Blueberry blunder

Co-owner of Swissmen Sweets in Harvest, Ohio, Bailey King fires her general contractor, Wade Farmer, who for weeks has not made any progress on the construction of her new candy factory. Wade is furious and threatens Bailey, and she becomes the chief suspect when Wade is found dead at the factory. However, the sheriff soon turns his attention to her cousin Charlotte's Amish father when it is determined his rifle fired the fatal shot. Even though Charlotte is being shunned by her family due to her leaving the Amish faith, she assists Bailey with her investigation to clear her father. It turns out Bailey wasn't the only one having business troubles with Wade. During Bailey's investigation she must dodge television producer Devon Cruz, who is supposed to be filming the candy company construction but keeps worming her way into the investigation. Enlivened by the antics of Jethro, the miniature pig, this satisfying cozy with its details of candy making, the eighth in Flower's Amish Candy Shop series, also illuminates small-town life through its lovingly described setting and well-defined characters.

Another murder roils the peaceful surface of Harvest, Ohio, a town located in an Amish area filled with farms and quaint shops that attract plenty of tourists. Bailey King left a job with a New York City chocolatier to return home and help her grandmother run Swissmen Sweets in Harvest. Business is good, and her reality TV show, Bailey's Amish Sweets, has helped bring her dream of a chocolate factory close to fruition. Just as a camera crew arrives in town to record her progress, her contractor, Wade Farmer, stops working, suspiciously demanding more money from her and all his clients. Bailey's boyfriend, Aiden Brook, has been working for the state Bureau of Investigation in Columbus for the past year, but he's given up his job to move home and set up as a private investigator. When Wade is found shot dead at the shell of her factory, Bailey knows she may be a suspect because she'd just fired him. Her cousin Charlotte Weaver, who's making a splash as Blueberry Princess at the town's summer Bash, is engaged to Deputy Luke Little of the local sheriff's office and estranged from her Amish family, which blames Bailey for her defection. When Charlotte's conservative father is arrested for the crime, Bailey knows she must investigate. With Aiden's mother's pet pig in tow, she visits Amish and English suspects alike in an attempt to uncover a motive. Mystery, humor, and romance mix with an overview of the diverse spectrum of Amish beliefs. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.