Toxic
Toffee
by Amanda Flower is a delightful cozy mystery that will put
a smile on readers’ faces while they try to solve the
who done it mystery. As with all the books in the series,
murder seems to find Bailey and she enjoys her role as an
amateur sleuth along with her “hot” boyfriend,
Deputy Sherriff Aiden Brody.
She divides her time between New York, where she films a cable
TV show, and Harvest Ohio, where she helps to run “Swissmen
Sweets” with her grandmother and two Amish assistants,
Charlotte and Emily. Besides a fun mystery, this story also
flushes out the personalities of the grandmother and the two
Amish assistants.
Family relationships are also explored. “I want to continue
doing this. In this case, I explore the family relationship
when someone tries to leave the Amish community. Those who
leave the faith are regarded in different ways: some are not
shunned because they were never baptized, some are not shunned
because the community is more lenient and open, and some are
completely cut off from their parents and siblings. What I
put in the book is true, that there are people and organizations
that help the Amish who leave integrate into the English world.
Yet, around 70% of the people born into the Amish faith remain,
primarily because they do not want to lose access to their
family and friends.”
Yet, death becomes the main attraction when Stephen Raber,
a jovial Santa Claus look alike rabbit farmer, keels over
from an apparent heart attack right in front of Bailey. Except
he didn’t die from natural causes, but from a lethal
dose of Lily of the Valley flower mixed into a tasty piece
of toffee he had eaten. Now Bailey has become a foster parent
to one of Raber’s rabbits, Puff, a large fluffy white
delightful bunny. Because the Amish distrust the local law
enforcement, Bailey assists her sheriff deputy boyfriend in
the investigation. In addition to searching for a killer,
Bailey’s been recruited to create a giant 7-foot toffee
rabbit. Splitting her time between taking care of Puff, creating
the large rabbit, and solving the murder where she and Aiden
try to uncover a twenty-year-old secret.
The quirky characters are colorful and fun to read. Flowers
skillfully blends Amish and English characters with a mystery
that keeps the reader sleuthing along with Bailey. Prepare
for a few smiles as Jethro the pig and Nutmeg the cat are
back, as they are joined with Puff the bunny.
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