Dating Can Be Deadly

by Amanda Flower

In Holmes County, the Amish and the Englisch have their own traditions, but in general they get along well. The Holmes County Fair draws both groups in. Protagonist Millie Fisher, known to her friend and sidekick Lois Henry as the “Amish Marple,” has been widowed for a number of years and has gradually become comfortable with that role. So, this year, Millie enters a special quilt in the fair and allows her grandson to show her two mischievous goats Phillip and Peter in the goat competition. With the fair as the background, there are many threads in the plot of this amusing cozy mystery. When Millie and Lois discover the body of one of the quilting judges and the shredded quilt of the inimitable bishop’s wife, Ruth, the two sleuths are compelled to investigate.

There are lots of ups and downs in the plot as suspects are found in the most unlikely places. There are romances for both ladies. The most compelling part of the plot for me deals with a little abandoned Amish boy whose grandfather doesn’t want anything to do with him. Millie’s heart goes out to the sweet, fearful child, and she is stuck in the middle of a legal, moral, and Amish cultural dilemma.

As always, Englischer Lois with her colorfully dyed, spiky hair and her best childhood friend Millie, a faithful Amish widow are as different from each other as they can be. They remain devoted to each other. They find themselves involved in a case that leads them into lots of adventures. Lois is famous for her tote bag in which she carries something for every emergency. Millie’s investigative skills are top notch as are her matchmaking skills. This is another fun book in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #5 in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series. Amanda Flower brings new readers into the series quite well, but I recommend reading the previous books in the series because they are good and they make the humor more predictable.

Publication: October 24, 2023—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

As soon as she said that, my guard went up. Lois had said to me once that any time an Englischer said something was very simple, it was the opposite, and they typically spoke in a way that was meant to be ambiguous.

“Sometimes when a person turns their passion into an occupation, they begin to resent it. I don’t want that to happen to me.”

You are only poor when you want more than you have.

Dating Can Be Deadly by Amanda Flower is a charming and entertaining cozy mystery that blends romance and suspense seamlessly. The story follows Ivy, a small-town bookstore owner who becomes entangled in a murder investigation after her matchmaking event ends in tragedy. Flower’s writing is both engaging and humorous, with well-developed characters and a plot full of surprising twists. The cozy setting and Ivy’s endearing personality make this book a delightful read. If you enjoy mysteries with a romantic twist and a touch of small-town charm, Dating Can Be Deadly is a perfect choice!

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

Millie and Lois are great friends and sleuths. When the fair president is found dead in the quilting barn, they decide to investigate her demise. I enjoyed my visit to Harvest.

I adore Amanda Flowers books. This series is wonderful as well. This book was a great addition. The mystery was strong, and the characters are a delight.

Millie and Lois are crime solving again! Millie has a quilt entered at the county fair, and one of the quilt judges is murdered the first night. Millie and Lois find the body while searching for Millie’s escapee goats, who are being shown by her nephew. While investigating Millie meets a lonely Amish boy and his goat, which turns into a sweet side story, I really appreciated the focus on quilting and, as always, getting a peek into the Amish of Holmes County.

A captivating story that is a delicious blend of mystery, romance, and wit. The writing is engaging and the pacing is just right.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion

I think we can just take it as read at this point that I love Amanda Flower's Amish Candy Shop Mysteries and this spin-off series, the Amish Matchmaker Mysteries. I love the quirky small-town, the loveable characters, and Flower's writing style. If you like cozies, this is an author to check out.

Onto DATING CAN BE DEADLY itself.

The setting in this instalment was a lot of fun. It’s the Holmes County Fair and Millie is in attendance with some of the series’ familiar faces. Millie’s troublesome goats, Peter and Phillip are entered into the animal competition by Millie’s nephew, while Millie and some of her Amish sewing circle enter their quilts to be judged. There’s also axe throwing, lots of arguments, and of course, a dead body. It’s a busy fair!

As well as the setting, this one was fun because it developed a few of the relationships we’ve been following. Ruth Yoder (often Baillie’s foil in the original series) has always had a slightly different role in Millie’s books – life long-aqientance and reluctant ally. It’s nice to see her come to the fore a little more again with this mystery. On the romance front, it’s finally time for Millie to make a decision about old flame, Uriah.

For me personally, the star of the show was a baby pygmy goat, Scooter, who stole my heart! DATING CAN BE DEADLY is another enjoyable cozy mystery in Flower’s Amish Candy Shop/Matchmaker universe.

