with Petunia Yoder and Detective Asher Nate. It was a great mystery trying to figure out who killed Ike Smoker. It kept me guessing until the end. Just when I’d think that a clue would lead to the murderer then something turns around and leads to another. I liked to see how they investigate the Amish People. I usually love Patricia John’s work, but this is the first story that I’ve read of her’s that is a suspense. I hope we get to have more books of Petunia Yoder and all her sleuthing. I know I’ll be reading them if we do.

I rarely give a book five stars, but this one was an exception. I am usually good at guessing the perpetrator, but this one stumped me. Petunia becomes involved with helping Detective Asher solve a murder in Petunia's Amish community. She helps him gain access and she smooths the way with the Amish people to help with the investigation. Her main motive is to prove that her best friend, accused of the murder, is innocent. Secrets are revealed and situation come to light that have been hidden. There were many possible suspects and I kept changing my mind about the killer as new information was revealed. I also liked that the Amish people were portrayed as less-than-perfect individuals, instead of the sweet and innocent folks they are sometimes described to be. I hope there will be more books in this series, written by an experienced author of Amish novels.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Patricia Johns took my two favorite genres, Amish fiction and mysteries and put them together! Petunia Yoder is considered an old maid in her community. One morning she finds a dead man in an ice shed. She works with a detective to solve the murder. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
“Murder of an Amish Bridegroom” is not to be missed. I was on the edge of my seat and i read it in two days. I recommend this book.
Many thanks to the author, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

This is the first book that I've read by Patricia Johns, as well as, the first book in the Amish Seamstress Mystery series. Being from Ohio, and visiting Amish country with my mom and grandmother when growing up, I've always enjoyed reading books that take place in that kind of setting. If you've never read a book by Patricia Johns, I recommend starting with Murder of an Amish Bridegroom.

Dollycas's Thoughts

In this first Amish Seamstress Mystery, we meet Petunia Yoder. She is twenty-two years old and has been deemed "completely unmarriageable" and "Blueberry, Pennsylvania’s youngest old maid". She is opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind, she is barely a passable cook, but she stays true to her Amish beliefs, and has a heart as big as all outdoors. She lives with her father who runs a tourist company showing Englishers around the Amish community. She helps him and makes ice cream treats for the tourists. She is also an experienced seamstress making wedding clothes for her Amish community.

Ike Smoker cuts, stores, and sells ice to the community. He has been seeing Petunia's best friend Eden Beiler and the whole community is not happy about it. He doesn't care that his actions are ruining her reputation and she is convinced he is the love of her life.

Petunia needs ice for a new batch of ice cream from the ice house. When she arrives she finds Ike dead with an ice pick in his chest and Eden covered in his blood. She swears she didn't kill him and Pet believes her but homicide detective Asher Nate is the one that needs to be convinced. Eden is arrested but the detective is new to Blueberry. He knows to get to the truth he is going to need help understanding the Amish and their ways. He asks Petunia to be his Amish interpreter. She will do anything to help her friend so with her father's permission she agrees to work with him.

___

This series is off to a fine start. I enjoyed meeting Petunia "Pet" Yoder. She is not your typical young Amish woman, that is for sure, but I feel bad that she has already been declared an old maid and that she has accepted her fate. She just needs to find a strong man who likes to cook. There is a little spark between her and Detective Nate but he is not Amish. He does respect Pet and quickly sees she is a puzzle solver so they work pretty well together. I love the relationship Pet has with for father. He accepts her for who she is and suffers through her burnt pies and deflating breads while supporting her and striving to always keep her safe. I felt these core characters were nicely developed for the first book in this series.

I was surprised that Ike Smoker was allowed to behave as he did and stay within the community. He may dress like the Amish and drive a horse and buggy but he is an awful man without any scuples. Allowing him to stay in the community does set up a notable mystery. It is not hard to see the list of suspects grow as Pet and Asher find out all that the man has done. Like any community you could find anywhere,  Englishers or Amish, people have secrets and will go to great lengths to keep them from being revealed. Pet turned out to be an excellent amateur sleuth. She listened carefully, asked great questions, was aware of everything happening around her, snooped when she had to, thought things out, and talked things through with Asher.  I really enjoyed following along with the both of them as they sorted through all the clues.

Blueberry, Pennsylvania is an interesting town. The author described the area very well. It was very easy to map out the community in my head. I love the seamstress theme of the series and getting to see inside the Amish way of life including some darker sides. The subplots were interesting and added depth to the book, especially that of a young bride-to-be whom Pet was sewing for.

I am a little confused about the title. Ike was murdered and he wasn't a bridegroom.

Murder of an Amish Bridegroom introduces a wonderful protagonist and a handsome detective, both of whom I want to get to know better. They are caught up in an intriguing mystery that is very well written. I am eager to see what Ms. Johns has in store for her characters next.

Murder of an Amish Bridegroom is the first book in An Amish Seamstress cozy mystery series. I've read quite a few Amish books by the author, but this is her first cozy mystery, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Overall, I thought the book was good, the characters were well developed, and I wasn't able to guess who did it before it was revealed. I liked the fact that it took place in the state I live in, that's kinda neat. There were a lot of characters in the book which did make it a bit hard to keep track of who was who and what their purpose was. The dialogue was a bit simplistic at times and some of the conversations unbelievable. I'm not sure I would believe a police detective would allow a civilian to help with the case by letting our main character be as involved and questioning people as she did. Overall, a solid presentation that surprised me with the secrets revealed and I will continue the series, after all it is fiction so there will be some inconsistencies compared to what's realistic and what's not.

Pub Date 05 Dec 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

What a brilliant start to a new series this proved to be,
With Petunia Yoder helping the Englisher detective as you'll see.
She'd gone to get ice but instead she found
The ice man, Ike Smoker, lying dead on the ground.

What made things worse was that by his side
Was Petunia's best friend, Eden, who had hoped to be his bride.
With blood on her hands and the first one there,
Eden is arrested and taken into police care.

Petunia is asked to help the new detective with the case
As he's new to the area and wants an interpreter in place.
He hopes having someone who is Amish to aid
Will ensure he get the truth and no mistakes are made.

There are threats, surprises, family secrets and more
As these two try to seek the truth to explore.
There are also insights into the Amish ways and community
And shocking revelations as readers will see.

I really enjoyed this murder mystery
And can't wait for more in this series to see.
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Petunia Yoder is called the youngest old maid in her Amish Community even though she is only 22. When she finds her best friend with blood on her hands and a controversial Amish man dead, will she be able to help keep Eden from jail. Homicide detective Asher Nate is new to the area. Finding out just how close knit the Amish can be, Asher asks Petunia for help in finding the killer. This book was a fun read. It had many twists and turns and several suspects. I look forward to reading the next. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

When there is a murder in the Amish Community, the English Detective ass Petunia to go with him as he questions the Amish, so that she can help him with the proper ways of the Amish. Some of the people in the Community do not like her spending time with the English Detective.

However, her Amish father, is not happy about it, but gives his approval.

This story was really good and once you start reading it, you will have a hard time putting the book down.