Premeditated Peppermint by Amanda Flower is the third tale in An Amish Candy Shop Mystery series. Bailey King is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas in Harvest, Ohio with her grandmother, Clara and cousin, Charlotte. They have been busy preparing a variety of peppermint candies for their Swissmen Sweets table at the Harvest Christmas Market. Then a grinch arrives in the form of Bailey's ex-boyfriend and baker, Eric Sharp along with a camera crew. He wants to film the Christmas special of his show in Harvest with Bailey. Bailey agrees to meet the producer, Rocky Rivers the next morning to discuss the proposal. On her way to the meeting, Bailey notices a set of lights out on the gazebo. When she enters the gazebo, Bailey finds Rocky dead with the lights wrapped around her neck and Eric standing over her body. Deputy Aiden Brody quickly arrives on the scene and targets Eric as his prime suspect. Eric asks Bailey to prove his innocence before he ends up as head baker at the local prison. Linc Baggins (not a hobbit) arrives to take over production of the show and he has a surprising business proposition for Bailey. Then Juliet Brody approaches Bailey with a special request for her almost daughter-in-law (Aiden and Bailey have yet to have a first date). Juliet feels that Jethro has the face for television, and she wants Bailey's help jumpstarting the pig's career. Then Margot needs Bailey's help with the live nativity. Bailey's Christmas is quickly spiraling out of control.
Premeditated Peppermint is an entertaining cozy mystery as you can tell from my summary. You will be hooked from the very first page. While Premeditated Peppermint can be read alone, I suggest reading the series in order. It will provide you a better understanding of Bailey and how she came to live in Harvest. I thought Premeditated Peppermint was well-written with a good pace. It is just the right length at 306 pages. I had been reading a different book that was dragging along (I fell asleep), so I switched to Premeditated Peppermint and quickly devoured it. Harvest is a quaint small town that has a mixture of Amish and English citizens. There are charming shops and events that attract tourists such as the Harvest Christmas Market. Bailey is a smart and talented main character. I was happy to see Bailey's best friend, Cass pop up in Harvest to help Bailey. Juliet Brody is quite a character. She goes around town with her pig, Jethro on a leash. I can see Jethro acting as the ring bearer if Aiden and Bailey ever marry (picture Jethro wearing a cute little tux). There are many laugh out loud moments in Premeditated Peppermint courtesy of Juliet, Jethro, Eric, Margot Rawlings, and the camel, Melchior. I enjoyed the descriptions of the delectable candies being prepared at Swissmen Sweets. The mystery was interesting with a handful of suspects and misdirection. The method of murder fit in with the book and the author provided good clues to aid the reader in solving the crime. There are recipes at the end of book and a preview of Toxic Toffee. My rating for Premeditated Peppermint is 4 out of 5 stars.
Premeditated Peppermint is an entertaining cozy mystery as you can tell from my summary. You will be hooked from the very first page. While Premeditated Peppermint can be read alone, I suggest reading the series in order. It will provide you a better understanding of Bailey and how she came to live in Harvest. I thought Premeditated Peppermint was well-written with a good pace. It is just the right length at 306 pages. I had been reading a different book that was dragging along (I fell asleep), so I switched to Premeditated Peppermint and quickly devoured it. Harvest is a quaint small town that has a mixture of Amish and English citizens. There are charming shops and events that attract tourists such as the Harvest Christmas Market. Bailey is a smart and talented main character. I was happy to see Bailey's best friend, Cass pop up in Harvest to help Bailey. Juliet Brody is quite a character. She goes around town with her pig, Jethro on a leash. I can see Jethro acting as the ring bearer if Aiden and Bailey ever marry (picture Jethro wearing a cute little tux). There are many laugh out loud moments in Premeditated Peppermint courtesy of Juliet, Jethro, Eric, Margot Rawlings, and the camel, Melchior. I enjoyed the descriptions of the delectable candies being prepared at Swissmen Sweets. The mystery was interesting with a handful of suspects and misdirection. The method of murder fit in with the book and the author provided good clues to aid the reader in solving the crime. There are recipes at the end of book and a preview of Toxic Toffee. My rating for Premeditated Peppermint is 4 out of 5 stars.
Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
Premeditated Peppermint is the third installment in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series set in Harvest, Ohio and featuring chocolatier, Bailey King. Adjusting to life away from New York and helping her grandmother run the family's Amish Swissmen Sweets candy shop, Bailey is looking forward to the Christmas season.
Swissmen Sweets will be featuring everything peppermint you could possibly think of in their booth at the Christmas Market on the square. Working alongside her grandmother and Charlotte, Bailey thinks they have more than enough candy ready for the festival and is looking forward to enjoying the festivities.
When Bailey's ex boyfriend, playboy Eric Sharp and his television production crew roll into Harvest, she is not too happy to see him and even less interested in his pitch to film his cooking show inside of Swissmen Sweets. It's only one day before Bailey stumbles upon the strangled body of the show's producer Rocky Rivers in the town gazebo. Bailey is not really surprised to learn that Eric had been having a relationship with the woman, but she is surprised when he becomes the prime suspect in her murder.
Once again Bailey finds herself mixed up in an investigation against the wishes of Deputy Aiden Brody. Even though she knows that Eric is a first class jerk, Bailey knows he is too self-centered to commit a crime so she sets out with the help of her best friend Cass to catch a killer.
A delightful romp from the first page to the last. Just the right setting to get you in the holiday spirit - filled with Christmas tree farms, a live nativity scene and a troublemaking camel, the return of Aiden's mom and her pot bellied pig Jethro, and lots of mouthwatering candy. Plus a surprising twist at the end that may mean a change for Swissmen Sweets.
Swissmen Sweets will be featuring everything peppermint you could possibly think of in their booth at the Christmas Market on the square. Working alongside her grandmother and Charlotte, Bailey thinks they have more than enough candy ready for the festival and is looking forward to enjoying the festivities.
When Bailey's ex boyfriend, playboy Eric Sharp and his television production crew roll into Harvest, she is not too happy to see him and even less interested in his pitch to film his cooking show inside of Swissmen Sweets. It's only one day before Bailey stumbles upon the strangled body of the show's producer Rocky Rivers in the town gazebo. Bailey is not really surprised to learn that Eric had been having a relationship with the woman, but she is surprised when he becomes the prime suspect in her murder.
Once again Bailey finds herself mixed up in an investigation against the wishes of Deputy Aiden Brody. Even though she knows that Eric is a first class jerk, Bailey knows he is too self-centered to commit a crime so she sets out with the help of her best friend Cass to catch a killer.
A delightful romp from the first page to the last. Just the right setting to get you in the holiday spirit - filled with Christmas tree farms, a live nativity scene and a troublemaking camel, the return of Aiden's mom and her pot bellied pig Jethro, and lots of mouthwatering candy. Plus a surprising twist at the end that may mean a change for Swissmen Sweets.
Bonnie A. (ladycholla) -
Good story, fun read, loved all the animals. Mystery not hard to solve, a couple of twists and turns. Look forward to the next one.
