Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman {Review + Giveaway}

About the book: Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright can see profits in sight for her collection of Amish artisan shops—until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a single hole in the front window and Mr. Gray dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. Hannah Troyer takes over the shop’s duties, and she and Amber become fast friends as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray’s death to be a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren’t so easily convinced.
Old Testament clues that don’t add up, a neighbor who is pulled into the midst of the investigation, a town with secrets to hide, and blossoming romance—all will combine to push Amber and Hannah into unfamiliar roles in order to solve a mystery and bring peace to the Amish community.

My thoughts:  Authors who have the ability to bring their readers into a locale, associate with the people living there, and become immersed in their lives from book to book to book are authors of noteworthy achievement. Vannetta Chapman does this again and again and again.

In Murder Simple Brewed the locale is an Amish tourist attraction. A village of shops. Employees are not all Amish, though, and the atmosphere is typically touristy, shopper friendly, and peaceful in an Amish sort of way.

There are Amish employed in the village and one of these is Hannah. The manager of the village shops is Amber. The story begins in a relaxed manner somewhat akin to the atmosphere we would expect in the Amish tourist village. It is relaxed until the unforeseen happens – Ethan dies suddenly and under confusing circumstances.

As the story unfolds, characters and their ups and downs and their kindnesses and meanness come to the forefront. While not totally unexpected, we are somewhat surprised at the climax and intensity of the ending. But I’ll never tell, you’ll just have to pick up your own copy of Vannetta Chapman’s faithful story of sweet suspense spiced with a bit of young and old romance.

GIVEAWAY:  The author has graciously reserved a copy for one of Chat With Vera's readers to win through a random drawing. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Begins July 29 & ENDS August 19 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT. Open to USA addresses only.
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DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of Murder Simply Brewed from the author in exchange for my review. Opinions expressed are solely my own. I was not compensated for this review.