Millie, an older Amish woman, and her English friend Lois are excited about the county fair, Millie because she is entering a quilt in the show and Lois because she is meeting a new man. As Millie is arranging her quilt in the Needlework tent, she is startled by an argument between Ruth Yoder and Tara Barron, the head judge. Apparently Ruth missed the entry deadline but doesn't think that that should really matter for her the bishop's wife. Tara is firm, Ruth's quilt cannot be entered.

The next morning Tara is found dead and she is surrounded by pieces of Ruth's quilt. Because it appears that Ruth is a strong suspect, Millie and Lois set out to find the real killer,

I love the characters in this series because they play so well together. It's also great to see them in cameo roles in the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries. The mystery was entertaining especially with the insertion of mischievous goats and a pig with a following.

Amanda Flower really get herself involved in her characters of the dating series. Millie and Lois are once again involving themselves in the murder. The book is enjoyable and outright funny especially with her goats like real little kids. I did not see who the killer was I thought it was someone else but, in the end, they figured it out and wow amazing!

Dating can be deadly is the 5th in an Amish mystery series and the first I've read. This was a cute cozy mystery, heavy on the Amish elements which was interesting to read. Overall, I recommend this to anyone who enjoys crafting themed cozy mysteries.

This was a NetGalley review.

I love Millie, Lois, and the whole gang. This series is always such an enjoyable read. Filled with Amish life, interactions between the Amish and English communities, murder, arson, and more, this didn’t fail to keep me engaged. I didn’t see the ending coming, though I wish there had been more lead up to whodunnit, but a fun read overall. Can’t wait for the next.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Cozy Mystery, and this is the 5th book in An Amish Matchmaker Mystery series. I have read some of the other books in this series before picking up this book, but I do think you can read this book as a standalone without any problems. I really love the characters in this book, and those older women get into so much and will make you laugh while doing it. I also love all the animals in this book. I laughed so many times while reading this book. The mystery parts were well done too, and I really could not wait to see who did it. I always enjoyed reading this series, and this book was no different. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

Amish Marple and her Englisher sidekick are back in action at the county fair when the organizer of the fair and more importantly, the quilt judging, is found dead among the quilts. A young boy's life is on the line and there is no shortage of suspects of both Amish and English descent. Can our older (not calling them elderly as I am getting up there in age myself) sleuths uncover the villain in time to save themselves and more importantly a small boy's life!?! The main part of cozy mysteries that I love is that typically the characters are so well developed that you feel that you are visiting old friends rather than reading about characters and events on a page and this author definitely writes in a manner that makes you feel every bit of that! The plot is wonderfully thought out and leaves you guessing until later in the story when the reveal takes place. I never thought that an Amish based story would be one of my favorite series to read, but this one definitely is! I'm really excited about the next book in the series as lots of exciting things happening in the characters' lives!!!

I'm jumping into the Amish Matchmaker mysteries with the fifth book into the series. According to the author's note it's the fifteenth of her Amish books. I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to view Millia's lifestyle through her eyes. She has her hands full at the Holmes County Fair. Her nephew is exhibiting her two pet goats, a pair of ornery escape artists. Her (not Amish) best friend Lois is meeting up with a man she met online. Millie and several members of her quilting circle have entered quilts into the annual competition, but the judge is found dead in the quilt barn, a shredded quilt beneath her. The author captures the fun and chaos of the fair and has created a thoroughly entertaining mystery. It looks like I've got a lot of reading to do if I'm going to get caught up with Millie and her friends, and I look forward to it.

Holmes County Fair is the county's biggest event and Millie has entered the quilting competition this year. Meanwhile her best friend Lois is using a new dating app looking for husband number five. This year the quilting competition is fierce, an anonymous donor doubles the winnings and it has the women looking at each other. When the quilt display is slashed it has everyone worried that something bad might happen. Then one of the judges is found murdered and Millie knows its time to investigate. Follow along as she dives into her investigation, will she find a killer before someone else ends up dead?

DATING CAN BE DEADLY is the fifth Amish Matchmaking Mystery, and my favorite to date. I enjoyed the summer county fair setting and always like spending time in Harvest, OH, with Millie and Lois. They make a great sleuthing odd couple, and I love that they are older yet so spunky. The victim is not well liked, of course, and there is a plethora of people who might want her dead. I did not figure out who the killer was before Millie and Lois did, and this brought me even more reading pleasure.

Full of wit, engaging characters, and a smart mystery to solve, DATING CAN BE DEADLY is a must read for any cozy reader. Highly Recommended

While this series is still light-years ahead of is predecessor [The Amish Candy Shop Series] in regards to story-line and the characters not devolving into idiocy [IMO], there were still enough issues for me to not be able to give it more than 3 stars. Mind you, this was still an okay read, but if the following things had not happened, this would have absolutely been a 4, possibly a 5 star read for me.

1. Repetitive information. The first 10ish chapters were full of this; just rehashing what we already knew and what we have already been told [some, just mere pages from each other, which is very annoying]. This has become a real trend within the cozy genre and IMO, it needs to stop. The readers are not morons and do not need the same info told to them over and over. While this was W A Y less than previous books, the fact that it is still being used shows its not going to be completely gone for awhile unfortunately. I do hope that enough people make noise about it so that this trope goes away and we can get back to reading a fully-fleshed out story and not just the same info over and over.

2. While the overall story was really good [I do love how Lois and Millie work together and I ADORE their friendship and how long it has lasted; they play off each other so well and it is such a joy to read more stories featuring them], there were moments where I was distracted and looking to do/read/listen to something else because the story slowed and kind of bumbled. It wasn't often, but it did happen and that contributed to me not loving the story.

3. The ending. Ugh. I HATE a rushed ending/reveal. And the whole reveal was a complete meh and not really completely believable [even though I knew the killer early one because, well, they were the least likely and in my experience, there is a good chance they will be the killer in the end] and it was just so...meh. I knew it was going to be a complete dud when I only had 18 minutes left in the audiobook and there was no reveal yet. Also, the end? The two involved deserved a much better reveal than they got and I was both sad and disappointed for them [yes I know they are characters in a book, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve more than they got].

I know this all seems fairly banal, but when you add it all together, it takes up a big chunk of the book. I do need to say again, that for the most part I really enjoyed most of the book [the fair was glorious as we have fairs like that here in NW PA and there is nothing better than hanging out in the goat barn [well, maybe the bunny barn - OMG the cuteness overload] and playing with those rambunctious animals and the idea of getting to play with and pet goats like Philip and Peter just made me happy whenever they were mentioned as well as the memory of all the amazing food a good fair can offer [we have some of the best "fair fries" around - people come from all over just for them] and this was like a little walk down memory lane and that was awesome. I like how Millie is finally dealing with the death of her husband in a way that will let her move forward more freely and her realization of several important things were a good addition to the story.

Because of how I feel about the characters, I will absolutely keep reading this series [which is good since I am seriously on the fence about the other series] and would still recommend it to people.

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

Dating Can Be Deadly
An Amish Matchmaker Mystery, Book #5
Amanda Flower
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Set in the fan favorite Amish village of Harvest, Ohio, the latest novel in the USA Today bestselling author’s Amish Matchmaker series features the unlikely sleuthing duo of an Amish widow and her zany, oft-divorced English best friend. Will appeal to fans of cozy mysteries, small-town mysteries, wholesome romance, inspirational fiction, and readers of Jennifer Beckstrand, Charlotte Hubbard, Rachel J. Good, and other authors of Amish fiction.

It's August in Holmes County, and that means it's time for the Holmes County Fair. It's the county’s biggest annual event, drawing tourists and locals alike to see livestock, eat too much fried food, and watch the rodeo and speed racing contests. This year, Millie has entered the quilting competition—while her very not Amish best friend, Lois Henry, is distracted by her new dating app and her search for husband number five. In a place where quilting is a way of life, the competition is fierce—especially this year, when an anonymous donor doubles the winning cash prize. Amish and English women are up against each other, and some will do anything to win—even murder . . .

When someone attacks the quilt barn by slashing the quilt display, it’s unsettling enough. But when a quilting judge is found murdered, Millie knows it’s time to for Lois to get off her app and help her hunt for a killer instead—before the competition is wiped out for good . . .

Praise for Amanda Flower and her Amish mysteries

“As it turns out, Amanda Flower may have just written the first Amish rom com.” —USA Today

“At turns playful and engaging . . . a satisfyingly complex cozy.” —Library Journal (Amazon)


Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Millie has entered a quilt in the quilting competition. This is the first time she has ever done it. But before someone is declared the winner, one of the judges is found dead. Millie and Lois have to figure out who the killer is before they strike again.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through most of the book I felt like I was right there, watching all of the action taking place. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a well crafted cozy mystery. And as an added bonus, you will see some of the characters for her other series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

These books are set in the Amish country of Ohio. There are two series, one is the Candy Shop mysteries and the other is the Amish Matchmaker series starring Millie and her friend Lois. Millie is entering the quilt contest at the county while non-Amish Lois waits to meet her online date. Someone destroys the quilt barn that night, and then a quilting judge is murdered. Millie and Lois are perfectly positioned to investigate the crimes.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.